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--> --> Signature gatherer sentenced to probation PORTLAND (AP) - A man who gathered signatures for at least two statewide ballot measures was sentenced Wednesday to two years of probation after pleading guilty to forging voter names on petition sheets. Paul Frankel, 29, was reported to state officials after the Portland-based Voter Education Project videotaped him collecting signatures at the Lloyd Center Mall in Portland. Justice Department spokesman Kevin Neely has said an investigator signed one petition circulated by Frankel, and court documents allege that Frankel signed the investigator's name on another petition on Nov. 7. Most signature gatherers are paid to collect the signatures of registered voters and can make anywhere from 25 cents to $1 per name, depending on the circumstances. Petitioners must gather 89,000 valid signatures to qualify a measure that would amend the state constitution and 67,000 such names for a statutory change. "(Frankel) was kind of engaged in a bait and switch approach," said Kristen Grainger, spokeswoman for Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers. "He would put a dummy sheet in front of you for something like lowering the gas tax and you'd sign that and then he'd flip that page over and say, 'You need to sign here, here, here and here to verify your signature."' Frankel was collecting signatures for a number of ballot measures, including ones sponsored by anti-tax activists Bill Sizemore and Don McIntire, Grainger said. Both Sizemore and McIntire have said they did not know Frankel was using such tactics. Grainger said Frankel's case was part of a larger investigation into signature gathering fraud. She declined to give details. "This in not the only individual involved and this is not the last that you'll hear about this. This is the first public piece of a larger investigation into voter fraud," she said. Bill Bradbury, the Oregon Secretary of State, said Oregonians should be extremely cautious when signing petitions. "This case highlights the fact that paid signature gathering has dramatically changed the initiative process," he said. "For a lot of people, the initiative process has become big business and your signature has become a commodity." The Voter Education Project, the union-backed group whose complaint sparked the investigation, began monitoring signature gatherers this fall. In the past five years, unions have faced more than a dozen measures that targeted their political fund-raising and tried to reduce state government. The unions say invalid signatures help put some of those proposals on the ballot. By targeting fraud early in the initiative process, unions and other groups can save millions they would spend later on campaigns to fight the proposals, the group contends. In February, former Sizemore signature-gatherer Kelli Highley pleaded guilty to forgery, making false statements and perjury. She was sentenced to 20 days in jail, fined $5,000 and ordered to do 240 hours of community service. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing