Oregon is the birthplace of the Citizens' Initiative Review.

The CIR was first demonstrated on a statewide basis in Oregon in 2008, and in 2011 the Citizens’ Initiative Review was signed into law by the Oregon legislature – an historic first. For more details on the CIR’s history, visit our About page.

The Citizens’ Initiative Review Commission oversees statewide Citizens’ Initiative Reviews in Oregon, which occurred every even year since 2008. No statewide review took place in 2018 due to a lack of funding. But we took the opportunity to do a local one in the Portland area instead!

2018 Portland Metro-Area CIR

For the first time ever, a randomly selected and demographically representative citizen panel reviewed a local ballot measure in the Portland metro area. Over four days of deliberation, the panel reviewed Measure 26-199, the Portland Metro Region Affordable Housing Bond. For more information on this review and to read the Citizens’ Statement, click here.

Oregon Citizens' Statements

Statewide

Measure 97 (2016)
Measure 92 (2014)
Measure 90 (2014)
Measure 85 (2012)
Measure 82 (2012)
Measure 74 (2010)
Measure 73 (2010)
Measure 58 (2008)

Portland Metro Area

Measure 26-199 (2018)

Jackson County

Jackson County, Oregon, was the site of the first county pilot of a Citizens’ Initiative Review process.

Measure 15-119 (2014)

Recent Tweets

Our Program Manager, Linn Davis, gives an introduction to the rationale for and process of a local government Citizens Jury, using the example of the Nov 2019 Milwaukie Citizens Jury on Council Compensation in @CityofMilwaukie. youtu.be/1ib4YiKqGso healthydemocracy.org/cj/milwaukie
— Healthy Democracy @(healthydem) 1 month ago

ICYMI: In November, we'll be consulting on the first-ever Citizens' Initiative Review in the birthplace of modern direct democracy: Switzerland. We feel almost like we've been asked to advise on wine-making in France or hockey in Canada – we're surprised but honored. #demoscan twitter.com/AlexMGeisler/s…
— Healthy Democracy @(healthydem) 1 month ago

It was such an honor for Farres Alkhaiyer, our Community Solutions Program Fellow, to be the keynote speaker at the @OregonBusiness #OR100Best award dinner tonight. He represented Healthy Democracy and his home country of Syria well. We couldn't be more proud! @cspecairex
— Healthy Democracy @(healthydem) 1 month ago

In September, we hosted a visiting undergraduate student, Jillian Gilburne, a senior at @NorthwesternU. Jillian came to Oregon to interview civil servants across a handful of cities that we have interacted with in the past. Check out her blog! healthydemocracy.org/blog/2019/10/0…
— Healthy Democracy @(healthydem) 1 month ago

Our September enewsletter dropped in people's inboxes yesterday. Check it out! healthydemocracy.org/newsletter/ Not on our enews mailing list? Signup today! healthydemocracy.org/signup
— Healthy Democracy @(healthydem) 1 month ago

Civic Seminarian, @WendyRaeW, shares her reflections and thoughts from the Civic Saturday event held on Sat., Sept. 14 at C Bar C Ranch in Powell Butte. @CitizenUniv @orhumanities healthydemocracy.org/blog/2019/09/2…
— Healthy Democracy @(healthydem) 2 months ago

Recent Posts

Politicians & Public Participation — Tackling a Quintessential Design Problem

October 2, 2019

For a few weeks in September, we had the pleasure of hosting a visiting undergraduate student, Jillian Gilburne, who is a senior at Northwestern University studying political science, communication studies, and human-centered design. In an effort to better understand what motivates local officials to take on the challenge of achieving equitable, representative public engagement, Jillian
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A Reflection on Month Two in the U.S.

September 27, 2019

Farres Alkhaiyer joined Healthy Democracy in August as a fellow with the 2019-2020 Community Solutions Program, a prestigious fellowship program run by the DC-based nonprofit IREX. This program brings together 80 of the brightest community leaders from around the world for four months of intensive leadership development in the United States. As he enters his second month
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Learning. Livability. Leaning in.