An Open Letter to the Women of Oregon

By Jillian Schoene of Portland, Oregon. Jillian is the Oregon campaign manager for Hillary Clinton for President.

Women of Oregon! This letter is for you. Hundreds of women from across the country have come together and are making calls to Oregon voters. Read their letter to you - and contact the Hillary campaign today to get involved!

An Open Letter to the Women of Oregon:

You don't need us to tell you how historic this election is--and for the first time in decades, Oregon will have a meaningful impact in deciding who the Democratic nominee will be for President of the United States.

Right now, women from across the country are mobilizing to support the women of Oregon in securing the nomination for Hillary Clinton. We've worked hard in our states and now we want to work hard for you. Over the next week, we will lend our voices to Oregon by organizing virtual phone banks across the country, and we hope that you join us in making history. To lend your voice and be heard, get started here.

Encourage the other women in your life to do the same. No matter your age or race, we hope that you stand with each other (and us) to show the generations to follow the power of organizing and the power of the collective voice of women in this great country.

At a time when women's reproductive freedom is being attacked in states across the country, when the need to provide equal opportunity--not just for women but also for communities of color--has never been greater and when working families can never seem to get ahead, we need a leader who will fight for us and will never back down. Hillary Clinton is that leader. We firmly believe that in the White House, Hillary will bring the change we want for every individual and every family to be successful--change that she has already fought so hard for as our First Lady and U.S. Senator from New York.

As you and your family and friends vote by mail for the Oregon primary, know that we stand with you. And we hope that you will help us ensure your voices are heard.

Signed,

Adrien Z., Washington, D.C.
Alicia J., Tallahassee, FL
Alix R., Fort Lauderdale, FL
Allenette P., Spencer, MA
Allida B., Arlington, VA
Alta S., Overland Park, KS
Amanda K., Boynton Beach, FL
Carmen L., Arlington, VA
Amira S., Glen Allen, VA
Amy D., Hamilton, OH
Ana W., Totowa, NJ
Angela H., Carmel , IN
Angela U., Portland, OR

Why I'm Running for Multnomah County Commission: No Time for On the Job Learning

By Eric Zimmerman of Portland, Oregon. I am a dedicated public servant who has served with distinction in our armed forces and currently as a senior leader at Multnomah County.

Our community is at a crossroads. Multnomah County is seeing incredible growth, which is creating incredible opportunity. But if we do not put the policies in place to channel this growth and extend that opportunity to all, we will all lose part of what makes Portland so special. We are already seeing escalating home prices, increasing numbers of people living on our streets, and the displacing of working families from our core neighborhoods. We need a County Commission that can act now to address these challenges and look out for vulnerable residents.

My Story

I grew up in Clackamas County and graduated from Clackamas High School. My mom was a Portland Public Schools teacher and my dad is an attorney. They taught me the importance of appreciating the advantages you are given in life and using them to try give back in public service. I went to the University of Portland on an ROTC scholarship. I entered the U.S. Army and Oregon Army National Guard as a Second Lieutenant. In 2009, I was deployed to Iraq serving as a platoon leader with distinction, earning the Bronze Star Medal and the Combat Action Badge. As a member of both the U.S. Army and the LGBTQ community, and as a commanding officer, I led the effort to make my unit a national leader in preparing for the lifting of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, as well as the restriction on women serving in combat units.

Donald Trump is coming to Oregon

Kari Chisholm

Heads up, folks. Donald Trump is coming to Oregon, according to a breaking news report from OPB:

Sources close to the Trump campaign say he will be in Lane or Douglas County, Oregon on Friday. At the same time, the billionaire businessman’s Washington director, state Sen. Don Benton, says he is “pushing hard” to arrange a Vancouver rally for Trump.

In a recent poll of Oregon Republicans, Trump leads with 43% of the vote. Ted Cruz at 26% and John Kasich is at 17%. That's despite the agreement between Cruz and Kasich that has Cruz staying out of Oregon in exchange for Kasich staying out of Indiana.

By Kari Chisholm May 03, 2016

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Blindingly Obvious: Why I'm running for the legislature in HD 52

By Walt Trandum of Sandy, Oregon. Long time local political organizer in the Clackamas County portion of District 52. Founder of the Oregon Trail Democrats in 2003 and chief architect of the 2012 nearly successful Peter Nordbye campaign. Walt is a Democratic candidate for the Oregon House of Representatives.

When asked by voters in Oregon’s District 52 why they should support my “Win With Walt” campaign for State Representative in this May’s Democratic primary, I tell them the following:

As long as we continue to allow powerful moneyed special interests to pay for the campaigns of our elected officials, we will never win. As things now stand, regardless of who we send to Salem, the game remains the same. Big money wins every time, and we have to settle for what I call the "Broken Government Game".

No Condors for Hell's Canyon

By Sanford "Sandy" Wilbur of Gresham, OregonR. Sanford is a retired Federal biologist, who was in charge of the California condor research and recovery effort from 1969 to 1980. He developed the first proposals for the captive breeding and reestablishment of condors in their former habitat. He writes regularly about condors and Western land use issues at CondorTales.com.

The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently awarded the Nez Perce $200,000 to study the feasibility of introducing California condors into the Hell's Canyon area in the boundary country between Idaho and Oregon. The investigation is expected to be done in 18 months. I can save everybody time and money by announcing right now: California condors can almost certainly survive in the Snake River Canyon if they are introduced there. I'm willing to make the same prediction about any number of locations from the Pacific Coast to the Black Hills of South Dakota. I base my conclusion on almost 50 years of studying the condor and its history. My question: why would anybody want to put condors in Hell's Canyon?

Hell's Canyon was almost certainly not within the historic breeding range of the California condor. Condors in the Nineteenth Century might have occasionally wandered that far east, but if nesting ever occurred in Oregon (I think they nested, but it has never been confirmed), it would have been in the western part of the state. Nesting would have been at least 300 miles from Hell's Canyon - probably more - and in far different environmental conditions. Call me a purist (which, indeed, I am, when it comes to environmental tinkering), but I think species belong where they belong.