3-15-21 Newsletter

 

FILE TO RUN BY MARCH 18 Clatsop County needs you and other pro-democracy people filling the dozens of positions in Clatsop County that voters will elect on May 18. Our school boards and other special districts need leaders who believe in accountable, responsive, and transparent governance. Encourage others to run who you'd want serving in office.    Here's the official list of positions on the ballot.   Check out the Clatsop County Elections website for more information.  More info about running for office is at Run For Something.    Will you be one of the pro-democracy candidates our communities need?  If you don't run, who will?

Help ensure that our legislative and Congressional districts are reasonable and fair.  The next hearing for Clatsop residents (District 1) is Saturday, March 20.

STOP THE WALKOUTS Please support Senate Joint Resolution 4 (SJR 4), which would amend the Oregon Constitution to require a simple majority for a quorum in the legislature. Currently, the Oregon Constitution requires 2/3 of legislators to be present in order for the legislature to vote on bills. Oregon is one of only 5 states to require more than a simple majority for a quorum. Both parties have misused this requirement to stage walkouts that have denied votes on critical legislation.  Most recently, the GOP has staged walkouts to deny the legislature the 2/3 majority needed to conduct business 5 times in 2019 and 2020.   The walkouts in 2019 and 2020 meant hundreds of bills denied, including funding for disaster relief, forest restoration, mental health and substance abuse treatment in rural areas, and more.  The recent use of the walkout 5 times is more than the walkout has been used in the previous 162 years since Oregon gained statehood and thus, we believe, represents an abuse of the quorum requirement that was not intended by the framers of our state Constitution. The walkouts are inherently undemocratic and compromise the legislature’s ability to carry out the will of the voters.  The good news is that we can correct this abuse by passing SJR 4 to begin the process of amending the Oregon Constitution to require only a simply majority for a quorum in the legislature.  A public hearing is scheduled on SJR 4 before the Senate Rules Committee on Thursday, March 18, 2021 at 1 p.m.   Also, please call or write State Senator Betsy Johnson and let her know you want her to support SJR 4: Sen.BetsyJohnson@oregonlegislature.gov or https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/johnson

TAKE ACTION ON CLIMATE Write Senator Betsy Johnson Congress is working on bipartisan bill to address the climate crisis, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (EIDCA). SJM 5 is a resolution in the Oregon Senate that urges Congress to make the EIDCA a reality. This resolution was written by Senator Michael Dembrow at the behest of our former Representative, Tiffiny Mitchell.   Here are key points about the EIDCA and SJM 5:  •  The EIDCA will put a fee on carbon pollution at its source (the coal mine, oil well, natural gas well, and fuels imported across the US border) and then take that money to give back to American households in monthly dividend checks. •  This policy is revenue neutral. The fees collected on carbon emissions will be allocated to all Americans to spend any way they choose. The government will not keep any of the fees collected. •  This is a market-based solution that doesn't grow the government or increase regulations. •  SJM 5 has bipartisan support in the Oregon Legislasture. Now is the time to write Senator Johnson and tell her to vote YES on SJM 5. Sen.BetsyJohnson@oregonlegislature.gov or https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/johnson  You can learn about EIDCA at the Citizens' Climate Lobby.  Questions?  Contact Eric Halperin ehod1@yahoo.com

LEGISLATION WATCH           CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TEN BILLS THAT COIN MEMBERS RESEARCHED AND NOW SUPPORT.  COIN includes more than 40 Indivisible groups with thousands of members across Oregon.      Please contact State Representative Suzanne Weber in support of HBs at Rep.SuzanneWeber@oregonlegislature.gov and State Senator Betsy Johnson in support of the SBs at Sen.BetsyJohnson@oregonlegislature.gov

WHY INDIVISIBLE ACTIVISM MATTERS

HAPPENINGS VIRTUAL Saturday,  March 20 - INCO North County Community Group Zoom meeting, 11 a.m - noon. Contact incoregon@gmail.com to get the Zoom link. Tuesday, April 13 - INCO South County Community Group Zoom meeting, 6:30 pm - 8 pm. Please RSVP to Kathleenannmacdonald@yahoo.com thru Monday, April 12 for your Zoom link. EVERY FRIDAY: The INCO Write to Voters group invites you to a Zoom open house for informal chat and writing to voters in special elections and for ballot issues every Friday from 3-4 pm. Pets and children welcome. Contact incoregon@gmail.com to get the Zoom invitation from Bebe.

INSIGHTS “But although the cliche says that power always corrupts, what is seldom said ... is that power always reveals." --Robert A. Caro, historian

Comments, news, and photos to INCO at incoregon@gmail.com.  Resources and other information at www.incoregon.org and www.indivisible.org. Encourage others to sign up for the INCO newsletter at our website or here. INCO Weekly Newsletter   March 15, 2021