A group of community leaders, including businesspeople, the Mayor of Coos Bay, an education advocate and a local Labor leader from across Coos County announced the formation of the Save Coos Jobs committee, a grassroots coalition that has come together to oppose Measure 6-162, an ill-conceived and economically reckless measure that will appear on the May 16 special election ballot. While promising to assert Coos County’s power to self-govern Measure 6-162 would only kill the prospect of thousands of new jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue for Coos County, not to mention threaten the closure of our local resource industries. Local leaders are urging a NO vote on Measure 6-162. “This ballot question is a thinly veiled attempt to block productive business development in Coos County,” said Save Coos Jobs committee chair Barry Winters. “While this community struggles to recover from the effects of the Great Recession and the decades-long decline of our local timber and fishing industries, this measure would deal a crippling blow to the first real economic hope we’ve seen in years. That’s why we’ve joined together to urge Coos County voters to vote NO on 6-162.” Understanding the threat the measure poses to the future of the Coos Community, the committee members are resolved to fight it, and are asking their fellow county residents to join the cause. “A NO vote on Measure 6-162 means protecting local jobs and preserving opportunities for economic prosperity in Coos County,” said committee member and Coos Bay Mayor Joe Benetti. “One of the targets of Measure 6-162 is the Jordan Cove LNG export project, which will bring a huge economic lift to this county. We’ve asked the company to support our efforts to oppose this threat to employment here in Coos County, and they’ve agreed to help. This committee looks forward to communicating with thousands of voters over the next two and a half months.” The legal changes Measure 6-162 would cause are far-reaching and poorly understood, likely leading to unintended negative consequences, such as opening the door to bans or limits on farming and hunting practices deemed to violate the new legal rights the measure establishes for natural environments. Taxpayers are also placed in the line of 6-162’s fire. “It’s plain to see that this misguided attempt to change our laws is deeply flawed and unconstitutional. Because of that, the measure will be easily struck down by the courts, but not before taxpayers are forced to pay the costs to defend it. We have schools and infrastructure that desperately need those scarce resources,” commented Coos County Commissioner Melissa Cribbins. For more information on the campaign to defeat Measure 6-162 and Save Coos Jobs, please visit www.SaveCoosJobs.com.
