Hood River County Commissioners held an initial discussion with a variety of consultants on how to gauge whether a prepared food and beverage tax would be palatable to voters.  Robert Whelan of EcoNorthwest told the panel he estimated a six percent tax could bring in $5.8 million for the County in 2028, with about 60 percent of that paid by visitors.  They also discussed beginning a program of stakeholder outreach with an eye toward a survey on the proposal.  Commissioner Arthur Babitz pointed on out that when a similar measure failed in 2019, there was not an organized campaign effort for it.  Both Jake Weigler of Praxis Political and Ben Patinkin of Patinkin Research Strategies said their first step would be one-on-one stakeholder conversations, moving to focus groups, and eventually polling.