Hey big news!

Perennial fringe lefty candidate runs for county commission on a platform of more money for government!

That oughtta dinstinguish him from all the others. Finally some fresh leadership! Talk about innovative, out-of-the-box thinking

This "perennial fringe candidate" has won elected office. Twice. Sure, it's for Soil and Water Conservation District, but Xander's not a random always-loser.

And frankly, there's been few folks who are willing to say we need more resources. So it is fresh and out of the box of anti-tax rhetoric spewed by many of our so-called liberal leaders.

Oh yeah, a Mulnomah Co. Commissioner who wants more revenue for government is rare indeed. After all, they all were against the ITAX, right?

And they all are against the regional replacement income tax too, right?

Fresh and out of the box indeed. Finding a candidate for Mult. Co. Commission who wants more revenue? A rarity on par with finding raindrops on a Portland winter day.

Xander says: As most voters have received less and less for their tax dollars, their anger at government has grown, and they have elected even more virulent anti-government politicians.

To me, this is one of the most important points in Xander’s article. People often have the attitude that “the government doesn’t know how to spend what we’re giving them now, so why should we give them more?” But even if cutting school funding did serve as an incentive to do better work -- which is ridiculous, just think about it from the perspective of a public schoolteacher who’s already working long hours in an effort to give the kids a decent education and is meanwhile witnessing a constant barrage against the idea that public servants should have a decent retirement -- even if cutting school funding did serve as an incentive, it would still make it impossible for the schools to do their job. We absolutely need to provide the schools (and other public services) with the money they need.

misha says: Hey big news!

Perennial fringe lefty candidate runs for county commission on a platform of more money for government!

Perennial, maybe; fringe, not so much. Xander has run for public office three times and won every time. I’ve been aware of him for several years and he’s very good at taking long-range visions and translating them into realistic action now. (That’s partly because of his MBA and management experience.) So I for one was delighted when I heard Xander was running for county commission -- it would be really nice to see someone in office who combines the dreams of a progessive idealist with the down-to-earth abilities of a business wonk.

The issue is not, anti-tax vers. tax. The issues are fiscal responsibility and community building vers. selfish "me generation" antics.

Xander's platform looks pretty good, but I'd like to see the housing platform expanded. Public resources should be spent on permanently affordable housing, and a larger portion of new units should be accesible to people of modest means.

That photo is most unflattering. No wonder he's been elected to soil and water conservation district. No photos in the voters' guide.

Wasn’t Xander behind our newest tax. A tax for his Soil and Water District.

The ballot tile was to establish a tax limit. Of course, there was no tax before that:

QUESTION: Shall the District be authorized to have a permanent rate limit of $0.10 per $1,000 assessed value beginning FY 2005-2006? (see: http://www.co.multnomah.or.us/dbcs/elections/2004-11/26-71.shtml)

You can read Xander's argument in favor is at (Note the skilled hiding of the fact that it is a new tax): http://www.co.multnomah.or.us/dbcs/elections/2004-11/26-71.shtml#for

I consider this tricking the voters - the lowest, slimiest thing a politician can do.

Thanks JK

Most people who voted against the statewide tax increase and the I-tax didn't do it because they wanted to see cuts to education funding.

The real issue is that no matter what money is given forward it usually is backdropped against waste in non-education/non-public safety areas. Many voters don't trust Portland or Multnomah county with their money.

The public sees millions given to subsidize condos for millionaires, golden parachutes for Goldschmidts, PGE jousting, and a total failure to prioritize by anyone in leadership. Its not greed but many voters responding responsibly.

Try to get an actual budget from PPS. They will charge you for an attorney's time before they can release it to you. Even Randy Leonard had trouble getting hard numbers out of the PDC. Our government works damn hard to hide any information that would create a dialog about our public funded resources. Until that conversation actually starts taxes will be a tough sell.

Yikes! Xander Patterson's campaigning on extending the unpopular temporary ITAX and making the tax filing process more complicated. I have consistently voted for the ITAX because I understood that it was temporary and needed for hard economic times. However, I won't vote for it again. The County has had two years to prepare for the loss of this income. Why should Portland/Multnomah County workers continue to pay more income taxes and file more tax forms than the rest of the state? How is that the State's other counties are able to stay within their budgets?

As a gay, liberal/progressive, Democrat, I agree with many of the sentiments that Mr. Patterson's expressed. But I don't agree with with his assessment that increasing taxes is the only solution. Nor do I believe that his solution will meet voters' approval. As County Commissioner, Mr. Patterson will be expected to identify other solutions than simply taxing workers.

