The race over Measure 91, Oregon’s latest stab at legal pot, has grown insanely tight in the last couple months. From modest leads by supporters in early August, new polling from the Oregonian and KGW now suggests the race is neck and neck, with legal pot potentially trailing by a few points. It’s common, as […]
Election 2014
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Vote, Damn You: New Poll Shows Kitzhaber Still in the Lead—As We Remind You Why He’s Better than Dennis Richardson
The turbulence that’s snared Governor John Kitzhaber’s historic re-election bid over the past few weeks refused to ease itself away—not after it came out last week that Kitzhaber’s main challenger, State Representative Dennis Richardson, had written federal officials demanding a criminal corruption probe over accusations of ethical lapses involving Kitzhaber’s fiancée, first lady Cylvia Hayes. […]
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Vote, Damn You: Why the Mercury Thinks You Should Say No to a Top-Two Primary
For those of you still waiting to mark your ballots, consider this post—a sampling of our non-endorsement of Measure 90, one of several election picks in this week’s Mercury—a friendly reminder to get to work before it’s too late. *** THE PROMISES of the top-two election system pushed by Measure 90 sound remarkably reasonable: an […]
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Vote, Damn You: Your Daily Reminder
According to county elections officials, you’ve got your ballot by now, if you’re getting one. Think you got slighted? Call the elections office at 503-988-3720 and see what you can work out. To those who have gotten ballots, vote already! Your ballots are due by 8 pm on November 4. Here’s how we came down […]
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VOTE, American! It’s the Mercury‘s Endorsement Guide!
Okay, enough teasing! Instead of waiting for our issue to hit the streets tomorrow, here’s your sneaky peek at ALL of our endorsements for November’s election, including the races for governor and senate, as well as our picks on ballot measures for legal pot, drivers’ cards, equal rights, and (oh, boy!) this season’s “fluoride”… GMO […]
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And the Mercury Decides: Say Yes to Drivers’ Cards—Because the Anti-Immigrant Reactionaries Among Us Are Wrong
It’s endorsement week at the Mercury. That means, for the next few days, we’ll be releasing endorsements in one or more selected races here on Blogtown—building up to our full set of election picks, due out this Wednesday. Today, we reveal our decision in the race for Measure 88, which would uphold a state law […]
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And the Mercury Decides: Say No to GMO Labeling, Even If It Feels Terrible
It’s endorsement week at the Mercury. That means, for the next few days, we’ll be releasing endorsements in one or more selected races here on Blogtown—building up to our full set of election picks, due out this Wednesday. Today, we reveal our decision in the race for Measure 92, which would require corporations to label […]
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City Council Shelves Medical Pot Sales Tax—Still Wants Money From Recreational Pot
The Portland City Council has backed away from a somewhat controversial plan to levy a 5 percent sales tax on medical marijuana alongside a hoped-for 10 percent levy on sales of recreational pot—assuming Measure 91 passes this fall and no other legal hurdles arise. The seemingly unanimous decision came during this morning’s city council meeting, […]
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Governor’s Fiancé Apologizes for Formerly Secret Illegal Marriage
Oregon first lady Cylvia Hayes, engaged to marry Governor John Kitzhaber since the summer, has confirmed a Willamette Week report about her formerly secret third marriage to an immigrant teenager almost 20 years ago, admitting she broke federal immigration laws banning “green card” marriages and accepting $5,000 as payment during a low moment in her […]
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Surely Monica Wehby Wouldn’t Plagiarize Again?!
According to Buzzfeed, that’s exactly what she did. This time not from Karl Rove’s people, but her vanquished primary opponent Jason Conger, who apparently doesn’t care. The Oregon Republican Senate candidate plagiarized her health care plan, again. In a weird twist, Monica Wehby’s new health care is also plagiarized — but even stranger, it’s plagiarized […]
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Congressman Earl Blumenauer: Statesman, James Vanderbeek Afficionado?
US Rep Earl Blumenauer loves bikes, Portland, and his yearly batch of holiday fruit cake. This much has long been established. But anyone following Blumenauer on Facebook may have gotten the briefest glimpse at another possible passion earlier today, when this popped up: (Caveat: Did I see the post on Blumenauer’s feed with my own […]
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Multnomah County DA Rod Underhill and a Local Substance Abuse Hotline Are Also Against Legal Weed
In this week’s paper, we’ve got a brief look at the forces coalescing to support Measure 91, which would make recreational pot legal in Oregon if approved in November. The opponents are bemoaning their fate—there’s no way they’ll have the monetary draw we’ve seen with weed proponents—and say they’re counting on people taking the advice […]