LINN COUNTY DEMOCRATS - News & Updates

LINN COUNTY DEMOCRATS

September 27th, 2023

9/27/2023

Democratic Party of Oregon Platform Convention

The Democratic Party of Oregon Platform Convention wrapped up Aug. 20 at Western Oregon University in Monmouth. Seventeen Linn County delegates participated in the three-day convention. "(DPO Chair) Rosa Colquitt got a bunch of legislators to interact with delegates in our (legislative action item) breakout sessions, so we felt our voices were heard," said Mary Cooke, Linn County delegate from Lebanon. Delegates will vote on the platform and legislative action items in coming days, and the documents will be finalized soon.

Linn County delegates pose in front of the "Democracy looks like this" chalk art at Western Oregon University. From left are Don Andrews, Chris Smith, Genny Lynch, Edie Koenig, Steve Harbert, Susan Heath, Mary Cooke and Cheryl Haworth. (Photos by Mary Cooke)

Sen. Ron Wyden made a surprise guest appearance during lunch on Saturday.

State Sen. Michael Denbrow chaired the convention. "He was awesome," said Linn County delegate Mary Cooke.

September 27th, 2023

9/27/2023

Anti-abortion ('pro-life') proclamation effort fizzles

SEPT 28 UPDATE: No anti-abortion ("pro-life") proclamation was made during the Sept. 27 Albany City Council meeting and no anti-abortion ("pro-life") flag is on display at City Hall. The issue appears to be dead.

MID-SEPTEMBER POST: Residents in Albany Ward III recently received a mailer from conservative activists pushing a radical proclamation and for the council approve flying an anti-abortion flag at City Hall throughout October. Albany's residents have strongly opposed restrictions on reproductive freedom, as the defeats of several anti-choice ballot measures in recent years show.
We cannot let extremist conservative activist voices carry the day. Contact the mayor and city councilors to let them know you oppose the proclamation and flying this flag. If you are able, please also plan on attending the Albany City Council meeting on Sept. 27.

Below are photos of both sides of the of mailer received by residents in Albany Ward III.

September 07th, 2023

9/7/2023

Bentz, DeRemer Accountability Teams (BAT/DRAT)
outline actions to prevent government shutdown

The Consolidated Online Indivisible Network's Cliff Bentz and Lori Chavez DeRemer Accountability Teams (BAT/DRAT) sent the following message on Sept. 5:
This Week’s Issue Is:
Republicans want to hold America hostage - again - by threatening another government shutdown if their demands on abortion, transgender care, “witch hunts”, and funding to Ukraine are not met.

What We Want Cliff and Lori to Do:

Reject House Republicans’ threats to shut down the government and - instead - support our economy and their constituents’ economic livelihood.

Optional Talking Points, and What You Need To Know:

A government shutdown would have devastating consequences for low-income Americans because all but “essential” federal agencies would close their doors.
House conservatives known as the Freedom Caucus has issued a list of demands that it wants included in a short-term funding bill this September, including initiatives to stop the Justice Department and FBI from conducting what the group calls political “witch hunts” and opposition to “blank check” funding to Ukraine.
They want to prevent the federal government from providing abortion and gender affirming care by aiming to eliminate or curtail these programs from the spending bills before Congress.

Childcare:
- A shutdown would stop child care funding provided under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), a $1.9 trillion COVID relief package passed in 2021.
- Up to 30,000 child care programs across the US could be lost – affecting up to 3 million families that may have to leave the workforce because they can't afford child care.
- The loss of those jobs would reverberate throughout the economy.
- In Oregon, public funding plays a major role in creating Oregon’s child care supply, especially for preschoolers.
- 27% of Clackamas County’s licensed childcare providers have children who utilize publicly funded services.
- In Linn County, lack of affordable childcare prevents parents from working.
- The Oregon child care crisis means that Deschutes County is particularly dependent on ARPA funding.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): Though funding for the SNAP program is mandatory, the ability to send out “food stamp” benefits could be affected by a shutdown. During any shutdown, stores are not able to renew their Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card licenses, so those whose licenses expire would not be able to accept SNAP benefits during a shutdown.

