Meas. 49 passes in state despite JoCo opposition
From our weekly issue dated November 7, 2007
Josephine County voters showed strong opposition to revise a property rights measure approved in 2004, but Measure 49 was approved statewide in the Tuesday, Nov. 6 vote-by-mail special election.
Measure 50, seeking a higher tax on cigarettes to fund health care for certain disadvantaged children, was defeated in Josephine County and statewide.
In the county, there were 18,559 "No" votes cast against M49, and 9,740 "Yes" votes. County voters also balloted to extinguish M50 with 21,093 "No" votes vs. 7,330 in favor. Voter turnout was 57.5 percent in Josephine County.
M49 will allow rural land owners to construct some homes, three in most cases and as many as 10 for some. But the measure puts the brakes on larger subdivisions and industrial development allowed under Measure 37, passed three years ago.
In the Voters Pamphlet, there were 69 arguments in favor, with submitters paying $500 each for their statements. Among supporters were 1000 Friends of Oregon, Illinois Valley resident Dorothea Hover-Kramer, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the League of Women Voters, Oregon State Fire Fighters Council, Oregon Farm Bureau, and Oregon Association of Realtors.
"No" votes against the property rights measure were supported in the Voters Pamphlet by 48 submitters. They included the Josephine County Farm Bureau, Jackson County Farm Bureau, Oregonians in Action, several attorneys, and Stop Taking Our Property PAC.
M50 proposed raising the state tax on a pack of cigarettes by 84.5-cents a pack to $2.02 per pack. It would have been one of the highest rates in the country, behind only Rhode Island and New Jersey.
Supporters of the cigarette tax increase for children's health apparently could not convince voters that it was improper to revise the state Constitution. The tobacco industry paid for a record-breaking $12 million television advertising campaign.
The result showed Tuesday, as voters snuffed M50 by a 60 percent to 40 percent margin. Some have pointed out that it is not unprecedented to place a proposal such as a cigarette tax in the state Constitution. Oregonians have amended the it 240 times during the past 100 years.
(Editor's Note: Information for the preceding article came from several sources including the Josephine County Clerk's Office).
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