The voters of Jackson County have overwhelmingly defeated the levy that would have reopened their public libraries.
By a large margin the citizens of Jackson county refused to raise their property taxes to ensure the functioning of a public library system.
From the Save Our Libraries website:
A Dark Day…
Thank you to all who voted to support Jackson County Libraries. The failure of ballot measure 15-75 marks a dark day in the history of our county. Nevertheless, our citizens and library supporters can be proud of a campaign filled with honesty, passion, and courage; a campaign that told the truth on behalf of thousands of children, seniors, and all those who treasure the democracy that provides access to information for all.
We have troubled days ahead. Nevertheless, we urge you to hold fast to the reasons we struggled to re-open our libraries. Those reasons remain essential to restore a community of hope, a community of justice, a community of literacy. Now, more than ever, we need the courage and strength you demonstrated so generously as we campaigned together for an institution that lies at the very foundation of democracy.
The libraries have been closed now for 40 days.
As I mentioned in my previous post on this madness “It is always a tough proposition, no matter what the issue, to ask people who don’t have enough money to begin with to raise their own taxes.”
I encourage you to read my last post on the issue to get a better sense at how this came to be in the first place and that the ultimately responsibility for this tragedy rests in Washington, D. C. and not in Jackson County, Oregon.
If you are a friend, supporter or employee of any library in this country it is time to contact your politicians and let them know that what is going on in this Southern Oregon county is unacceptable and reflects poorly on our nation as a whole.
Article in the Mail Tribune on the vote