Kevin Mannix's Redistricting Attempt Fails to Make the Ballot

Initiative profiteer uses lawsuit to shift the blame for his failure

With the announcement that Initiative Petition 50 doesn't have enough signatures to make the ballot, Oregon Republican leaders have failed at what they claimed was a "critically important issue."

Simply put, Kevin Mannix's signature-gathering operation failed to collect enough valid signatures to make the ballot--despite having more than a half million dollars in funding from the likes of Associated Oregon Industries and Oregon Restaurant Association and the support of the Oregon Republican Party and GOP Chair Bob Tiernan.

The failed initiative would have changed the way legislative redistricting is done in Oregon, putting all authority into the hands of the Oregon Supreme Court. It was a project of Common Sense for Oregon, which is run by Mannix, Russ Walker, and Ross Day.

Mannix and Co. are attempting to shift the blame for this monumental failure by suing the Secretary of State. Simply put, if Mannix had turned in enough signatures, he would have made the ballot.

IP50 would have destroyed the public process around redistricting and placed it in the hands of one person--the Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court. In addition to removing checks and balances, IP50 would have served to severely politicize Supreme Court elections.

In the end, this isn't about the Secretary of State or Kevin Mannix, but about the fact that Oregonians refused to sign away the power to shape the state's democracy.