Editorial: M88 fixes system, M90 opens doors

After a lengthy debate on the pros and cons of Measure 88, the Chronicle editorial board voted 4-3 in favor of providing illegal residents with a four-year driver card.

The measure is an extension of Senate Bill 833, which was signed into law last year by Gov. John Kitzhaber.

A sticking point in our conversation was that M88 proponents contend that the card can’t be used as identification for air travel, which was refuted by the Transportation Security Administration in a recent Oregonian report.

However, this measure has the strong support of Oregon agriculture, which relies on immigrants as workers. We took that consideration very seriously because ranching and farming are the economic engines of Wasco County.

At the end of the day, we felt the responsibility of addressing issues involving immigration belongs to the federal government, which has failed miserably to deal with this situation in order to avoid political fallout.

In the view of our board’s majority, Measure 88 is an attempt to help people who came here illegally but are otherwise complying with all Oregon requirements to qualify for a driver card.

It is our hope that M88 will reduce the number of uninsured drivers on the road and put tested motorists behind the wheel.

Measure 90

The board’s vote on Measure 90, which creates an open primary system, was 5-1 in favor with one abstention. This measure allows voters to pick the top two candidates, regardless of party, that will move on to the general election.

We favored M90 because it would allow voters registered Independent, and not affiliated with either the Republican or Democrat party, to weigh in on candidates in the primary.

Currently, the ballots of Independents only list local races and they are not allowed to weigh in on state and federal political contests, even though the candidate, if elected, will set policy that affects their rights and, often, economic situation.

There is a growing disenchantment among Amercans with partisan bickering and the gridlock in Washington, D.C. More interest is being generated among voters in finding an alternative to the status quo.

About 30 percent of Americans now describe themselves as unaffiliated voters. We believe M90 threatens Republicans and Democrats because it opens the door for change.

The founders had a great fear of a two-party system. John Adams wrote, “There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the Republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader, and concerting measures in opposition to each other. This, in my humble apprehension, is to be dreaded as the greatest polical evil under our Constitution.”

Perhaps the fact that we didn’t heed this warning is at the root of national discord.

M90 gives us the opportunity to go back to the way the founders envisioned that things should be.