A progressive income tax that tax those with the most at a higher rate than those with less. What an idea! Its about time someone suggested this. Xander proposes to exempt the first $35,000 dollars of income and then place a graduated tax on income above that. That means that all those who have benefited from tax cuts at the state and federal level have to pay a little more so that schools do not go down the toilet and so that we can provide social services to those in our community who need it.

For the past several decades the right wing of Ameican society has spent its time saying government is bad and it should not cost so much. They have cut and cut and cut both taxes on the wealthy and on corporations. While they made all these cuts the poor people and now the middle class have seen services and their safetly net disappearing. The wealthy get wealthier and the middle class gets smaller - not because they are move in on the income/wealth scale but because they are getting a smaller share of the pie.

The problem with the present I-tax is that it is almost a flat tax, taxing everyone at almost the same rate eventhough many of the citizens couldn't afford to pay it. Xander's new progressive income tax is a step toward a progressive tax system in which the abililty to pay is taken into consideration in determining the tax rate and structure. The rich should pay more. If we could do this in Portland, maybe it could move up the food chain and we could reform our state and federal tax structures to be truly progressive as well.

Thank you, Xander, for making a progressive suggestion for a progressive Portland.

Thank you for your responses. I will try to address the issues you raise.

Misha – (Finding a candidate for Mult. Co. Commission who wants more revenue? A rarity on par with finding raindrops on a Portland winter day.) You may be right that most if not all current county commissioners and candidates believe the county needs more revenue, but none that I am aware of have called for a replacement or extension of the county Itax. Talking taxes is usually considered a third rail in US politics so I’m surprised you feel like you hear lots of it.

There is some talk of a regional tax for schools, unfortunately not from county commissioners or other candidates, as far as I know. Absent from this conversation are two important points: 1) Other services besides schools need more funding, 2) whatever tax is implemented should be progressive. If you feel like you’re getting a worse and worse deal out of government, it’s probably because most of the tax cuts that created our fiscal crisis have gone to people richer than yourself.

If you believe that the county has a bloated budget and the crisis can be resolved by cutting programs, I encourage you to join a Citizen Budget Advisory Committee. I think that if you take a close look at the budget you will see that four straight years of budget cuts have cut through the fat and into the bone of vital county services.

Jesse O – (This "perennial fringe candidate" has won elected office. Twice.) Thanks for the kind words. I’ve actually won 4 elections. Two for the conservation district, one for the PUD board that was, unfortunately, not created in 2002, and a write-in for the West Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District in 2004. For that last one I did not run and was not qualified because I don’t live in the district, but it was nice to get the vote of support.

Re liberals talking tax cuts: I agree. I think most are afraid that most people share the passionate anti-tax views expressed by several of the posters to this discussion. For me it has been very encouraging as I speak with many people in the community to find much more willingness to pay taxes – as long as they support services people care about such as schools and health care – than our media, blogs, and politicians reflect.

Fillard – Thanks for the kind words. I agree that the widespread perception that we’re getting a worse and worse deal out of government is a huge problem. The feeling is pervasive, I believe, because it’s true. There are three good reasons: 1) Services most people care about (eg. Schools) are getting cut, while the tax cuts voters are promised go overwhelmingly to the super rich and corporate, so most people are getting less and less for their tax dollars. 2) the federal government is indeed wasting billions of dollars on crazy ventures such as the war in Iraq ($200 billion and counting) and Star Wars missile defense ($80 billion and nowhere near a working system). The county wastes some, too (Wapato $59 million), but probably no more than a typical private business with a $1 billion in revenue. 3) Multnomah County exports $200 million in state taxes to the rest of the state every year. All the more reason to raise and spend the money locally. In addition to these very good reasons people feel they are getting a bad deal out of government is the relentless anti-government propaganda that comes from the right.

Pat Ryan – Thanks for the kind words. You’re right, I am a Green-liberal-lefty, whatever you want to call it, and proud of it. Funny thing is I think more Americans then we generally realize are, certainly most residents of Multnomah County’s district 2. “Liberal” simply means, according to the dictionary, “favoring gradual political or social reform that tends towards individual freedom or democracy.” As I tried to outline in candidacy statement America is first, foremost, and at our finest moments still a liberal country.

Dmrusso – well put.