Health and Human Services: Of particular concern are formula grant programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF, sometimes described as “cash welfare”). The National Institutes of Health (NIH) would also be prevented from admitting new patients or processing other grant applications.

Good news - Internal Revenue Service (IRS): Unlike previous shutdowns, normal IRS operations would continue because of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). All 83,000 employees would be exempt from furlough! Well done Mr. President!

Shutdowns cost money:
- Putting contingency plans in place has a real cost.
- Many user fees and other charges are not collected during a shutdown.
- Federal contractors sometimes include premiums in their bids to account for uncertainty in being paid.
- While many federal employees are forced to be idle during a shutdown, they have historically received and are now guaranteed back pay, negating much of those potential savings.
- Official estimates of the 2013 government shutdown found that $2.5 billion of pay and benefits were paid to furloughed employees for hours not worked during the shutdown, as well as roughly $10 million of penalty interest payments and lost fee collections.

Shutdowns carry a cost to the economy:
- The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the 2018-2019 shutdown reduced Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by a total of $11 billion, including $3 billion that will never be recovered.
- On top of that, longer shutdowns negatively affect private-sector investment and hiring decisions as businesses cannot obtain federal permits and certifications, or access federal loans.

Shutdowns wastes taxpayer money:
- Short-term funding (Continuing Resolutions, or CR’s) usually continue funding at the past year’s level without any regard for changing policy needs or the value of each program within an agency.
- Using a CR wastes hundreds of hours of careful consideration and program evaluation incorporated into each agency’s budget submission. (For instance, the President’s annual budget proposes a list of eliminations and reductions of programs that are duplicative or ineffective; a CR will continue to fund these unwanted programs).
- CRs disrupts activities within agencies, makes it difficult to plan or start future projects, and costs staff time to revise work plans every time the budget changes.

This would not be the first time Republicans held America hostage:

During the 2013 shutdown, a backlog of 1.2 million income and Social Security number verification requests delayed mortgage and other loan approvals, and billions of dollars of tax refunds were also delayed. At least 26,000 furloughed IRS employees were recalled to work during the 2018-2019 shutdown in preparation for tax season, but 14,000 did not show up to work without pay.
A 2019 Senate report found that the three government shutdowns in 2013, 2018, and 2019 cost taxpayers nearly $4 billion.
As noted above, the 2018-2019 shutdown reduced Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by a total of $11 billion, including $3 billion that will never be recovered.

Tell Cliff/Lori why this matters to YOU personally. Here’s a sample postcard or call script:

Dear Rep Bentz or Rep Chavez DeRemer,

Please do not play Russian Roulette with your constituents’ economic well being. Reject any possible government shutdown this fall. Prove that you are fiscally responsible by opposing another blow to our economy and families’ ability to thrive.

(For those writing to Bentz, who often touts his Catholic beliefs, perhaps it would be in order to mention the fact that the Catholic Social Justice Network advocates for the same thing that we are asking him to do this week.)

Please call or write by this Friday, September 8.

For a deeper dive into today’s topic

Childcare:

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

BAT / DRAT Contact Info for Cliff and Lori and Other Reminders

Postcard reminders

If you write a postcard:
- Sign your postcard with your first and last name, and the city or county you live in.
- Stick a 51-cent stamp on it and please put it in the mail by this Friday, September 8.
- Take a picture of your postcard and post it on your Twitter account, tagging @cliff_truth or @truth_lori.
If you have suggestions for topics for our weekly message, or if you’d like to help us write one, please email us at or.bat.drat@gmail.com.
Follow the BAT/DRAT Teams on social media at
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TellTheTruthCliff and https://www.facebook.com/TellTheTruthLori.
- Twitter: @cliff_truth or https://twitter.com/cliff_truth and @truth_lori or https://twitter.com/truth_lori.

Contact information to send postcards and emails or to call Cliff/Lori:

Cliff:

Mail - 409 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515; 2430 SW 4th Ave. #2, Ontario, OR 97914; 14 N. Central Avenue, Ste. 112, Medford, OR 97501
Email - https://bentz.house.gov/contact

Phone - Washington, DC (202) 225-6730; Ontario (541) 709-2040; Medford (541) 776-4646

Lori:

Mail - 1722 Longworth House Office Bldg. Washington, D.C. 20515; 621 High Street, Oregon City, OR 97045; 2757 NW. 7th St., suite D, Redmond, OR 97756
Email - Not available
Phone - Washington, DC (202) 225-5711; Oregon City 503-387-8651; Redmond 971-403-8940

If you write an LTE:

For links to newspapers in CD2 and LTE-writing tips, click here. For links to CD5 newspapers, click here.
Share it with others on the BAT/DRAT team by emailing it to us at or.bat.drat@gmail.com or post it on your FaceBook page, tagging https://www.facebook.com/TellTheTruthLori or https://www.facebook.com/TellTheTruthCliff.
If your LTE gets published, please send us a link if there’s an online version or send us a photo of the print version, again, to or.bat.drat@gmail.com.

If this week’s topic doesn’t move you to write an LTE, check out our past LTE Messages folder or previous Postcard Message Topics that can be adapted to LTEs.

September 01st, 2023

9/1/2023

Linn Dems hope to rent storage unit

Hello friends,
We've been growing very quickly and have identified the need for a secure, local storage option for our frequently used meeting, tabling and event supplies. We're extremely grateful to the Scranages for their ongoing donation of storage for some of our larger items, which has really helped us to keep our overall storage costs low. We're looking to secure a small storage unit in Albany which will provide us 24-7 access to these supplies as needed. The estimated cost is about $100/month and will give our volunteers much needed flexibility to access supplies when they need them.
We're looking for about 20 folks to become monthly donors at, or increase their monthly donation by, $5/month to help us make this a reality. If you are able, please pitch in by clicking the button below. Thank you!
Jerred Taylor
Linn County Democrats Chair

Become a $5 monthly donor

August 21st, 2023

8/21/2023

Linn County cooling centers listed

Albany:

Albany Public Library, 2450 14th Ave. SE: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday; closed Sunday and Monday; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday.
Carnegie Library, 302 Ferry St.: 10 am. to 1 p.m. Saturday; closed Sunday through Tuesday; 1 to 6 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; 10 am. to 1 p.m. Friday.
Albany Fire Station, 611 Lyon St. SE: 1 to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, closed Friday through Sunday.
CHANCE, 231 Lyon St.: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, closed Saturday and Sunday.
2nd Chance, 1100 SE Jackson St.: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

Lebanon:

Lebanon Public Library, 55 Academy St.: noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, noon to 5 p.m. Friday.
First Christian Church, 170 E. Grant St.: Closed Saturday, 1:30 tp 5 p.m. Sunday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, closed Friday.

Sweet Home:

City Hall, 3225 Main St.: Closed Saturday and Sunday; 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Sweet Home Public Library, 1101 13th Ave.: noon to 4 p.m. Saturday; closed Sunday and Monday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; noon to 4 p.m. Friday.
Sweet Home Senior Center, 880 18th Ave.: Closed Saturday and Sunday; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Sweet Home Police Station, 1950 Main St.: Closed Saturday and Sunday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.

August 20th, 2023

8/20/2023

Linn Dems elect delegates and alternates
to Democratic Party of Oregon Platform Convention

July 12, 2023
The Linn County Democratic Central Committee has elected a full slate of delegates (22) and alternates (11) to the Democratic Party of Oregon Platform Convention, scheduled for Aug. 18-20 at Western Oregon University in Monmouth. The election was held July 6 during the Linn Dems monthly general meeting. Here are our delegates and alternates:
DELEGATES
Nichole Case, Stacey Bartholomew, Steve Harbert, Susan Heath, Genny Lynch, Carolyn Wagner, Chris Smith, Samuel Damico, Greg Ivers, Edie Koenig, Michael Thomson, Anne Clarke, Cheryl Hayworth, Don Andrews, Krystal Overvig, Travis Overvig, Nonie Harcombe, Mary Cooke, Pam Keller, Mark Keller, Jackie Montague, Cindy Bethell.
ALTERNATES
Paula Connaghan, Norina Columbaro, Nathan Burroughs, Wendy Nilsen, Michelle Dugi, Bud Laurent, Patrick Skelly, Loren Ford, Jolene Thomson, Ann Ketter, Judy Arter.

August 14th, 2023

8/14/2023

Linn County Fair

We were well represented at the three-day Linn County Fair, which ended July 15. Big thanks to Paula Connaghan for organizing our "People Power" booth, to everyone who staffed it and to those who helped with set-up and takedown.

August 02nd, 2023

8/2/2023

Albany Pride 2023

July 21st, 2023

7/21/2023

Celebrating Juneteenth

Several hundred people turned out June 19 for the annual Juneteenth Celebration presented by the Linn Benton NAACP Branch at Corvallis Community Center. Heather Carmichael of Albany received the organization's Freedom Forward Award for her civic involvement with the Greater Albany Public Schools. Carmichael, worship pastor at The Grove Church in downtown Albany, is the Student Advocacy Coordinator of the fledgling Kids For The Culture, a mid-valley nonprofit offering culturally enriching learning opportunities and events for youth led by Ty Anderson-Hubler, Executive Director..

Video: Cherita Wilson, a Realtor with eXp Realty, sings the Black National Anthem — "Lift Every Voice and Sing" — during the Juneteenth Celebration on June 19 at Corvallis Community Center.

Video: Albany Mayor Alex Johnson talks about Juneteenth during the June 19 celebration at Corvallis Community Center.

July 14th, 2023

7/14/2023

Democratic Party of Oregon
condemns Supreme Court decisions

June 30, 2022
The Democratic Party of Oregon Statement on Supreme Court decisions:
“The Democratic Party of Oregon condemns the recent Supreme Court rulings that abolish affirmative action in college admissions, allows discrimination against LGBTQ+ people based on who they are, and blocks student loan relief for tens of millions of Americans,” said DPO Chair Dr. Rosa Colquitt.
“The extremist majority on the Supreme Court has walked away from its duty to uphold human rights in favor of being a political instrument of the Republican Party. In failing to uphold decades of precedent, this Court’s majority has demonstrated that political motivation outweighs its desire to uphold the principles of our Constitution.
America is stronger when our colleges are diverse, when people are free to be who they are without enduring discrimination, and when our federal government goes to bat for people who are struggling under the weight of predatory student loan debt. As President Biden said, ‘We cannot let this decision be the last word.’
It is clear that we cannot rely on the Supreme Court with its current ideological makeup to protect Americans’ rights or support long standing precedent. The answer is political — we must win back the United States Congress on behalf of the people. The answer to these gravely mistaken rulings is to restore a Democratic majority in the House, expand our majority in the Senate, and re-elect President Biden next year. The Democratic Party of Oregon expresses solidarity with the millions of Americans who are hurting today, and we reaffirm our resolve to do our part to secure the electoral wins necessary to codify into law the rights, protections, and economic relief that our fellow Americans deserve.”

Analyses of Supreme Court rulings

• The Supreme Court just handed Joe Biden a series of setbacks. It may have also given Democrats motivation to reelect him (July 1, CNN)
• Takeaways from the latest controversial and contentious Supreme Court terms (July 1, CNN)
• Curtailing affirmative action is a blow against a rising generation (June 29, The Atlantic)

Supreme Court guts affirmative action

• Supreme Court rules against race-based affirmative action (June 29, Time)
• What the Supreme Court ruling does and does not do (June 29, CNN)