Wilsonville voters rejected all three measures on the May 21 ballot, with two related to term limits and one on the creation of a new urban renewal district in Town Center.
Based on the latest returns, Measure 3-605 narrowly lost the election with essentially a 50-50 vote — 3,011 in favor and 3,060 opposed. The measure was an advisory vote — meaning it is taken into account by the Wilsonville City Council but technically not binding — on whether Wilsonville should use an urban renewal district to help fund projects for the Town Center Plan. The plan seeks to create more housing, shopping pedestrian walkways and green spaces in Town Center, and includes projects like the I-5 Pedestrian Bridge and construction of new roads.
Measure 3-608, which clarifies the amount of time that counts as a year of service for city councilors, lost with 53% opposed. Measure 3-609 would have had a more substantial change to the term limits that were approved in 2020; it lost with 57% opposed.
Currently, members of City Council are limited to 12 years of service in a 20-year period. This applies to all positions, including councilor, council president and mayor. Because terms last four years, a two-term city councilor would only be able to serve one term as mayor.
One year of service is calculated as 365.25 days under current language, but the explanatory statement specifies that any amount of time served by a person appointed to finish a term of office counts towards years of service. As an example, if a person was appointed to fill a vacancy for the last three months of a term, that time would count as a year of service.
Measure 3-608 would have allowed time served by a person appointed to fill a vacancy of less than one year to be excluded from “years of service” calculations. If the person served more than one year, the time would count towards calculations.
Measure 3-609 would have made one exception to the 12 year limit, allowing for a two-term city councilor to seek two terms as mayor and serve up to 16 years in a 20-year period. This would have been the only situation allowing for more than 12 years of service.
Because both measures failed, Wilsonville Mayor Julie Fitzgerald is ineligible to run for a second term as mayor. After winning a City Council position in the 2012 election, she was appointed to fill a vacancy for the remaining 43 days of the term — before the technical start of her term in 2013.
Fitzgerald served on the City Council from 2013 to 2016, and will be finishing her term as mayor this December. Under the current rules, City Attorney Amanda Guile-Hinman said those 43 days count as one year of service, meaning at the end of her term as mayor Fitzgerald will have served 9 years in office and a second term as mayor would count as 13 years of service — one year past the allotted 12 years.
Fitzgerald said in a written statement that she is grateful for the opportunity and serving as mayor has been an honor. She said she respects the election results and acknowledged that she is ineligible to run for a second term as mayor.
“As mayor for the past 3.5 years, I have so enjoyed working with great people in Wilsonville and will continue to do so for the remaining seven months of my term,” Fitzgerald said, adding that as mayor she “had the privilege of working alongside smart, dedicated Wilsonville City Councilors.” She also noted the support she received from a “top-notch city manager,” “excellent city attorneys” and other elected officials during her term.
Fitzgerald said the numerous applicants for positions on boards and commissions during her time as mayor showed the interest Wilsonville residents have in the community. She thanked those who applied for positions as well as volunteers who engaged in open houses, joined task forces and provided input on city matters.
“The community direction in Wilsonville should be set by those who live here and by local people who take the time to be involved,” Fitzgerald said. “That is what makes Wilsonville special.”
The mayor said “the least favorite aspect” of serving as an elected official in Wilsonville is “harsh treatment,” recently and during the 2020 election, including “what seems to be a 24/7 cycle of virtual bullying by a certain group of people.”
“Expressing a dissenting opinion respectfully is valuable and necessary. However, in today’s world that’s not the approach some use,” Fitzgerald said, adding she is sorry that the Wilsonville City Council members “had to endure a slog of hateful rhetoric, name-calling, and attempts at harassment and character assassination.” She noted text messages that she said were sent from phone numbers outside of Wilsonville.
While she said that behavior is free speech and one way to be involved, Fitzgerald added that residents can also research facts, come to open houses and council meetings and “respectfully engage in the dialogue to shape the city’s future.”
The next steps for Wilsonville after the loss of measure 3-605 are uncertain. City Manager Bryan Cosgrove said the decision lies with the City Council. He also noted that three city councilors will reach the end of their term this year, and the actions of a future council can’t be predicted.
Cosgrove said if the next council is interested in moving forward with the Town Center Plan, then it’s possible the question of a new urban renewal district could be posed to voters again in the future after engagement with the community on concerns about the ballot measure.
Due to “staggering” infrastructure costs, Cosgrove said “you can’t really move forward (with the Town Center Plan) without urban renewal.”
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