Kelly Caldwell – I agree with your points about affordable housing. If you have any further ideas on how the poverty/homelessness plank of my platform should be expanded or improved, I’m all ears – now and after I’m elected. Our current commission’s lack of willingness to listen has been its greatest weakness. Platitudinous as it may sound, it’s true that our county’s engaged and enlightened citizenry is our greatest asset. Anyone reading this is welcome to email me at [email protected] with any thoughts.

Lefty – The sad truth is the photo is flattering. The photographer just didn’t have much to work with. At least I’m no uglier than Dick Cheney. Btw, the voters pamphlet for the Conservation District and PUD elections did have photos. I guess most voters are looking for more than just another pretty face.

Jim Karlock – I believe you posted similar remarks on Jack Bogdanski’s blog. For some technical reason I wasn’t able to respond, so I’m happy to have a chance this time.

Yes, I was a leader in putting the measure on the ballot that obtained a property tax base the for the Soil and Water Conservation District. The title uses the precise technical term for the tax we were seeking. We cut and pasted the title from several other similar measures put forth by other conservation districts, some of which passed, some of which didn’t. While the summary and argument in favor never use the term “new tax”, they are all about the great things we’ll be able to do with the funds. We so often hear from politicians that they will increase services and cut taxes that one may be forgiven for failing to draw the connection between new services and new revenue.

This measure passed with 63% of the vote. I doubt it passed because voters were confused. The truth is the good people of Multnomah County are willing to pay taxes when they know they are going to good purposes, such as protecting the environment.

Fostrot13 – Waste, fraud, abuse, and inefficiency are certainly present in government. The sheriff’s jail deputy overtime budget is probably padded. Ferreting out and eliminating abuses, inefficiencies and useless programs so that money is well spent is one of the most important jobs of an elected official. We hear a lot of talk about resolving our fiscal crisis by “prioritizing,” but we don’t often hear concrete suggestions of just what should be cut. Into my second year serving on a county Citizen Budget Advisory Committee, I believe that’s because the vast bulk of the funds the county has are reasonably efficiently going to programs we need. The county budget is very accessible at county budget If you do see programs in there that seem superfluous, please point them out to me and the rest of us. I think the responsible response to seeing funds wasted is to address that waste, not cut funding for vital services such as schools.

Norm! – I think governments on every level across the state and the entire country are faced with budget crises like ours, mostly because of big cuts on the federal and state level and skyrocketing health care costs. Of the county budget, 1/3 comes from the state, 1/3 from the feds, 1/3 is raised locally. The Itax was originally sold as a way to improve schools and other services. Unfortunately, it has not been sufficient even to make up for the federal and state cuts. Very frustrating for us. It’s going to get worse as the impact of the Bush tax cuts runs into the aging baby boom. As federl funding (and probably state funding as well) continue to decline, we can either watch our schools deteriorate and our health care crisis deepen, or we can address these problems on the local level. That’s an unpleasant choice we must face.

David Delk – Thanks for the kind words.

Thank you for your responses. I will try to address the issues you raise.

Misha – (Finding a candidate for Mult. Co. Commission who wants more revenue? A rarity on par with finding raindrops on a Portland winter day.) You may be right that most if not all current county commissioners and candidates believe the county needs more revenue, but none that I am aware of have called for a replacement or extension of the county Itax. Talking taxes is usually considered a third rail in US politics so I’m surprised you feel like you hear lots of it.

There is some talk of a regional tax for schools, unfortunately not from county commissioners or other candidates, as far as I know. Absent from this conversation are two important points: 1) Other services besides schools need more funding, 2) whatever tax is implemented should be progressive. If you feel like you’re getting a worse and worse deal out of government, it’s probably because most of the tax cuts that created our fiscal crisis have gone to people richer than yourself.

If you believe that the county has a bloated budget and the crisis can be resolved by cutting programs, I encourage you to join a Citizen Budget Advisory Committee. I think that if you take a close look at the budget you will see that four straight years of budget cuts have cut through the fat and into the bone of vital county services.

Jesse O – (This "perennial fringe candidate" has won elected office. Twice.) Thanks for the kind words. I’ve actually won 4 elections. Two for the conservation district, one for the PUD board that was, unfortunately, not created in 2002, and a write-in for the West Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District in 2004. For that last one I did not run and was not qualified because I don’t live in the district, but it was nice to get the vote of support.

Re liberals talking tax cuts: I agree. I think most are afraid that most people share the passionate anti-tax views expressed by several of the posters to this discussion. For me it has been very encouraging as I speak with many people in the community to find much more willingness to pay taxes – as long as they support services people care about such as schools and health care – than our media, blogs, and politicians reflect.

