Proposition what?

If you believe the campaign signs, it would appear that approving the crime train is the only way to save Vancouver’s parks.

Both refer to Proposition 1, right? Well, yes. And no. There are actually two measures of the same name vying for Vancouver’s attention this fall (and a third Prop. 1 on the ballot in Yacolt), but each refers to a separate proposal. Vancouver voters will get a chance to weigh in on a parks levy and a C-Tran sales tax increase — both called Proposition 1.

It’s not unusual for multiple Prop. 1 measures to land on the same election, said Clark County elections supervisor Tim Likness. Ballot titles are numbered separately by jurisdiction, meaning the first one submitted in any given taxing district automatically gets called Proposition 1. If Vancouver or C-Tran had submitted a second measure, for example, that would have appeared as Proposition 2.

But it’s less common for those jurisdictions to overlap in the same election. The result? Consider these mixed messages on West 15th Street in Vancouver:

Yacolt residents face a similar situation. They’ll be included in C-Tran’s sales tax vote, while their humble town also asks for an operations levy. Both will be listed as Proposition 1.

Confused?

Let’s review: C-Tran’s Proposition 1 would raise the local sales tax to help pay for bus rapid transit on Vancouver’s Fourth Plain corridor, plus the maintenance cost of light rail planned as part of the Columbia River Crossing.

Vancouver’s Proposition 1 would create a property tax levy to support the city’s parks and recreation services.

Yacolt’s Proposition 1 would enact a one-year property tax levy in 2013 and give the town some extra cash to cover operations costs.

Ballots for the Nov. 6 election are on the way. Don’t forget to vote!