6-7-21 Newsletter

 

TELEPHONE TOWN HALL WITH SUZANNE WEBER Tuesday, June 8 at 6:30 pm Click this link to get on the call list with State Representative Suzanne Weber by Monday night, June 7th. When the townhall starts, her office will call you direct and you can simply listen in, or you can take this opportunity to ask questions. Here's the link:  https://forms.gle/LDivTirvejHkUbm77 We like to think that Rep. Weber saw the letter from INCO activist Carmen Hammersmith in Thursday's Astorian asking for her to hold a town hall. A few hours later, Weber announced a telephone town hall! Yea, Carmen! INCO SOUTH COUNTY COMMUNITY GROUP:  The NCCG meeting for Tuesday, June 8 is CANCELED so that everyone can attend this telephone town hall.

DID YOU GET YOUR POSTCARDS? This is quick and easy: send a free postcard to Senators Wyden and Merkley to thank them for co-sponsoring S.51, for DC statehood. Members of Congress NEED and LOVE to hear from us, their constituents, whether we agree or disagree with their decisions. There's room for only 1-2 sentences to write why DC statehood matters. INCO will mail you your 2 stamped postcards, the senators' addresses, and talking points. Simply contact incoregon@gmail.com with your name and mailing address.

Oregonians voted for campaign finance reform last year. This chart from KDRV shows why.

CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM STALLED Two bills in the state legislature that would enact effective limits on campaign contributions are stalled. The two bills, HB3343 and SB336, have failed to move forward beyond the initial public hearing. Another bill, HB2680, has major loopholes and would likely be barely an improvement  over our current lack of any limits. HB2680 was amended to eliminate all language of limits and replace it with language for providing public funds for state office candidates (HB2680-12).  Last November the voters of Oregon approved (78% Yes vote) a constitutional amendment to allow such limits at all levels of government in Oregon. Despite that, the state legislature continues its past failures to enact limits.   Let's lift our voices in support of effective limits and ask (demand) our state legislators to have Work Sessions on HB3343 and SB339 scheduled immediately.  If these bills do not have Work Sessions and positive votes in both the House and Senate, they will die. Contact info for legislators is below and here. It might take an initiative campaign on the November 2022 ballot to have effective limits enacted so Oregonians will get what they want: effective limits on campaign contributions, especially from special interests. --Thanks to INCO activist David Delk for this update.

PROGRESSIVE VALUES BELONG IN RURAL OREGON  Join other Indivisibles for tips on the listening, curiosity, conversation, and practical skills needed to  have meaningful conversations to move folks toward progressive values and action in your community. You're invited to attend any or all of these three sessions:  Jun 9, 2021 08:00 PM   Jun 16, 2021 08:00 PM   Jun 23, 2021 08:00 PM REGISTER HERE:  ttps://indivisible.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEsdeCqpzkiEtePpwmAUE0wT6TJ7sEnVJC3

FRIDAY ZOOM PAUSES FOR THE SUMMER The Friday afternoon INCO Write To Voters group begins its summer vacation this week. It will resume on September 10. Special elections and issue campaigns need you year-round. INCO encourages you to sign up to write to voters for specific campaigns at www.postcardstovoters.org. To write Get Out the Vote letters, sign up at Vote Forward.

WHY WE NEED S.1 AND SJM 5 Thanks to Senator Jeff Merkley for reminding us of key provisions of S.1, the For the People Act:    •  Members of Congress will be prohibited by law from using taxpayer dollars to settle cases of sexual harassment or employment discrimination. Honestly, why was this ever legal?!  •  We're going to require that tax returns for presidents and presidential nominees will be made public. •  For the first time, we'll require the establishment of a code of ethics for Supreme Court Justices. That's right, unlike every other judge in America, there's no formal code of ethics for the Supreme Court. And sometimes... it shows. •  Former Members of Congress are already barred from lobbying for one year. But now, they'll be barred from "advising" lobbyists, too — a loophole so big you can drive a multinational corporation through it. •  And we'll slam shut the feathering of nests by executive appointees. No more giving away sweetheart government contracts to your former employer — or taking a job with a federal contractor that you awarded a contract to. And no more massive corporate bonuses for executives "taking leave to serve in government." Contact State Representative Suzanne Weber and urge her to co-sponsor and vote for Oregon's SJM 5. This is a bipartisan resolution endorsing a proposed climate change bill in Congress, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (EICDA). This resolution is part of a nationwide effort to show support from state legislatures and their constituents for the EICDA.  State Representative Weber: 503-986-1432 Senator Merkley: 202-224-3753 Senator Wyden: 202-224-5244 More contact information is here.

OREGON LEGISLATURE CONTACT INFO Senate Leadership President Courtney     https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/courtney             Email: sen.petercourtney@oregonlegislature.gov Pres. Pro Tem. Manning     https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/manning             Email: Sen.JamesManning@oregonlegislature.gov Dem. Leader Wagner    https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/wagner             Email: Sen.RobWagner@oregonlegislature.gov Rep. Leader Girod         https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/girod             Email: Sen.FredGirod@oregonlegislature.gov   House Leadership Speaker Kotek   https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/kotek             Email: Rep.TinaKotek@oregonlegislature.gov Speaker Pro Tem. Holvey           https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/holvey             Email: Rep.PaulHolvey@oregonlegislature.gov Dem. Leader Smith Warner       https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/smithwarner Email: rep.barbarasmithwarner@oregonlegislature.gov Rep. Leader Drazen       https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/drazan             Email: Rep.ChristineDrazan@oregonlegislature.gov   Clatsop County's legislators State Senator Betsy Johnson: 503-986-1716 State Representative Suzanne Weber: 503-986-1432 More contact information is here.

HAPPENINGS VIRTUAL  Tuesday, June 8 - INCO South County Community Group Zoom meeting is CANCELED. We encourage everyone to attend State Representative Suzanne Weber's Telephone Town Hall, 6:30 pm. Details at the top of this newsletter. Next NCCG meeting is July 13. Saturday,  June 19 - INCO North County Community Group Zoom meeting, 11 a.m - noon. Contact incoregon@gmail.com to get the Zoom link. Friday's INCO Write To Voters group begins its summer vacation this week and resumes on September 10. Special elections and issue campaigns need you year-round. INCO encouraged you to sign up to write to voters at www.postcardstovoters.org or for general Get Out the Vote campaigns, sign up at Vote Forward.

INSIGHTS "I slept and saw that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted, and behold, service was joy." -- Rabindranath Tagore, Nobel Laureate for Literature, 1913

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  June 7, 2021