Upcoming Monthly Meeting
Tuesday, March 23, 5:00pm
Julia Meier, former Executive Director of the Portland City Club, will be our speaker at A4D’s March meeting on Tuesday, the 23rd, beginning at 5:00pm.
Julia is the project manager for the City of Portland’s new Charter Commission. A 20-member Charter Commission is convened once a decade to review Portland’s founding document, considering ways to improve city government. In her role, Julia will lead the complex process of developing recommendations for consideration by the City Council and, ultimately, Portland voters.
Julia is not new to conversations about the city charter. As executive director of City Club, she supported research projects about Portland’s commission form of government and alternative voting methods. Prior, she spent eight years with the Coalition of Communities of Color supporting a collective racial justice effort through policy analysis and advocacy, culturally-appropriate data and research, and leadership development.
Before moving to Portland, Julia spent five years in Alaska practicing law. Originally from Philadelphia, she earned a Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School and an undergraduate degree from the University of Oregon.
Please register in advance to attend the meeting. You will receive a confirmation email with details to joining the meeting.
Virtual Indivisible Tuesday at Senator Merkley’s Office
You are invited to join a live Zoom meeting with staff from Senator Merkley's office this Tuesday, March 16, and every third Tuesday of the month from 11:30am to 12:30pm. At noon a staffer from Merkley's office will join the meeting.
Take Action to Prevent Future GOP Walk-outs
The COIN legislative team has worked hard to vet four bills coming up in the House and Senate to discourage Republican walk-outs during this and future sessions. A4D supports backing Senate Joint Resolution 4 (SJR 4), which will refer a ballot measure to the people to amend the Constitution to lower quorum requirements. The constitution's high quorum requirement empowers the minority party by requiring 2/3 of all lawmakers in each chamber to be present.
While four bills are under consideration, the Legislative Group argues that passing SJR 4, and thereby changing quorum requirements, will solve the issue and make other bills unnecessary.
There will be a hearing this Thursday, March 18, at 1:00pm on the four bills addressing the GOP walkouts. Please submit testimony to your representatives!
Thanks to Bill Vollmer for this sample text which you can adapt and write quickly on a postcard:
I am writing in support of SJR4. Oregon is one of only five states to require more than a simple majority for a quorum. The recent excessive use of this tactic by the GOP is inherently anti-democratic, disrespects the will of the majority of Oregon voters, and must stop.
There are important bills related to climate, energy, and gun control that are stalled and cannot move forward because of this "tyranny of the minority." Let's move forward on our priorities!
Go here for a list of current bills A4D supports. To learn more, visit the Oregon Legislative Information System; find your Oregon legislators here.
An Immigration Reform Event of Interest
A forum with Senator Hirono addressing comprehensive immigration reforms will take place Saturday, March 27.
Check it out here.
A4D Activist Reading Group
The next meeting the A4D Activist Reading Group’s will take place on Thursday, April 8, from 7:00-8:30pm. The group will discuss Our Time Is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America by Stacey Abrams.
To attend, use this Zoom link.
For questions, contact Ken Rosenberg at rosenbergkd@yahoo.com.