Bend residents win right to vote for mayor

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Bend residents will choose their first elected mayor in November.

Voters in the Central Oregon city approved a change Tuesday that will allow them to elect the mayor. Members of the City Council had been selecting the mayor from among themselves.

Elsewhere in Oregon, Albany residents turned down a gas tax to pay for street repairs, and voters in Umatilla and Morrow counties rejected an increase in property taxes to support an OSU Extension Service District.

It was a mixed election night for schools. Voters in Corvallis and Beaverton backed measures to support schools, and voters in the Salem-Keizer district appeared to give the nod to a large bond. Proposed bonds were defeated in Medford and Grants Pass.

Meanwhile, Portland voters renewed a property tax to pay for child abuse prevention and early childhood education.