© 2024 KLCC

KLCC
136 W 8th Ave
Eugene OR 97401
541-463-6000
klcc@klcc.org

Contact Us

FCC Applications
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

County Commissioners Pressed To Make Charter Amendments Into Ordinances

Brian Bull
/
KLCC

A group wants Lane County commissioners to use their authority to put two issues before voters next year.

Community Rights Lane County is backing one measure that would ban aerial herbicide spraying.  Another would ensure self-governance by local communities.

Group spokesperson Rob Dickinson says originally they gathered 30,000 signatures for each measure to be on the 2018 ballot.

Credit Brian Bull / KLCC
/
KLCC
Rob Dickinson, a spokesperson with Community Rights Lane County, outside the county government building.

“And because of a lawsuit by timber interests, we were denied that ballot access," Dickinson tells KLCC. "Those initiatives are in the Oregon Court of Appeals now, and we are hoping to have a favorable decision on those. 

"But that process is exceedingly slow, and we would not likely actually hear an outcome before the 2020 elections.”

Dickinson says commissioners have a duty to respect the democratic process, and to protect the health and safety of county residents.  

A spokesperson says no formal response will come from the Lane County Board of Commissioners, as the matter is still pending in the court.

Copyright 2019, KLCC.

Brian Bull is an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Oregon, and remains a contributor to the KLCC news department. He began working with KLCC in June 2016.   In his 27+ years as a public media journalist, he's worked at NPR, Twin Cities Public Television, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, Wisconsin Public Radio, and ideastream in Cleveland. His reporting has netted dozens of accolades, including four national Edward R. Murrow Awards (22 regional),  the Ohio Associated Press' Best Reporter Award, Best Radio Reporter from  the Native American Journalists Association, and the PRNDI/NEFE Award for Excellence in Consumer Finance Reporting.
Related Content