Starr slams Gov. Tina Kotek, Democrats over moving Oregon gas tax vote
Senate Minority Leader Bruce Starr, R-Dundee, slammed Gov. Tina Kotek and Democrats over moving a vote on the Oregon gas tax from November to May.
A second lawsuit has been filed over Democrats’ push to move the date of a gas tax referendum vote from November to May, this time by a citizen with the support of several lawmakers.
The suit, filed March 5 in U.S. District Court, comes two days after a lawsuit filed in Marion County Circuit Court by the leaders of the referendum effort and petition circulators from each of Oregon’s counties. Both lawsuits are against Secretary of State Tobias Read.
The new lawsuit centers on the voters’ pamphlet, a document that provides information on what will be on the ballot.
Lawmakers on March 2 passed Senate Bill 1599, which moves the referendum vote to May. Gov. Tina Kotek signed it the same night. That was five days after a deadline from the Secretary of State’s Office.
After that date, Read said, Oregonians would have limited time to submit statements for or against the referendum. Submissions require the collection of 500 signatures or a $1,200 fee and must be filed by March 12 to be included in the voters’ pamphlet.
The new lawsuit alleges the March 12 deadline is unconstitutional and violates the first and fourteenth amendment rights of Mary Martin, who is low-income and has disabilities, and any other Oregonians in a similar position.
Martin, the complaint said, wants to submit a statement on the referendum, but does not have the money or physical ability to gather 500 signatures on the shortened timeline.
“I helped gather hundreds of signatures so voters could decide this issue themselves,” Martin said in a statement. “Now the state is telling me that unless I can pay $1,200 or collect hundreds more signatures in just a few days—something my disability makes impossible—I’m not allowed to share my argument with voters.”
Martin’s lawsuit asks the court to issue a temporary restraining order blocking Read from requiring the fee or signatures for an argument to be submitted.
Gubernatorial candidates Sen. Christine Drazan, R-Canby, and referendum leader Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Scio, submitted declarations in support of Martin’s request, as did Sen. David Brock Smith, R-Port Orford, Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis, R-Albany, and Rep. Matt Bunch, R-Canby.
“Once 250,000 Oregonians signed the petition referring Tina Kotek’s costly taxes to the November ballot, they took control of this measure and deserve their day in court,” Drazan said in a statement.
Anastasia Mason covers state government for the Statesman Journal. Reach her at acmason@statesmanjournal.com or 971-208-5615.