Measure 55, another legislative referral, fixes that pesky problem I’m sure all of us have had - when you’re elected to the Oregon Legislature from a district and redistricting causes you to live in the same district as another legislator from the same chamber. The State then reassigns you to another (presumably empty) district somewhere else in the State, where you do not live. You have now gone from representing tweedies and Reedies to cowboys and farmers. Your ACLU membership becomes a political liability and your constituents start asking awkward questions about why you aren’t an NRA member.

Again, like Measure 54, this is more of a technical fix. The above situation happens because redistricting is accomplished in Oregon the year after the census. So, if you are a representative elected in 2010, you may be involuntarily reassigned in 2011, before your term is up. Under Measure 55, the effective date of the redistricting would be after the next general election. There is no financial impact for Measure 55, which is a constitutional amendment.

This measure once again shows us just how brave our elected representatives are in standing up to pick the low-hanging fruit! In all fairness, while not a matter of great import to most of us, it does need fixing, and this is a non-controversial way to fix it.

As always, the views expressed here are my personal opinions and do not necessarily represent those of my employer.