This content was published: June 7, 2000. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
PCC Needs Your Help
Photos and Story by James Hill
Voter turnout in the Portland Community College district has inched up to 49.5 percent. It is just one-half of a percent shy of the needed double majority to pass its $144 million bond measure to repair aging buildings, provide more classroom space and upgrade technology for the students of Oregon’s largest college. The college obtained a 57.2 percent voter approval, but has fallen short of the double majority needed for passage.
PCC officials are asking for the community’s help. "It is now extremely important that voter rolls are as clean as they can possibly be to have a correct counting of the eligible voters," said Jan Coulton, PCC director of Public Affairs. "If people know anyone in any county within the PCC district who did not vote because they moved out of the county or died, we are requesting they send verification, in writing, to that county elections office."
The county elections offices in PCC’s district are:
Ginny Kingsley
Washington County Elections Division
150 N 1st Ave, MS3
Hillsboro, OR 97124
(503) 846-8670
Elizabeth (Betty) Huser
Columbia County Clerk
Columbia County Courthouse
St. Helens, OR 97051-2089
(503) 397-7214, Ext. 8444
Vicki Ervin
Multnomah County
Director of Elections
1040 SE Morrison
Portland, OR 97214-2495
Charles Stern
Yamhill County Clerk
Courthouse, 535 E 5th St
McMinnville, OR 97128-4593
(503) 434-7518
John Kauffman
Clackamas County Clerk
Elections Division
825 Portland Ave
Gladstone, OR 97207-2195
(503) 655-8510
(503) 988-3720
Michael Dembrow, PCC Faculty Federation president, is also concerned with the possibility of inaccurate voter records. "Someone told me yesterday that she had thrown away her brother’s ballot because he had died recently; I urged her to contact Multnomah County, which she did, and his name will be removed. That is one ballot closer to 50 percent (the voter turnout required for passage)." In addition, Dembrow said several people have sent him e-mails, stating that although their child is away at college or moved, their names were not removed from the voter rolls.
"It is not too late to achieve the double majority," said Jan Coulton, PCC’s director of Public Affairs and the Foundation. "If people can contact elections offices, we may have a chance to attain the 50 percent turnout we need to pass the measure."
About James Hill
James G. Hill, an award-winning journalist and public relations writer, is the Director of Public Relations at Portland Community College. A graduate of Portland State University, James has worked as a section editor for the Newberg Graphic... more »