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Honoring Black History Month in Southern Oregon
Town Hall with Senator Jeff Merkley: TODAY Sunday February 5th
Why Special District Elections Matter
Climate Justice Conference at SOU
Ways to Get Involved in your Community!
To support local Black owned businesses and for more information on the BASE Professional Business & Services Directory: https://baseoregon.org/directory/
BASE Southern Oregon and the Medford CO-OP are teaming up again for the BASE (Black History Month Fundraiser) - support BASE February 12th – 14th. Shop at the Medford CO-OP and a percentage of the proceeds will go to BASE!
BASE (Black Alliance & Social Empowerment) is a volunteer nonprofit community organization that provides events, community information-sharing, connection, support, and resources that work towards the well-being and advancement of Black people living in Southern Oregon. BASE serves to build an inclusive community to combat structural racism and create a welcoming, supportive, and shareable platform for Black community members to connect, collaborate, and ultimately prosper in Southern Oregon.
Have you ever wondered why the Black population in Oregon is so small? Oregon has a history not only of Black exclusion and discrimination, but also of a vibrant Black culture that helped sustain many communities throughout the state -- a history that is not taught in schools.
TODAY February 5th, Senator Merkley is hosting his 13th town hall of the year—and the 517th open town hall since first being elected to the Senate—at Lone Pine Elementary School in Medford. Jackson County community members are encouraged to come and discuss ideas to strengthen our state and our nation.
What: Jackson County Town Hall
When: 1:00pm PT, Sunday, February 5
Where: Lone Pine Elementary School – Gym, 3158 Lone Pine Rd. Medford, OR 97504
"I hear a lot of people who say, often apologetically, that they just can’t take it anymore. That they have to unplug from the news for the sake of their sanity. I understand that. Truly, I do. But bad things happen when good people look away. We are still in too fragile of a position to be able to afford that luxury. It is often said that every generation has to secure democracy for itself. Our fight is not over yet." ~ Joyce White Vance
The May 16 Special District Election (SDE) will affect all of us. The SDE is a biennial election where local voters select board members for the various districts serving their community or region. Under Oregon statute, SDEs happen in odd years, on the third Tuesday in May. These are nonpartisan positions for everything from fire district boards to the sewer district and transit boards. But increasingly they are being politicized.
Historically, turnout for these elections has been dismal (less than a quarter of county voters participated in the last SDE in 2021). The good news is that Democrats often turn out at a higher rate than Republicans. If we can increase our numbers by just a few percentage points, moderates and progressives can prevail over the far right.
Please skim the news items below and then ask yourself: “Will I sit out this election because it’s an ‘off year’? Or do I want to do something to help make a difference?”
PHOENIX-TALENT SCHOOL BOARD: The Oregon Moms Union (OMU) is busy training conservative candidates to unseat moderate and progressive incumbents. The OMU has 90 chapters in school districts across Oregon, including southern Oregon. Among other things, they are recruiting and training parents to review school library catalogs and question objectionable materials.
ASHLAND SCHOOL BOARD: A conservative watchdog – Parents Defending Education (PDE) has leveled claims of racial discrimination against the Ashland School District (ASD). What’s going on here?
PINEHURST SCHOOL BOARD: This tiny district on the Greensprings has become the focal point in the conservative effort to force unacceptable charter school alternatives upon unwilling communities. Moderate and progressive parents are pushing back. (NOTE: The OMU – see above – is lobbying against SB767 which gives local school boards control of charter schools in their district funding by the school boards.)
MEDFORD SCHOOL BOARD: Over the past three years, this school board has managed a sometimes tenuous but astonishing balancing act between conservatives, moderates, and progressives. But the balance is in jeopardy. One of the two most progressive board members, Karen Starchvick, is not running for a third term. In fact, she just resigned due to personal reasons and the school board is seeking applicants to fill her vacancy. Who will replace her? (Maybe you?) Lilia Caballero, the other progressive, is seeking a third term. She will undoubtedly face strong opposition from the right. She is collaborative and thoughtful, and works hard on behalf of students, families, and staff. She deserves our help.
JACKSON COUNTY LIBRARY BOARD: For more than a year, this board has been the target of the “Bill Meyer Show,” the local version of Rush Limbaugh. Conservatives are painting the Library Board as “woke progressives” seeking to force a far-left agenda on the community. Several board positions will be on the ballot this spring.
Whether we elect reasonable and thoughtful people to represent us or surrender control of these boards to right-wing culture warriors will be up to those of us who turn out to vote.
There are many different ways to help. Inquire at NLP@jcdemocrats.org and we’ll send you the scoop.
The goal of the conference is to accelerate the pace with which a racial equity lens is integrated into regional climate change mitigation, adaptation, and resilience efforts. Centering of BIPOC experiences and adopting a racial equity lens for planning and decision making is urgently needed. By convening individuals and organizations from racial justice and social equity arenas with those working toward climate change resilience, this conference hopes to build a more equitable future where BIPOC and historically marginalized communities are less disproportionately impacted by a changing climate.
The conference is open to anyone interested in climate justice, racial equity, and community resilience and in-person and virtual-only registration options are available. Register today! http://sou.edu/climatejustice
The City of Ashland has openings on the Housing and Human Services Commission, the Wildfire Safety Commission, the Climate Policy Commission and more! More information on the City of Ashland Commission Vacancies.
The City of Medford has openings on the Housing Advisory Commission, the Police Advisory Committee and more! More information on the City of Medford Committee and Commission Vacancies!
Jackson County Democratic Party | 541-858-1050 | jcdemocrats.org
Jackson County Democrats
PO BOX 4474
Medford, OR 97501
United States
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