* The Mayor’s Chief of Staff Tom Miller says Portlanders “make up 17% of the trips over the [Sellwood] bridge” so they are paying a disproportionate share of the project. The City’s own Transportation Bureau estimates that 80% of trips across the bridge begin or end in Portland (Sellwood Bridge FEIS, page 3-4). No one knows where each driver lives, so Miller’s statement is false.

* The article notes “Multnomah County has pledged $127 million, including $101 million from an increase in vehicle registration fees. The additional $26 million would come from the Multnomah County gas tax.” The truth is that 100% of Multnomah County’s contribution of $127 million is from the vehicle registration fee paid by all county residents which is 100% dedicated to the Sellwood Bridge. The County is not contributing gas tax funds.

* Miller is quoted as saying that $92 million pledged from Clackamas County, the Oregon Department of Transportation and the federal government are “far from a done deal.” In fact, the $30 million contribution from the State was signed into law by Governor Kulongoski on July 29, 2009. The County has submitted a $40 million request to the federal government and Clackamas County will consider their $22 million contribution funded by a new vehicle fee later this year.