Hello, Oregon Progressive Party members and supporters. Welcome to the third of our now monthly newsletters of what the Oregon Progressive Party is up to and other items of interest to the Oregon Progressive community.

If you have a question which you think that candidates for political office from or in Oregon should answer, please let the Party know by completing this survey. As the Party writes candidate questionnaires for local, state and national level offices, we will consider asking your question, or combining your question with similar questions.

Survey available here.

The question for the court is "Should voters who are listed as "inactive" be allowed to sign initiative petitions and have their signatures count?"

Get the details here.

The OPP state council has decided to support efforts by the Portland Tenants Union to enact an ordinance combatting landlord harassment of tenants in order to kick the tenants out and increase rents. A proposed Tenant Protection Ordinance would define what landlord harassment is, what actions are harassment, and calls for an expansion of a City of Portland robust Rental Services Office that can support tenants in addressing their housing issues. Learn more about this ordinance and how you can help make it happen here.

Note that the ordinance is not yet written but examples of such ordinances already exist in Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Berkeley.

 Friday, September 10-2021, 4:30 - 6 PM

Pioneer Court House Square, SW Yamhill and Broadway, Portland

Oregon Progressive Party has endorsed a rally organized by Peace & Justice Work marking the 20th anniversary of the beginning of America's endless wars.

9/11: Twenty Years of War, Stoking Fear, Erasing Rights and Misdirected Funding

Expanded Friday Rally/March for Peace and Justice

Please mask up and stay distanced for safety

Location: Pioneer Courthouse Sq, SW Yamhill & Broadway, Portland

Date/time: Friday, September 10-2021, 4:30 - 6 PM

Join us to mark the devastating 20th anniversay of 9/11. Speakers will address issues that have plagued America and thus the world, after the US chose to start endless wars rather than seek justice. Other than the wars, which expanded from Afghanistan to Iraq, Yemen, Pakistan, Libya, Somalia and Syria, topics will include threats to civil liberties/the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay and the rise in Islamophobia and anti-immigrant sentments.

For more info: Peace and Justie Works Iraq Affinity Group

503-236-3065  iraq@pjw.info

Printable flyer here.

The war on Afghanistan has ended and the other "endless" wars are ending. It is time for a peace dividend, a time to move money from the war machine to more peaceful initiatives. We were promised such a dividend when the Soviet Union disintegrated and the Cold War ended. But like so many promises, this first peace dividend did not materialize.

The first and very modest step is approval of a bill introduced by Rep. Mark Pocan into Congress which will move money from the 2021 Pentagon budget to fund COVID vaccines, titled: "The COVID Defense Act." This bill does not yet have a bill number and Rep. Pocan's press release does not list co-sponsors. So we don't know if any of our Oregon Reps will be original co-sponsors. 

OR Progressive Party suggests calls to Rep. Blumenauer, Bonamici and DeFazio asking that they sign on as co-sponsors. Naturally, calls to Rep. Schrader are appropriate as well but given his record he is not likely to sign on as a co-sponsor. 

Calls to Sen Merkley and Wyden, asking that they introduce the bill into the Senate, would also be good.

Find your members of Congress contact info here.

Oregon voters clearly want effective limits on political campaign contributions and spending in Oregon elections. Even so, the Oregon legislature failed again to enact any limits at all. Oregon is still one of only 5 states with no limits on money flowing into our political campaigns, making OR elections among the most expensive in the nation!

Oregon Progressive Party and our allies at Honest Elections will file an initiative petition soon with the OR Secretary of State asking that Oregon Voters enact effective loophole-free limits on campaign contribution.

WE WILL NEED YOUR HELP getting this on the Nov 2022 ballot. Sign up here to help the OR Progressive Party help with the campaign gathering of signatures when the time comes.

Could you use $750 annually for each of your family members?

Oregon Progressive Party has expressed support for the Oregon People's Rebate, an initiative petition campaign for the November 2022 election.

The initiative would increase the state corporate minimum tax on sales in Oregon of over $25 million per year and distribute the additional revenue raised to every bona fide Oregon resident. The campaign estimates that increase will support a individual rebate of $750 per person who resided in Oregon for at least 200 days during the prior year.

The campaign has received a Certified Ballot Title, and petition sheets are now available to start collecting voter signatures. Interested in being part of the team? Please send an email expressing interest to the Oregon Progressive Party and/or to the Oregon People's Rebate campaign directly.

Learn more on the campaign website.