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Oregon voters are approving a measure aimed at making it possible to impeach statewide officials, but they’re rejecting another to set salaries for elected officials.
Oregon is the only state that doesn’t have a way to impeach statewide elected officials. Measure 115 would change that.
In early returns, voters were approving the measure to amend the constitution to allow the state Legislature to impeach the state’s top elected officials; the governor, secretary of state, treasurer, attorney general and labor commissioner.
Voters can currently recall public officials, but those efforts largely fail due to how time- and labor-intensive they are. There have been high-profile cases in modern history where state elected officials have resigned on their own, including former Secretary of State Shemia Fagan and Gov. John Kitzhaber.
Under 115, the House could vote to impeach the elected official. The Senate would hold a trial to consider convicting and removing them from office. It would take a two-thirds vote to impeach the elected official.
Measure 116 narrowly failing in early returns
Measure 116 would amend the constitution and create a new commission to set salaries for elected officials. For years, the setting of salaries for statewide officials in Oregon has been a tricky political problem. The measure was failing 52-48 in returns early Tuesday evening.
The idea behind Measure 116 is straightforward: create an independent commission charged with setting salaries for the governor, secretary of state, lawmakers, judges and other state elected officials.
The idea is to take politicians out of deciding their own salaries.
Salaries for statewide elected officials also remain low compared to other states. The governor makes $98,600; the state treasurer makes $77,000; and the attorney general makes $82,200.
If the pay remains too low, the thinking is it discourages less wealthy people from running for office. Without a higher wage, proponents argue, the state would continue to be predominantly represented by people likely to be older, whiter, retired and without children living at home.
The pay scale for statewide offices also became front-and-center when Fagan resigned as secretary of state after Willamette Week revealed she had accepted a lucrative side gig consulting for a cannabis company. At the time, Fagan noted she was a single mom and also teaching at Willamette University Law School to bolster her salary.
By law, the Oregon secretary of state earns $77,000 a year, plus a $250 stipend. That hasn’t increased since 2014. The current deputy secretary of state makes $267,552.
Most people agreed the current system is problematic, but not everyone agreed Measure 116 was the right route to fix it.
Opponents raised concerns about who would actually sit on the commission. They noted it’s up to the Legislature to decide membership, which could result in what isn’t actually a very independent commission.
This story may be updated.