Election Results and Oregon

I have mixed feelings about living in one of the most liberal states in the union.  A ballot measure legalizing marijuana passed, and this is pretty depressing.  And I still haven’t gotten over Senator Gordon Smith being ousted six years ago during the Obama nationwide sweep, and useless ultra liberal Jeff Merkley taking his place.  Sen. Smith was a widely respected consensus builder, and doing good things for Oregon.  At least back then we had balance, with Sen. Wyden representing the urban, liberal interests, and Sen. Smith the rural, moderate interests.  Now 95% of the state (by land area) has been disenfranchised by populous Multnomah and Lane counties, which vote overwhelmingly Democrat. It is telling that the liberal leaning Oregonian (Portland’s newspaper) couldn’t even endorse incumbent Senator Merkley in this election.  Too bad the Republican wasn’t worthy of endorsement, either.

On the other hand, I love the good schools, the community resources (especially special needs resources for our son Daniel), the libraries, the mostly good roads, the great focus on bike lanes and bike commuting, public transportation, land use planning, and many other things about community and government infrastructure.  I willingly vote for bonds and tax increases that benefit schools, roads, libraries, and such.  State and local taxes are quite high (property and income, though I love no sales tax and low vehicle registration fees) but mostly I see the benefits.  There are a lot of reasons this is a great place to live.