OREGON'S SAME-SEX MARRIAGE fight is done, for now. But look for it to re-emerge in a couple of years.
Since May 19, when US District Judge Michael McShane ruled the state's same-sex marriage ban violates the federal constitution, Oregon couples have gotten married at their leisure. On Friday, May 23, the group Oregon United for Marriage officially announced it would scrap a ballot measure to eliminate the ban from the state constitution. That decision is based largely on political calculus: Advocates know national campaign cash will likely flow into more-contested states, and there may be some backlash from Oregonians after McShane's ruling.
An unfavorable ruling by a higher court could still dismantle Oregon's newfound marriage equality, though. And advocates are keen to get a definition of marriage as "between one man and one woman" out of the Oregon Constitution for good. David Fidanque, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, says the November 2016 ballot is a more likely battleground. DIRK VANDERHART
MAYOR CHARLIE HALES has agreed to make some modest tweaks to the city budget proposal he put forward earlier in May—likely ensuring the unanimous support of his colleagues on the city council when they begin voting on the city's 2014-2015 finances this Wednesday, May 28. Notably, Hales agreed to fully fund oversight of the city's three-year-old code of tree regulations, making peace with Commissioner Amanda Fritz on an issue that otherwise might have driven her to vote against the budget. Hales also found $250,000 for the Regional Arts and Culture Council, money for anti-housing-discrimination work, and money for TriMet's youth pass program for high school kids. DENIS C. THERIAULT
