Thank goodness! Amy Ruiz over at Blogtown, PDX is reporting that those individuals behind working to refer the recent gay rights legislation to the voters have failed to gather enough signatures to send the first of the measures (domestic partnerships) to the ballot. And it was a squeaker! They fell short by 116 valid signatures short. They were required to get 55,179. You can do the math.

Now, the system to refer legislation back to the voters is a mixed bag. While it's appropriate that voters have oversight, there was no need to send these initiatives to the ballot. While I'm confident that Oregon voters would keep the gay rights legislation if forced to vote, this is nothing more than gasps by those still groping for people to hate. While I respect the right to free speech and to one's own beliefs, I do not recognize the right to discriminate or to actively demonize a wide swath of our population. Furthermore, doing it under the guise of religion does not make it okay. So, I hope that when the other petition piece (non-discrimination) is put to bed one way or another, we can bury this nasty business and continue to move forward as a society, all-accepting and without prejudice or hate. That would require a big step, however, but I'm confident that it can be done with time.

Moving to the city front, we have a few recent developments in the upcoming City Council race. Jeff Bissonette, the organizing director of the Citizen's Utility Board, is making a run. He'll be seeking the seat that Commissioner Sam Adams is vacating in a run for Portland Mayor. I don't know much about this hopeful, but his announcement press release lays out the skeleton of his platform, which focuses on employment, environment, education, and accountability. The first three seem straightforward and fine. The last gives me something to chew on:

Better Accountability

Portlanders expect a lot from their city. It is essential that they understand how and why decisions are made and they must trust that public resources are being used to achieve the greatest good. I will make sure that Portland works for Portlanders by having field offices throughout the city and appointing a staff member as a citizen representative in each of the bureaus I will oversee to ensure that Portlanders get the good service they expect from their city.

This is familiar. Without dropping the hammer on specific problems, Bissonette lobs the "city can work better" grenade out from the gate. That's fine. I wonder about the field offices, however. I don't know everything about resources management, but it seems to me that he'd need a massive staff to occupy these offices and not have a skeleton crew back at City Hall. Perhaps he intends to have one or two people (policy directors, etc.) based in each office, and then he will rotate about. In my old city, Los Angeles, field offices were a necessity when districts were humongous and for specific regions. In Portland, however, the at-large nature of the Council and the size of the city makes me wonder if this would be the best use of the city's resources. Although, I certainly invite him to explore, as I always have a soft space in my heart for the field office (especially if it can get local communities more involved, but that's another question altogether).

And lastly, here's my PSA. Yesterday, while riding my bike on the way to a meeting, my gears jammed and I went over my handlebars. I hit the ground hard and rolled a little ways before picking myself up off of the street and taking a few moments. I have many bumps and bruises, including a tense neck and some bruised ribs.

Luckily, I was wearing my helmet.

If I had not been wearing a helmet, I would have cracked my head on the pavement and would probably still be in the hospital. Or, at the least, I would have incurred a very serious concussion.

I'm healthy right now because I was wearing a helmet. If you bike, please wear one. If you know people who don't, please encourage them to. Preventable injuries are the worst kind, and I wouldn't wish them on anyone.