The Ulysses PAC

We were recently able to meet with a member of Commissioner Mingus Mapps’ Ulysses PAC, which he created to study and focus on best policies for charter reform in the city of Portland. Here are some notes from our introduction to them.

1. Mapps was not on City Council in 2019 when the current charter commission members were voted on - his predecessor Chloe Eudaly helped make those choices

   1. This is why Mapps was not able to bring his proposal forward sooner - he was not on council

2. Portlanders are being given a false choice of status quo or a single package of reforms that includes line items voters might not agree with

3. The package of reforms being proposed in November includes:

   1. Larger city council

   2. City manager system

   3. Single Transferable Vote (STV) form of Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) plus multi-member districts

      1. This combined model is not used anywhere else in the US

4. DHM Research Poll - Portland Business Alliance

   1. They also did a poll for the Ulysses PAC and:

      1. Diverse voters were selected to be polled

      2. Many were unaware of charter proposal elements

      3. Homelessness, crime, drugs and mental health were top priorities of Portlanders

         1. Form of government was not viewed as the city’s biggest problem

      4. Accountability and accessibility were other demands

      5. Struggled to understand STV RCV

         1. Too complicated

      6. Wanted something simpler and tested

5. Ulysses PAC plan will include more districts with a more traditional voting method that has been tested and vetted

6. Most people would vote no in November if they knew there was a better alternative available

   1. Oregonian article - DHM Research poll results

      1. 63% of voters in favor of November proposal

      2. 60% of voters would also vote for an alternative like Mapps’

7. Concerns about November proposal:

   1. Confused about power and accountability with 3 reps per very large district

   2. People are so upset about the state of the city right now they will vote for anything

      1. Until they dig into the details!

   3. Implications that will impact grandchildren in 20 years

   4. Charter commissioners plan on running for office - conflict of interest

      1. Hundreds of people applied to be on commission and those selected don’t represent all of Portland

      2. We need to look at ‘what does true representation really look like to us?’

      3. More representatives but voices are heard differently

   5. Non-electeds making these decisions

      1. All charter commission members do not have experience in government and urban planning

         1. Those that do voted ‘no’ on pushing this proposal to the voters in November

   6. No one has authority to make sure the city works under this model

      1. How will city manager help?

      2. This proposal is weaker than current form of government

         1. Demote and remove mayor from decision making instead of holding accountable

   7. No term limits

      1. We currently don’t have term limits and this proposal isn’t changing that

   8. Incumbency becomes easier in a 3-person race with such a low bar of 25%+1 to win

      1. Portland Tribune Op-Ed on incumbency issue

8. Ballots are not yet in hand! Ulysses PAC announcement on 10/3 of plan

   1. Don’t trust the polls

   2. Dig into the details and answer questions - Ulysses PAC will have handouts you can give to your community if they have questions

   3. We can’t just ‘untangle’ this later by voting yes now

      1. That would be telling voters they did a bad job

      2. Let’s all move forward together!

   4. 2 out of 3 people would vote yes in May 2023

9. City Club Debate - Friday, October 14

   1. Register ahead of time to submit a question

   2. (Yes, it’s back on!)

10. Questions? Email: hello@ulyssespac.com