Foes of street tax reach for brakes

• Ted Wheeler and Sam Adams make push for transportation funds

By Jennifer Anderson

The Portland Tribune, Jan 11, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (66 Reader comments)

JIM CLARK / TRIBUNE PHOTO

The day before city Commissioner Sam Adams presented his street fee to the City Council, he staged a news conference at the Multnomah County Bridge Shop with supporters (from left) Sandra McDonough of the Portland Business Alliance; Susan Kubota, whose niece was killed on her bicycle; county Chairman Ted Wheeler; and state Sen. Rick Metsger, D-Welches.

A small but determined faction of lobbyists is gearing up to throw cold water on city Commissioner Sam Adams’ proposal for a new tax to tackle the $422 million backlog of street repairs.

The City Council heard three and a half hours of testimony on the Safe, Sound and Green Streets plan Wednesday, mostly supportive. But some critics said they didn’t think the proposal was fair and equitable. And some told the Portland Tribune they were poised to refer the issue to the May primary election ballot for a public vote.

“We’re working on raising the money to do it,” said Danelle Romain, who, along with her father, Paul Romain, is representing the Oregon Petroleum Association in the fight.

“I think the public doesn’t support this issue. The city is awash in money right now. It’s whether there’s a need for this money, and whether it would be used for the purpose it’s supposed to.”

In the interest of full disclosure, it’s interesting to note the 30-year-old Romain is stepdaughter to Len Bergstein, who is campaign manager to Sho Dozono, Adams’ biggest rival in the mayoral race.

Romain said the relationship is in no way motivating her position.

“I have a very political family,” she said. “It has nothing to do with what we’re doing in our business. I’ve grown up around politics. I wasn’t turned away from getting into the political world.”

But the opposition to Adams’ plan would not only endanger the funding of the transportation projects, it probably would hamper Adams’ campaign at a time when he needs to garner as much public support as he can.

Getting the City Council to support his proposal “would be a strong feather in his cap,” said Jim Moore, a political analyst and government professor at Pacific University. “It would show he could unite the disparate factions in this city to raise taxes and fix the infrastructure.”

The council could enact the plan Wednesday. If it does, the opponents will have to collect a required 18,170 signatures by Feb. 15 to place a referendum on the May ballot.

It might seem like a large task, but some of the same critics have done it before. After former Commissioner Charlie Hales pushed a similar plan through the council in 2001, opponents threatened to refer it to the ballot, prompting the council to withdraw it.

A public referendum now undoubtedly would “muddy (Adams’) campaign,” Moore said. “If that happens, it may not be a negative for him, but it means that he’ll simply be running for mayor and doing the referral campaign, which will make him seem like he’s just (about) one issue.”

‘There’s a huge price to pay’

Council members on Wednesday expressed early support for the plan, as did the slew of community members who came forward to plead for safer roads.

“There’s a huge price to pay here,” said Susan Kubota, a Portland anesthesiologist whose niece, 19-year-old Tracey Sparling, was killed Oct. 11 on her bike at the intersection of East Burnside Street and 14th Avenue.

“She was riding in the bike lane, legally, and got crushed by a cement truck on her way to class. No one likes to pay taxes at all,” Kubota said, “but I don’t want any other family to have to go through this.”

Supporters say the proposed monthly fee (an average $4.54 for households and $83 for most businesses) is a small price to pay to fix traffic signals at 31 intersections where a high number of crashes occur and build 20 miles of sidewalks on arterial streets, 47 new pedestrian islands and 114 miles of bike- and pedestrian-safety corridors.

The 15-year tax would generate $24 million in revenue each year and also offer “green” discounts for people who drive fuel-efficient cars and employers who offer carpooling incentives and TriMet passes.

Kevin Spellman, a member of the 89-person stakeholder group Adams convened seven months ago to collaborate on the plan, said it was his job to “peek behind the curtain” and take an outside look at the transportation budget to see if the picture really was as dire as it’s been painted.

“Sadly, it is,” he said, noting that he examined audits and found that the maintenance backlog is real and only will get worse if ignored.

Spellman, a retired commercial building contractor, said he looked at efficiencies within the bureau but found “nothing remotely on the scale required to tackle this problem.”

The stakeholder group includes several industry groups such as the Oregon Restaurant Association, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, various neighborhood groups and just about every public agency in the region. Steve Clark, president of the Portland Tribune, also served on the committee.

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