The Oregon 2019 Legislative session is in full swing, with committees meeting now to make decisions about state services and the Oregon 2019-2021 budget! Is there a program you want funded? A bill you think should be passed or defeated? Our 18-minute Highlights video on Lobbying the Legislature has many tips for how you can make your voice heard.
You also can learn about what’s happening in the Legislature and the Oregon League’s priorities and advocacy by clicking here and here.
Did you vote? There were many important issues on the ballot for the November 6 election—affordable housing, taxes, clean energy, jobs, abortion, the influence of money in politics and how we treat immigrants. We also elected leaders for our national, state and local governments – the people who will represent you in the next two to four years.
The League offered voters lots of nonpartisan information about the 2018 General Election in Oregon.
Your vote can make a difference. Be a voter. Use our website to help you decide how you want to vote.
2017-19 LWVPDX DEO Update-7-1-18
Here is the complete up-to-date list you can use to contact the elected government officials who represent you: from President Trump to your state senator to a director of your Soil and Water Conservation District. These officials were elected to serve you and your fellow citizens. You have a right to tell them how you think they can make government more responsive to your or society’s needs.
You can download a copy of this Directory and save it on your computer. Or print it for your reference. Use it to look up the email or mailing addresses and phone numbers of your elected officials. Then you can write or call them with your concerns.
Signature Gatherers want you to sign!It’s that time of year. People with clipboards (including some League members) are asking voters to sign petitions to put ballot measures on the November ballot. Should you sign? You definitely should think about whether you really support the petition and would like it to become law. Ask for an explanation of what the measure would do and read the ballot title. The League of Women Voters cautions you to “Think Before You Ink.” Here’s some information to consider before you sign.
As of July 6, this initiative appears to have enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot. The Portland LWV supports this proposal. Our support is based on our Climate Change and Equality of Opportunity positions. It would fund renewable energy and energy efficiency projects and clean-energy jobs training for disadvantaged workers. Income for the Fund would be from a 1% supplemental business license surcharge on large retail corporations with over $1 billion a year in national revenue and $500,000 in Portland sales. (Revenue from groceries and medicine would be exempted.)
Our support of this initiative was based on our position on gun safety. However, the coalition of clergy members, youth and other advocates, “Lift Every Voice,” has withdrawn the initiative and will refile it for 2020. The initiative proposed two steps to make Oregon a safer place. The first was to require semiautomatic weapons and large capacity magazines to be registered by responsible gun owners. The second step would have been to prohibit the future sale of these weapons and magazines in Oregon. This effort is delayed, but not over.
What are Highlights Videos?Highlights videos are shortened versions of recorded panel discussions about important civic issues. The League presents these panel discussions during many months of the year. The full discussions often last more than an hour. But now you can see a shorter version with the most important points
. Highlights videos are typically 20 minutes long.
Lobbying the Legislature Highlights
Reducing Portland’s Carbon Footprint Highlights
