Pacific Green Party of Oregon

Listed in Continue Reading are the Constitution and Bylaw changes proposed by Alan Zundel, our party Secretary, for consideration and a vote at our June 11 convention in Salem.

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” I know that quote from Mahatma Gandhi is somewhat cliché but I feel that it is a great way to describe my approach to politics. 

My name is Josiah Dean and I decided to run for office at the last minute just before the November 2016 election, and I won!  I am a newly elected city council member for the city of Dufur, Oregon.

How did I do it? Well, I live in a small town and I basically just showed up. It is interesting to note that since my landslide win of 12 votes, I have come to realize that many positions in local government are filled by the people who just show up. You may live in a city where city council races might be a major campaign but there are many positions that are unopposed.

If you are interested in running for office in the May 16th Special Election, a good place to start is to visit the Pacific Green Party's Run For Office page, then check in with your local County Elections office right away.  They can tell you exactly which election districts you are in and which offices are open.  But don't delay, the deadline for filing for office is March 16th!

Even if you are not up for running for office this election, you can still help out by becoming a Supporting Member or by volunteering to help those Green candidates running in the upcoming special election.  Something to keep in mind is that your Supporting Member donation may cost you nothing (visit Oregon Political Tax Credit for full details). 

I look forward to leading my little community in the direction that I want to see. I am working with several conservative folks but by demonstrating what cooperation and good governance is, we can create positive solutions.  As a business person with progressive Green Party values, my intention is to make the changes that I can.  And so can you!

Josiah Dean
Dufur City Council Member

By Nick Perry-Guetti

Seven Greens have announced their candidacy and filed for local offices in the upcoming 2017 Special Election to be held statewide on 15 May 2017. Jacqueline DeVaney is running for Clatsop Care Center Health District Director position 3, Daniel Polehn for Northern Wasco Parks & Recreation Director position 5, Alex Polikoff for Corvallis Rural Fire Protection District Director position 2, Zach Dotson for McMinnville School District Director position 1, Kindwyn Hoge for Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District Director position 1, Cindy Johnsen for John Day Water District Commissioner position 5, and Bob Goldberg for Astoria School District #1C Director position 5.  

You can help these candidates today by volunteering to help their campaigns or by donating to the Pacific Green Party!

By Nick Perry-Guetti

On February 14^th, in Salem, OR, the Oregon State Land Board (SLB) in a public hearing voted 2-1 for sale of the Elliot State Forest (a public land trust attached to the state’s Common School Fund (CSF), and comprising some 83,000 acres of beautiful, ecologically diverse forest rich in old growth and known to be habitat for federally threatened species) jointly to Lone Rock Timber, a private timber company, and the Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Tribe. The SLB consists of Oregon Governor Kate Brown (D), Secretary of State Dennis Richardson (R), and Treasurer Tobias Read (D). Brown, who favors an option for continued public ownership of Elliot that still allows for logging, cast the dissenting vote. The sale is not finalized, awaiting another meeting set for April 11^th.

By Nick Perry-Guetti

On February 2nd, an Emergency Relocation Ordinance introduced by Commissioner Chloe Eudaly was unanimously passed after an approximately five-hour hearing where 118 people in addition to those formally invited to testify gave testimony, overwhelmingly in favor of the ordinance. The law requires landlords who instigate no-cause evictions must pay three months rent (actually a flat rate determined by Portland Housing Bureau [PHB] information on the average rent paid by renters whom the law would affect) in relocation assistance to the tenants.

Proponents, citing PHB data as well as much direct experience, argued that in low and moderate income households, incomes are not keeping up with rent increases. Meanwhile landlords in the city have had the right, for the last thirty years, to perform no-cause evictions: a process that bypasses many of the restrictions landlords face in ordinary evictions where they must state a cause. Moving costs around 2.5 times the average monthly income of Portland renters.  Short-term rent assistance has had only limited effect, and representatives of Human Solutions––a homeless sheltering organization that would be housing 5,000 people that night––reported that every homeless shelter which opens immediately fills, that a high percentage of those needing shelter are experiencing homelessness for the first time, and that the city is about 25,000 housing units short. Before the hearing, Commissioner Eudaly addressed a large and appreciative crowd gathered outside, citing her own experience of housing loss as a significant inspiration for crafting the ordinance.

