By KYLE ODEGAR
Published April 2nd 2007 in Corvallis Gazette-Times
The council isn�t ready yet to switch to instant runoff voting, even for Planning Commission and Historic Resources Commission appointments. That issue will be forwarded to the city�s Administrative Services Committee for further review.
�I�m not sure I�m in favor of having instant runoff voting in Corvallis. (But) I�m all in favor of local control, and this would give it to us,� said Councilor Hal Brauner during the council�s Monday meeting.
�For the mayor and council positions, it would take a vote of our citizens, it would take a change in our charter,� said City Manager Jon Nelson.
Councilor Mike Beilstein openly advocated for instant runoff voting. Under the system, various candidates are ranked by voters.
The Green Party has tried to get such a voting method adopted nationwide for the last few years, and the idea got much press during the last presidential election, when Ralph Nader seemed a possible spoiler for Democratic candidate John Kerry.
Beilstein said that if two candidates had similar views, the instant runoff system would eliminate splitting the vote between them and giving the election to a third candidate.
Under instant runoff voting, if one candidate receives a majority of the first-place votes, he or she is elected outright. If there is no majority among first-place votes, then the last-place candidate is removed from the election. The ballots cast for that candidate are recounted, with those voters� second-place choices added to the totals of the first-choice votes from the initial count. If there is still no majority, then the next-to-last-place candidate is removed, and the process continues.
Switching to such a system would mean more time for staff in tabulating council votes on appointments to city commissions, according to a city memo.
In other news, the city approved $379,580 as the social services funding for next year�s budget.
The United Way of Benton and Lincoln counties currently administers those funds for a 5 percent retainer.
Some councilors, however, questioned whether that organization should continue to do so. The nonprofit has promised more money in grants to local agencies than it can deliver.
The council also unanimously approved an Airport Industrial Park lease for Trillium Fiber Fuel, a new business that will use grass seed straw to create ethanol.
Councilor Patricia Daniels said the business, formed by an Oregon State University professor and former Hewlett-Packard workers, fits into the city�s goal of sustainability.
The company plans to put up two metal sheds, where it will initially produce 100,000 gallons of alternative fuel each year by tapping into the area�s agricultural base. In Linn County, for example, 150,000 tons of grass straw waste is produced each year, according to a memo by Corvallis Public Works Director Steve Rogers.
Trillium Fiber Fuels will pay about $3,600 per year for the acre of airport property on the three-year lease. It could be extended for up to two 10 year periods.
Kyle Odegard covers the city of Corvallis and Benton County government. He can be contacted at [email protected] or 758-9523.
Election Day '09 was a roller-coaster for election reformers. Instant runoff voting had a great night in Minnesota, where St. Paul voters chose to implement IRV for its city elections, and Minneapolis voters used IRV for the first time—with local media touting it as a big success. As the Star-Tribune noted in endorsing IRV for St. Paul, Tuesday’s elections give the Twin Cities a chance to show the whole state of Minnesota the benefits of adopting IRV. There were disappointments in Lowell and Pierce County too, but high-profile multi-candidate races in New Jersey and New York keep policymakers focused on ways to reform elections; the Baltimore Sun and Miami Herald were among many newspapers publishing commentary from FairVote board member and former presidential candidate John Anderson on how IRV can mitigate the problems of plurality elections.