A campaign to convince Portlanders to pass a four-year, 10-cent gas tax has taken in more than $40,000 in the last two months, tapping support from Portland’s development community and several city council members.
Fix Our Streets Portland formally kicked off in late January, on the same day Portland City Council voted to refer the local gas tax to the May 17 ballot. If approved, the measure’s expected to raise $16 million per year, with 56 percent of that money going toward paving projects, and the rest thrown at safety improvements.
According to the Secretary of State’s website, Fix Our Streets’ campaign committee is being steered in part by Mayor Charlie Hales and Commissioner Steve Novick, whose multiple attempts at passing a street fee in 2014 ultimately stalled out for want of a public vote. But the gas tax measure also has buy in from an array of progressive transportation groups, and the Portland Business Alliance.
The city’s developers, always reliable contributors come campaign time, are whipping out their checkbooks. Melvin Mark, Menashe Properties, and Williams/Dame & Associates are all in for $1,000.
Public officials are in, too. Commissioner Dan Saltzman’s got $2,500 into the effort, Commissioner Amanda Fritz chipped in $500, and Hales’ defunct campaign committee donated $1,000. Here’s the full list of contributions.
The money will likely be necessary to sway Portlanders. A majority of citizens support the gas tax, according to some publicly available polls. But pollsters warn it’s a lead that could fall away in the face of a ballot fight, which is what Fix Our Streets is gearing up for.
The Oregon Fuels Association has promised to campaign against the ballot measure. Executive Director Paul Romain told the Mercury recently he’d be hitting up local gas stations and other fuels industry players for donations. Records show the OFA’s political action committee has about $22,500 on hand, and has been conducting polling on the gas tax measure.