As initiatives begin to get approved for the Fall '06 Ballot here in OR, it looks once again like Oregon will be a testing ground for a group of largely Conservative ballot initiatives.
When Oregon's Initiative system was first enacted in the early 20th Century it was the route to enact some of the earliest progressive measures in the country including the 40 hour week and Women's Suffrage. However, for the past decade and a half Oregon has become, along with California and other Initative states, a playground for ultraconservative initiatives funded by out of state interests.
Of the nine measures that has so far been approved for the ballot in Oregon (pending legal challenges on a few), here is who is behind the measures:
Source: Oregon Secretary of State
Petition #57 (Government can't use eminent domain to give to private developers). Sponsor: Oregonians in Action. Main funding sources: Americans for Limited Government (IL), $20,000, Oregonians in Action (OR) $35,000. Local Read: Conservative but actually considering its pretty locally run/funded.
Petition #14 (Federal Deduction on state runs). Sponsor: Taxpayers Right Committee. Main funding sources: Loren Parks (NV) $157,000, FreedomWorks (DC) $12,500. Local Aread: Third time might be the charm for these folks but crazy conservative Loren Parks is busy trying to screw with the state from his self-imposed NV exile (he was also the major fudning source for Kevin Mannix).
Petition #23 (Prohibits Use of Credit Scores for Insurance). Sponsor: Bill Sizemore. Main funding sources: Loren Parks (NV) aprox $105,000. Local Read: I don't know what convicted racketeer Sizemore is up to here but Parks literally gave them all but about $10,000 of the $ for the measure.
Petition #51 (Parental Notification). Sponsor: Oregon Family Conuncil. Main funding sources: OR Right to Life (OR) $240,000. Local Read: Actually pretty local. Hardly a new idea but at least funded locally.
Petition #122 (Perscription Drug Pool). Sponsor: State Sen. Bill Morrisette (D). Main funding sources: AARP (Local and national), total about $100k, SEIU Local 503 (Salem, OR) $100k. Local Read: Locally funded, mostly, and a good measure to boot.
Petition #39 (Term Limits). Sponsor: US Term Limits. Main funding sources: US Terms Limits (IL) $510,000. Local Read: Out of the $565,000 raised, $510,000 came from one group. You're all smart enough to tell me what that means.
Petition #s8/37 (Combined due to similar funding sources) (Campaign Finance, Constitutional Amendment (8) & Statutory Change (37)). Sponsor: Dan Meek (Green Party Activist/Attorney). Main funding sources: Money is Not Democracy (OR), $200k. Local Read: I give credit to Meek, don't like his measure but he is locally funded.
Petition #6 (TABOR Oregon). Sponsor: Taxpayer Association of Oregon. Main funding sources: Americans for Limited Government (IL) $571,000. Local Read: Out of $635,000 total raised, our dear friends from IL, who share offices with US Term Limits, gave nearly all of the $ to put up the measure.
Hopefully Oregonians will reject these measures but we now know the continuing conservative strategy in blue states. If you can't win at the candidate level, sneak in behind and propose extremist initiatves.