Ballot Measures: The table above is pretty much right on -- except that it's a firm, big NO & NO on 82 and 83, and it's a regretful NO on 80, a very poorly drafted measure that would do more to discredit a saner approach to marijuana than anything else. Measures 79 and 84 are particularly horrible, and deserve to be defeated something like 80% to 20% if not worse.
Just how bad is Measure 84? That's kind of a hard question to answer, since it contains a sneaker provision that nobody's even talking about -- essentially the repeal of ALL capital gains taxes in Oregon, since the measure includes a provision that there are NO TAXES at all for inter-family property transfers. So someone who inherits 100 shares of MicroSoft or Apple that were purchased back in the 80s, what they will do is "sell" them to a family member before selling them out into the market, and presto! Not only has any estate taxes been eliminated, but also all the capital gains taxes. In fact, Measure 84 is So bad that Kevin Mannix and the cronies tried to resort to lying about AARP's position on it.
REMEMBER: Oregon already has a $15 million property tax exemption for family farms. There are ZERO family farmers who have any problem paying the estate tax. The whole family farm thing during discussions of the estate tax is just a bunch of rich folks trying to hide behind a popular myth.
Contested judicial races: Judge Richard Baldwin (Supreme Court) and Judge Jim Egan (Court of Appeals) are both clearly the right picks by a long shot.
Both Baldwin and Egan are sitting trial judges, and both deserve to go upwards.
In each race, they are the only candidates in their races with meaningful judicial experience.
It appears that Baldwin is a D, while Egan is an R; however, in these nonpartisan races, what counts is that both are committed doing the job with integrity, and both have splendid recommendations from not just clients but also from people they've ruled against.
Both are opposed by the usual cadre of corporate interests who want to be able to sue you at the drop of a hat, but never face justice themselves.
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