Hosted by Sunrise PDX, BerniePDX, and Maxed Out Memes for Overcast Teens, the hosts will dive into an honest 45 minutes with Portland Metro District 5 candidate Chris Smith. Chris Smith is running on a platform of climate justice and transportation and housing advocacy.
Chris Smith is not your average political candidate. We’ll be discussing his true opinions on housing policy, transportation justice, what decisions are actually made at Metro – and why this race is so important. See you there!
Don’t Shoot Portland, in coordination with groups like Fires Igniting the Spirit, has compiled a list of local drop locations and supplies needed by those who have been impacted by the wildfires. Please click here to see the list.
Join BerniePDX and the Real Police Accountability campaign manager Darren to learn about this historic initiative on the Nov. ballot! Bring your questions to this virtual event!
This ballot initiative would amend the City’s charter to create a more powerful police oversight board. The hope is that this measure will significantly impact how policing is done in Portland!
Get the Zoom link at: http://tiny.cc/1aussz
The new board would have the power to:
– Subpoena witnesses and request police documents and evidence to investigate complaints made against the Portland Police Bureau;
– Impose disciplinary actions up to termination of law enforcement professionals, and
– Recommend policing policy to the Portland Police Bureau and Portland City Council
Afterward, we’ll email out an endorsement poll so you can vote on whether or not BerniePDX should endorse this ballot initiative.
We are thrilled to announce that BerniePDX members voted to endorse Measure 26-214: Universal Preschool Now, Chris Smith for Metro, Measure 107: Fair & Honest Elections, and Measure 110: The Drug Addiction Treatment & Recovery Actfor the Nov. 2020 election! Scroll down to learn why. Thanks to everyone who voted!
We’ll be sending a second endorsement poll with even more Nov. 2020 races in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!
BerniePDX voted to endorse the ballot measure for Universal Preschool in Multnomah County (UP NOW)! Early childhood education is so important. It has been shown to increase graduation rates, reduce incarceration, and lower unemployment. Unfortunately, preschool is cost prohibitive for many families.
UP NOW will create high-quality preschool for children in Multnomah County by instituting a small tax on the top 5% of income earners. Universal preschool will benefit our children and our community as a whole. It’s time for us to join cities like DC, NYC, and Chicago and provide universal preschool to our kids!
BerniePDX voted to endorse Chris Smith for Metro District 5! Chris is a longtime climate and transportation activist whose work includes organizing the “No More Freeways” campaign. Chris plans to address equity issues in transportation, particularly in East County. He will use his decade of experience on the Portland Planning and Sustainability Commission to make Metro more effective in providing affordable housing and services. Chris is a proud supporter of Black Lives Matter and also supported the call by Unite Oregon and PAALF to reduce the Portland Police Budget by $50 million. We need Chris Smith on Metro!
Learn more and get involved at chrisformetro.com
BerniePDX voted to endorse Measure 107: Fair & Honest Elections! Measure 107 will amend the Oregon constitution so that we can enact laws to:
Politicians in Oregon receive more corporate contributions per capita than those in any other state. Measure 107 will help pave the way toward ending this practice!
Learn more and get involved at fairandhonestelections.org/
BerniePDX voted to endorse Measure 110: the Drug Addiction Treatment & Recovery Act! Measure 110 will provide drug and alcohol treatment to anyone who wants it, regardless of their insurance. It will also eliminate criminal penalties for small amounts of personal possession of drugs. This measure is an important step toward addressing our racist and unjust drug laws!
Learn more and get involved at voteyeson110.org
Click Here to cast your vote for the BerniePDX Nov. 2020 endorsements!
Voting closes Tuesday, Aug. 25.
Come out for a safe, socially distanced event. Now more than ever, in a pandemic, we need Medicare for All!
Over five million people have lost employment related health coverage due to the pandemic, and including family members affected by this loss, about 27 million people have lost access to care. Health care coverage should not be dependent on employment or economic status.
We will be part of a national Medicare for All Day of Action organized by National Nurses United. Bring signs, wear your masks, and stay 6 feet apart at all times! Health Care is a Human Right!
Location: Pioneer Courthouse Square, SW 6th between Yamhill & Morrison
Join BerniePDX on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 7:30pm, to learn about IP 44: The Drug Addiction Treatment & Recovery Act, which will be on the ballot in November! Bring your questions to this virtual event!
–> RSVP here to get the Zoom link: http://tiny.cc/r3hmsz
M110 would remove criminal penalties for small amounts of personal possession of drugs and connect people with drug treatment and recovery services. Using funds from Oregon’s existing marijuana tax, M110 will greatly expand access to drug treatment and recovery services throughout the state.
There’s a lot more to unpack with this measure – we look forward to seeing you at this virtual event!
Afterward, we’ll email out an endorsement poll so you can vote on whether or not BerniePDX should endorse M110. If you’re not on our email list yet and want to vote, just send your email to info@berniepdx.us.
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Tuesday, Aug. 18
7:30pm
RSVP for the Zoom link: http://tiny.cc/r3hmsz
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/731860510933774/
Universal Preschool Now Update:
Last time we wrote about the potential issue of two preschool measures on the Nov. ballot. Here’s a campaign update: “This week, the Universal Preschool NOW coalition of over 30 community groups and unions voted to merge with Preschool for All, a parallel campaign led by County Commissioner Jessica Vega Pederson. With this merger, we will be able to bring a single measure for universal preschool and fair wages for preschool workers to the November 2020 ballot.” Thanks to everyone who sent a message to the Multnomah County Commissioners in support of UP NOW!
Please sign (and share) this letter to the Multnomah County Commissioners telling them that you support the UP NOW ballot measure because ALL children and families in Multnomah County deserve free, quality preschool – and all preschool teachers deserve a living wage!
BACKGROUND:
Medicare, Social Security, and public education are so popular and lasting because they are UNIVERSAL programs! That’s why Universal Preschool Now has so much support and such a broad coalition.
But now, another group is trying to get the Multnomah County Commissioners to put a watered-down, non-universal preschool measure on the ballot. According to UP NOW, “Nobody wants to risk having two plans on a single ballot, which is why we are urging the commissioners to affirm the one that has already been approved by voters (that’s you!) to go to the ballot.”
Workers at the Center for Sustainable Economy are trying to form a union, and they need our support!
CSE managers have brought in the same union-busting law firm that Little Big Burger used, and they have already begun to retaliate against their employees for organizing. Please sign and share the petition to support the workers’ unionization effort!
The demands outlined in the petition are:
1. Voluntarily recognize USE, on acceptable terms, as the unanimous voice of CSE staff, and a bargaining unit of CWA Local 7901.
2. Reverse the retaliatory suspension of a Union member.
3. Immediately terminate the relationship with pernicious union-busting firm, Bullard Law, and commit to bargaining in good faith.
“Hiring a union-busting firm is a direct contradiction of our core values as members of Oregon’s environmental justice and labor movements. We are disturbed to our core that you would engage in union-busting against environmental workers who are on the front-line of efforts to secure a Green New Deal and a sustainable economy that works for all.”
