Jan 10, 2007

60% of Troutdale Voted NO For Its Own Libary!

I didn't pay attention to the Troutdale results of the Library levy. I should have.
Kudos to Mark Garber of the Gresham Outlook for his editorial and graphic map in the January 10, 2007 issue highlighting the philosophical split between Multnomah County voters east and west of I-205. Garber writes, "East County residents, of course, have a legendary aversion to taxes – and the opposite is true in Portland’s inner neighborhoods. But based on the library-levy results, it appears that the philosophical gap between inner-Portland and East County is more pronounced than ever."

Garber also points out that Multnomah County Library Measure 26-81 FAILED in Troutdale, even though the measure specifically promised a new library for Troutdale.

Here's the vote breakdown by Troutdale precinct:
Precinct 5200: Yes 1080, NO 1592
Precinct 5201: Yes 882, NO 1290

TOTAL: Yes 40.5%, NO 59.4%

Good job, Mark Garber. Good job, Gresham Outlook.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What is wrong with the our community in that is can't see the benefits of investing in it's public institutions (schools, libraries, etc...). How is this mentality ever going to change? If East County was ever on it's own, I shudder to think about it's quality of life. You get what you pay for. Why would any business want to locate in a community where members seem so short-sighted? I suppose I should send thank you notes to those in Portland for our new library. Any ideas?

Anonymous said...

Get a clue! In case you didnt notice, voters said, "NO." Do you know what that means? This is a democracy, not Venezuela. We dont need a library in troutdale, we have a very nice one in Gresham and Woodvillage. Taxpayers dont need to spend endless amounts of money on pet projects just because a small minority wants it. That is the typical liberal way of thinking that has failed for years.

East county would do fine on it's own if the liberal county council would get their prioritys right and quit wasting so much money on social services. We have a multi million dollar jail in North Portland that needs funding. I dont see any libraries going unfunded. Do you?