At City Club, our mission is to inform our members and the community in public matters and to arouse in them a realization of the obligations of citizenship. One of our key means to achieve our mission is nonpartisan voter education.

In the run up to elections, we invite candidates and ballot measure campaigns to participate in interviews, forums, and debates; research and deliberate on proposed ballot measures, and develop recommendations for voters; and share trusted information from the Elections Division of the Oregon Secretary of State.

Our education programs help voters better understand controversial and partisan issues, differentiate between candidates who may otherwise appear the same, and combat the influx of misinformation in elections.

There are only a handful of organizations doing this work in our community, and the need for it is only becoming stronger as voters spend more time on platforms that allow political advertising, and become more fatigued, disenchanted, and confused by politics.

City Club cuts through the noise by talking about democracy, not politics. 

Over the past few years, like many organizations, we’ve faced challenges, leading to cuts in some of our programs, but we fought hard to keep our bread and butter on the menu.

This season was no exception, and we took steps towards returning to full capacity. We covered candidate races at multiple levels of government—county, state, and federal—and even held our first in-person candidate event in four years.

We understand that candidates have demanding schedules, and we are grateful that they prioritize City Club events. We extend our sincere thanks to all the candidates and moderators who made our primary election debate series possible.

Candidate Conversations

Our primary election programs included virtual debates for the Multnomah County District Attorney and Democratic primaries in Oregon Congressional Districts 3 and 5. We also hosted a fully hybrid Oregon State Treasurer Debate, recorded live in person at the University Place Conference Center.

While we covered several important races, there are other candidate races that we did not cover due to limited resources. However, our friends at City Club of Central Oregon, League of Women Voters of Portland, and Urban League of Portland have created valuable content that supplements ours. We encourage you to explore their resources to get a comprehensive understanding of all the races in this election.

Ballot Measure Guide

As a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan nonprofit organization, City Club of Portland does not endorse candidates. However, we engage in advocacy for ballot measures that align or contrast with our past research recommendations, subject to approval by the Board of Governors.

On the May 2024 ballot, only one measure has been approved for advocacy:

• City of Portland Measure 26-245: Portland residents will vote on a ballot measure on May 21st, which asks the following question: “Shall Portland renew a four-year, 10 cents per gallon fuel tax for maintenance (paving, potholes) and safety (crossings, lighting, sidewalks)”? The City Club Board of Governors has approved a resolution from the Research Board to support this ballot measure.
  
  Our resolution is based on City Club’s 2015 Comprehensive Study Report, Portland’s Streets – End the Funding Gridlock, which established the need for a local gas tax as an additional source for funding road maintenance and safety. This renewal marks the second iteration of Portland’s gas tax, initially passed in 2016.
  
  For further insights into why voters should support this measure visit fixourstreetspdx.com.

To see a complete list of all ballot measures that Multnomah County voters are being asked to weigh in on, along with arguments for and against each measure, visit the League of Women Voters of Portland Voters’ Guide page here.

FAQs About Voting in Oregon

Don’t see your question? For more answers to FAQs about voting in Oregon, visit oregonvotes.org.

By providing these resources and information, we aim to empower Oregonians to make informed choices at the ballot box. If you find our work valuable, please consider supporting us by becoming a dues-paying member and/or donor.