Sam,

Oil companies? Get real please.

I don't understand, and never will understand why you are afraid to let Portland citizens vote on this almost one half billion dollar tax (that you want to call a fee to protect Portland city property taxes).

If your propsosal is sound, then let the people vote and be done with it. Maybe the people won't wake up in time to see the funds that should have been spent on infrastructure maintainence were spent on shiney new trains and trams and trollys under your policy to kill the automobile. You can hope can't you?

And we won't mention the tax give-aways the city has lavished on the developers now will we? We don't want the taxpayers to wake up to that fact.

Good luck on your one half billion dollar tax measure and next time you bike past a mom and pop filling station, remember, that is the oil company out to stop your new tax.