Special election, May 20th, is rather boring except...
This does not affect us in Milwaukie but next door in Portland, the school district could lose
Economics Professor and resident of the Portland Public School (PPS) District, Eric Fruits, managed to place an Argument in the Multnomah Voter guide which uses sarcasm to make Portland Public School District's request for yet another property tax increase for re-building its schools look silly. Fruits known as kind of a character in Portland manages to get his back-of-the-hand Voter Guide Argument placed first in the Multnomah County Voter guide.
So, this PPS request for a huge property tax increase is the election to watch two Tuesdays from now (May 20, 2025). I think Fruits' back-handed argument, shown just to the right of here, could actually cause the PPS property tax increase to go down to defeat, when it would otherwise gain voter approval.
As for Milwaukie's election choices, all of which are for positions for jurisdictions of which Milwaukie is only a part of, there are only 6 positions up for election and all but one are candidates running unopposed.
Three of the positions are for the North Clackamas School Board, all three are unopposed candidates. They are also all three are part of the Teacher and Education Association Union establishment lording over Oregon's public school system. About four years ago, some parents rebelling against North Clackamas Schools for including porn like books in the School curriculum were ostracized for daring to run against the union backed candidates/incumbents, and were called book banners - as though the School District isn't routinely choosing among books it teaches from.
I'm going to write-in these unfairly ostracized parents, namely Aimee Reiner and Angela Pederson, for the three N. Clackamas School Board positions on my special election ballot.
The three other positions up for election are two for the North Clackamas Fire District (both unopposed) and the sixth is for the Clackamas Education Service District (two candidates running for this position). I' probably just vote for the candidates running for the Fire District, and the incumbent for the Education Service District, Nadene Duffield.
(posted by Elvis Clark on May 8, 2025)
How to effect cyncism in a voter guide - the Fruits example
Portland taxpayers become cynical of their school district's constant ask for ever more funding.
Eric Fruits is a long time City of Portland resident who writes the above Voter Guide Argument supposedly in Favor of Portland Public Schools' newest tranche of school construction bond taxes - Fruits' Argument appearing in this May Special Election Multnomah County Voter Guide.
Fruits submitted his Argument seemingly first ahead of other arguments so as to make his Argument the first that appears in the Voter Guide for the Portland Public Schools Property tax measure. This makes his Argument even more effective than otherwise.
His Argument then hits voters with a litany of all the negligent Portland Public School bad decisions and leadership - using obvious sarcasm with his saying Vote Yes on this measure [for all the wrong reasons].
Bravo to Professor and Economist Eric Fruits.
(posted by Elvis Clark on April 24, 2025)