OPINION: Some laws need clarification

Even widely supported measures can need clarification or correction after passage — just as Measure 110 was recently revised. The majority of voters supported drug decriminalization in 2020, but now polls prove that the majority of voters agree with the Legislature’s recent revision of the original flawed measure.

On the very same 2020 ballot that included Measure 110 was Wilsonville’s measure to enact term limits for council members. It included an oversight that most reasonable voters would view as a flaw with unintended consequences.

A councilperson filling in for even a one-day remaining term presently equates to serving a full four-year term. Surely, this is not what voters intended or considered. In all likelihood, qualified nominees would decline a nomination to complete the short remainder of a term when they know it would count as a full four-year term of their own. This could result in a lack of quorum and a needless disruption of governance.

Measure 3-608 on your May ballot simply refines the charter term limits to clarify the definition of a council term. It does NOT change the intent of the initiative — term limits remain in place.

But, as we all witnessed with Measure 110, good intention doesn’t always lead to good outcomes. Fortunately, Wilsonville voters have an easy way to support better term limits by voting Yes on Measure 3-608.

Bill Bagnall

Wilsonville