Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Charter Charter, Who Wants a New County Charter?

O Vancouvria! attended last night's Charter YES! campaign kickoff event, at Green Meadows Golf Club in Vancouver's lovely Walnut Grove section. While we're going to hold off on our Charter thoughts for now, it was nice to see all the happy faces on both sides of the aisle - progressive, liberal, conservative - all out for a new County Charter (we haven't had a change in County governing structure since our founding in 1855). 

Nan Henriksen
 Nan Henriksen, the graceful and sensible former Mayor of Camas, kicked things off with a succinct speech detailing why folks should favor the Charter - specifically, the checks and balances giving equal weight to urban and rural, as well as checks and balances, such as a separate County Executive and County Administrator, and powers of initiative, recall, and referendum, that the new Charter calls for. 

Joe Zarelli and Temple Lentz
 Conservative Joe Zarelli and progressive maven Temple Lentz graced the stage following Henriksen, giving us clear and forceful reasons why folks should vote YES on the Charter come November. It was interesting to see politicos in favor align in the room at Green Meadows: everyone from Byron Hanke to Temple to Jim Mains to Betty Sue Morris to Sheriff Lucas was present to support the new Charter, and word on the street is that Commissioner Tom Mielke is also in favor. 

 All and all, a home run for Charter YES! folks last night - a strong, on point message, with a clear concise marketing. A launch, as it were. 

 Temple Lentz had this to say about last night's festivities, and the campaign: 

 "What a great turnout! The room was packed with people from both sides of the aisle and all parts of the political spectrum. It's clear that our community is ready to strengthen our county government, make it more accountable to the people, and have a real voice in how we move forward."

Indeed. 

Meanwhile, Charter NO folks are in a conundrum about their message. Christian Berrigan of the Charter NO campaign indicated the committee wasn't meeting til August 21 to decide on "various resolutions" for the County Voters' Guide (said message is due in to County Elections prior to August 21). 

Carolyn Crain
However, there's a bright spot that Charter NO folks highlighted: Carolyn Crain has put together what she calls a "fabulous" video presentation to show folks why a new Charter is a BAD IDEA. No word yet on when said presentation will be viewable by the public, but I for one can't wait to hear and see what Carolyn has to say on video about the subject!
 

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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousAugust 20, 2014 at 6:00 AM

    Rumor has it a hotbed of (possibly illegal) anti-charter activity is the office of our County Commissioners. Saint Madore, God's gift to Clark County, thinks it OK to have his personal assistant working the anti campaign because he's paying that salary, not the taxpayers. No word if the anti-charter crowd is paying rent for the office space, phones, computers, etc. Or how the PDC feels about this arrangement.

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    Replies
    1. AnonymousSeptember 23, 2014 at 12:33 PM

      Rumor is sadly often right, as is the case here - and THANK YOU for noting that David Madore's personal assistant, Anna Miller, and her husband, Chuck Miller, are leading the NO on Charter campaign - with $500 donated from Commissioner Mielke, who should know better. They thankfully only have $4150 in the kitty, and are very LATE to the sign erection game. Que Lastima! The Charter currently leads 65-35 in polls, and rumor also has it (as does O Vancouvria!, see post) that Commissioner Madore will RESIGN if Charter passes.

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