Fillard – Thanks for the kind words. I agree that the widespread perception that we’re getting a worse and worse deal out of government is a huge problem. The feeling is pervasive, I believe, because it’s true. There are three good reasons: 1) Services most people care about (eg. Schools) are getting cut, while the tax cuts voters are promised go overwhelmingly to the super rich and corporate, so most people are getting less and less for their tax dollars. 2) the federal government is indeed wasting billions of dollars on crazy ventures such as the war in Iraq ($200 billion and counting) and Star Wars missile defense ($80 billion and nowhere near a working system). The county wastes some, too (Wapato $59 million), but probably no more than a typical private business with a $1 billion in revenue. 3) Multnomah County exports $200 million in state taxes to the rest of the state every year. All the more reason to raise and spend the money locally. In addition to these very good reasons people feel they are getting a bad deal out of government is the relentless anti-government propaganda that comes from the right.

Pat Ryan – Thanks for the kind words. You’re right, I am a Green-liberal-lefty, whatever you want to call it, and proud of it. Funny thing is I think more Americans then we generally realize are, certainly most residents of Multnomah County’s district 2. “Liberal” simply means, according to the dictionary, “favoring gradual political or social reform that tends towards individual freedom or democracy.” As I tried to outline in candidacy statement America is first, foremost, and at our finest moments still a liberal country.

Dmrusso – well put.

Kelly Caldwell – I agree with your points about affordable housing. If you have any further ideas on how the poverty/homelessness plank of my platform should be expanded or improved, I’m all ears – now and after I’m elected. Our current commission’s lack of willingness to listen has been its greatest weakness. Platitudinous as it may sound, it’s true that our county’s engaged and enlightened citizenry is our greatest asset. Anyone reading this is welcome to email me at [email protected] with any thoughts.

Lefty – The sad truth is the photo is flattering. The photographer just didn’t have much to work with. At least I’m no uglier than Dick Cheney. Btw, the voters pamphlet for the Conservation District and PUD elections did have photos. I guess most voters are looking for more than just another pretty face.

Jim Karlock – I believe you posted similar remarks on Jack Bogdanski’s blog. For some technical reason I wasn’t able to respond, so I’m happy to have a chance this time.

Yes, I was a leader in putting the measure on the ballot that obtained a property tax base the for the Soil and Water Conservation District. The title uses the precise technical term for the tax we were seeking. We cut and pasted the title from several other similar measures put forth by other conservation districts, some of which passed, some of which didn’t. While the summary and argument in favor never use the term “new tax”, they are all about the great things we’ll be able to do with the funds. We so often hear from politicians that they will increase services and cut taxes that one may be forgiven for failing to draw the connection between new services and new revenue.

This measure passed with 63% of the vote. I doubt it passed because voters were confused. The truth is the good people of Multnomah County are willing to pay taxes when they know they are going to good purposes, such as protecting the environment.

Fostrot13 – Waste, fraud, abuse, and inefficiency are certainly present in government. The sheriff’s jail deputy overtime budget is probably padded. Ferreting out and eliminating abuses, inefficiencies and useless programs so that money is well spent is one of the most important jobs of an elected official. We hear a lot of talk about resolving our fiscal crisis by “prioritizing,” but we don’t often hear concrete suggestions of just what should be cut. Into my second year serving on a county Citizen Budget Advisory Committee, I believe that’s because the vast bulk of the funds the county has are reasonably efficiently going to programs we need. The county budget is very accessible at county budget If you do see programs in there that seem superfluous, please point them out to me and the rest of us. I think the responsible response to seeing funds wasted is to address that waste, not cut funding for vital services such as schools.

Norm! – I think governments on every level across the state and the entire country are faced with budget crises like ours, mostly because of big cuts on the federal and state level and skyrocketing health care costs. Of the county budget, 1/3 comes from the state, 1/3 from the feds, 1/3 is raised locally. The Itax was originally sold as a way to improve schools and other services. Unfortunately, it has not been sufficient even to make up for the federal and state cuts. Very frustrating for us. It’s going to get worse as the impact of the Bush tax cuts runs into the aging baby boom. As federl funding (and probably state funding as well) continue to decline, we can either watch our schools deteriorate and our health care crisis deepen, or we can address these problems on the local level. That’s an unpleasant choice we must face.

David Delk – Thanks for the kind words.