Government Camp voters reject village proposal

By Garth Guibord

The Sandy Post, Nov 22, 2006, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Garth Guibord / Sandy Post

Lesli Beckins casts her ballot at the Government Camp Town Hall meeting Friday night, Nov. 17, at the Government Camp Museum and Cultural Center.

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Voters of Government Camp chose not to form a village during a meeting Friday, Nov. 17, despite a high turnout from local residents. The final results were 41 votes in favor of the village and 58 votes against.

Opponents of the village said the county’s quasi-governmental framework for unincorporated areas failed in Government Camp because it would not have delivered the local control residents want.

“The community came together after a long struggle to push for local control,” said Wendy Evans. “I think that’s what it all comes down to.”

Under the county’s Complete Communities program, the Board of County Commissioners have final say on village matters.

In addition to the 99 votes in the final tabulation, another 11 advisory votes were cast by non-resident property owners who shared ownership with another party. Non-resident property owners received one vote per property, leaving many non-residents without a vote. Nine of the advisory votes favored the formation of the village, and two opposed it.

The chief petitioner of the village, Maryellen Englesby, expressed her disappointment, especially considering the number of people who showed up to vote.

“For the number of people who were here, I was surprised,” Englesby said. “I thought having more citizens here, we would have more yes votes. But the antis did a lot of work.”

The 110 total votes cast represents approximately 8 percent of the eligible voter population of Government Camp, which is 1,357 (including both permanent and nonpermanent residents), according to Clackamas County. When Boring declined to form a village earlier this year, approximately 10 percent of the voters participated, while the Villages at Mt. Hood had only a 2-percent turnout of eligible voters in May.

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