Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Bill Sizemore initiative with the best prospects for passing has failed.  As Rob Manning reports, Measure 64 held up a little better against union opposition.

The more Multnomah County tallies votes, the worse Bill Sizemore’s initiatives have done.

Measure 64 was narrowly ahead on election night. That initiative would have  prohibited public employees from using state resources to collect money for political purposes.

The Oregon Education Association spent millions to defeat all five Sizemore measures, and ran a series of television ads targeting Measure 64.

Union vice president, Gail Rasmussen says this proposal wasn’t as clear to voters as the others.  Rasmussen: “I think because it was confusing, there were those who were confused at the very end, but the fact the Oregonians understood it, it didn’t pass.”Bill Sizemore denied an interview request, but said in an e-mail that he expects to sue the teachers’ union for resorting to libel and slander during the campaign.

The two sides are already facing off in court, over a civil judgment against Sizemore.