The hearing had an impressive attendance. The two-floor hearing room at City Hall quickly filled, and attendees not giving testimony were obliged themselves to relocate to the nearby Portland Building to watch the proceedings via live stream in an equally packed auditorium. The overall atmosphere was of strong support for the ordinance; though some testimony expressed concerns that the law might create difficulties for landlords in some circumstances, or that the law does not go far enough to assuage the housing crisis and that overturning a current ban on rent control remains necessary. Proponents, including commissioner Eudaly, responded that landlords’ difficulties did not outweigh those of tenants, but the Commission did craft a number of amendments to the law excusing landlords under certain circumstances; they also agreed that the ordinance was only an emergency stopgap measure to arrest the sharp increase in homelessness, and that the ban on rent control was a major cause of conflict and should be reexamined. In the meantime, to avoid difficulties, landlords are encouraged to reconsider no-cause evictions unless absolutely necessary. 

By Nick Perry-Guetti

On Wednesday evening February 1st at University of Oregon - a presentation sponsored by the Pacific Green Party Lane Greens Chapter and given by Coast Range Forest Watch - discussed an ancient forest under threat from a land management administration whose focus seems unclear. CRFW’s co-Director Max Beeken spoke to a full lecture hall in Straub Hall concerning the beautiful 83,000-acre tract of public land, rich in old growth and biodiversity and ecologically valuable for its capacity to absorb carbon, and the issue of its legally and economically questionable sale for timber harvest.

Beeken said that according to the Department of State Lands, the Common School Fund (CSF)––which owns most of the forest––is losing money due to logging restrictions prompted by concerns for federally protected species who reside there. However, Beeken’s data indicated two problems with this story: 1) the CSF does not seem to be losing money at all according to its own statistics, and 2) Elliott’s timber sales are responsible for less than1% of the CSF’s revenue in any case. “Oregon just voted overwhelmingly to support the Fund,” Beeken said. “With such a huge $1.2 billion windfall, it’s hard to see why the forest needs to be sold when timber sales hardly seem to a;ect the Fund’s revenue at all.”

Nevertheless, parcels have been sold to private timber companies. Many of these parcels, upon examination by volunteer wildlife biologists, were found to contain threatened species such as marbled murrelets. Some sales were withdrawn or stopped largely due to the efforts of forest activists, necessary despite Oregon Revised Statute 530.450, which arguably prohibits the sale of most of the forest.

Held in U of O Straub Hall Room 145 starting at 6 p.m. Details listed in the Facebook event posting. This presentation will provide you with background on the Elliott State Forest and the sale process that is underway -- as well as give you the latest developments and provide practical ways you can be involved in keeping the Elliott State Forest in public ownership. Hosted by the Lane Greens Chapter of the Pacific Green Party.

Our Green Party platform supports rent control and ending no cause evictions.  If you can't rally at city Hall please use the event page to contact city commissioners.  This event is HUGE, and we need EVERYONE who's able to join us next Thursday, February 2nd at Portland City Hall to demand our City Council pass relocation assistance for renters.

We'll be hosting a rally at City Hall at 1pm, and the hearing itself will begin promptly at 2pm.

If you have been or are at risk of being displaced from your home because of a no-cause eviction or rent increase, Portland City Council needs to hear from you! Please consider testifying in front of Council next Thursday, and contact Portland Tenants United to let us know you want to speak!

You can also email or call City Council officers at the numbers & addresses below - in particular, Commissioners Saltzman, Fish, and Fritz need to hear from you. We encourage you to share your story with your elected officials, or just a short message of support: "relocation assistance would give displaced tenants a little room to breathe - please support Commissioner Eudaly's proposal next Thursday!"

* Commissioner Nick Fish: 503-823-3589 / [email protected]
* Commissioner Dan Saltzman: 503-823-4151 / [email protected]
* Commissioner Amanda Fritz: 503-823-3008 / [email protected]