![Empty pay toll check point - Toll booths at highway -cm](https://irvinefororegon.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Empty-pay-toll-check-point-Toll-booths-at-highway-cm.jpg)
Permanently Stop Tolling
Tolling is a non-starter for Clackamas County residents. What’s billed as a routine civic project is a regressive tax scheme that would extort the poor to subsidize the rich. Hard-working individuals and families would be forced to pay just to live their daily lives; meanwhile, wealthy owners of electrical vehicles would move about freely avoiding both the gas tax and tolls.
The Challenge
The I-5 and I-205 roads are the main arteries of the Clackamas economy which residents rely on for their livelihood and local business owners depend on for running their companies. The financial fallout would be deeply felt at the household and community level. That’s to say nothing of the devastation our county would experience from nonstop spillover traffic.
The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), the primary force behind the tolling proposal, has become an arm of METRO for affecting policy change outside the democratic process. These unelected officials are making decisions that impact virtually every Clackamas County resident without their say sparking widespread disapproval.
To make matters worse, ODOT is purposefully vague and void of guarantees which gives proponents a convenient out when their inevitably empty promises aren’t fulfilled. Plus, the open-ended phrasing gives ODOT virtually unlimited ability to prolong and expand the tolling system.
Tina’s Plan to Permanently Stop Tolling
Sign and Push IP-31
Encourage people across Clackamas and surrounding counties to sign IP-31. This constitutional amendment would require all highway fees and tolls to undergo a voting process, putting the power back in the hands of the people. It gives voters within 15 miles of the planned tolling systems a say in the matter. This amendment would retroactively apply to I-5 and I-205.
Exhaust All Legal Pathways
Exhaust every single possible legal option for putting a permanent end to this tolling regime. Clackamas County led the charge to force the Governor to temporarily pause the implementation of tolling. However, that only provides ODOT and tolling advocates time to polish up their marketing tactics. Tina’s committed to doing EVERYTHING within her power to give residents what they want.
Stop Government Overreach
Roll back overbearing government policies that restrict natural development. Clackamas County residents are already saddled with excessive taxes, and local businesses face gauntlets of administrative hurdles. This centrally planned tolling system is yet another example of government overreach. Tina’s focused on removing anything that limits Clackamas County’s full economic growth potential.
Why Tina?
As a working mom, businesswoman, and long-time resident of Clackamas County, Tina Irvine understands how this regressive tolling system would weigh heavily on families and companies. With years of active community advocacy, she has on-the-ground experience making real and lasting changes for the better. Tina’s combination of a deep-seated, first-hand understanding of the struggles of county residents and her proven leadership put her in an ideal position to put an end to this tolling proposal once and for all.