The Pragmatic Radical’s Portland Voter Guide

The Bitchtucci Voter Guide: November 2k16, PDX, OR

Kiss your ballot. Kiss your pen. I send a kiss to your brain wherever you are. Let’s do this.

To start:

• “I’m disillusioned with the system. I don’t want to vote.” Cool. Vote anyway.
  Put another way: My friend Leila Haile (@leila_bean on Insta — support local queer black-owned business!), genderqueer activist genius, said this: “I only vote in national elections to honor those who have shed blood for my right to do so.” Please let this sink in.
  This is not hyperbole. People literally died in the fight to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Big trigger warning — here is a very incomplete list of some of those people.
  I don’t blame folks with marginalized identities for choosing to abstain from a system that they know does not serve them. You know who you are. I’m not coming for you. I send you my love and solidarity.
  HOWEVER. I have heard so much holier than thou talk of abstaining from comfortable people who believe their fairweather principles are more important than concrete change. You’re not too anarchist to vote. You’re not too progressive to vote.
  In social work and therapy, we talk about the harm reduction principle regarding public health; essentially, we aren’t too high and mighty to offer help to folks who are suffering, even if they are engaged in harmful or “illegal” behavior. The logic is this: it’s ethical to be of service even when you’re not stoked about the situation as a whole. Because GUESS WHAT?! UNTIL WE CAN CHANGE THE SYSTEMS THAT CREATE PROBLEMATIC SITUATIONS, WE CAN’T GO BURYING OUR HEADS IN THE SAND. ACTUAL, REAL PEOPLE ARE EXPERIENCING SUFFERING THAT IS A DIRECT REFLECTION OF POLITICS AND POLICY. GET IN THE FIGHT WITH US. GET. THE. FUCK. IN. ROLL UP YOUR FUCKIN’ SLEEVES. GET YOUR FANCIEST PEN.
  Are you actively engaged in grassroots work that creates community-based change? Are you donating your time, money, and skills to the amazing groups that combat our problematic political system? Yes? Bless you. If you have the emotional bandwidth, please vote. Or no, you’re not engaged in that type of work? Then, dude, you gotta vote. This is a way to harvest tangible positive impacts. Vote all the way down that ballot. Do it ‘cuz Paul Ryan doesn’t want you to.
  If you believe the system is too corrupt and will never truly serve each citizen, you’re right. This is a reason TO vote, not to abstain. Abstentionism as a form of demanding change only makes sense if a corrupt system can be reformed through protest and divestment. Since we believe it can’t, the only logical way to create change is by chipping away incrementally using the preexisting system. While being cynical is a logical response to the constraints of the status quo, it’s histrionic and untrue to claim that voting cannot influence, say, whether a ballot measure in your county passes or fails. These micro-issues are arguably the most important. In her New Hampshire speech that made us all cry, Michelle Obama said that a difference of 66 votes per precinct in NH could have changed whether that state went for Obama in 2008. And I’m not gonna be the one to call Michelle Obama a liar. That’s the size of a mediocre Friday night house party in Portland.
  So where are you?
• A note about my political leanings: I’m a queer, first-gen, working class femme of color. I am left of left. I am lefter than the box of leftovers you accidentally left at the restaurant.
  But I’m a pragmatic voter because I know these systems are not invested in decolonizing themselves from the inside out. Audre Lorde wisely reminds us, “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house. They may allow us temporarily to beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change.” So, then, given all of the corruption of the two party game, how do we cast our votes strategically to reduce harm for our most vulnerable?
  I’m no perfect manic pixie activist girl, but I am invested personally and professionally in doing The Everyday Work™, which is where all sustainable and meaningful change happens. I believe NEVERTHELESS in voting because public money and resource allocation live in policy, and justice work needs to happen at all levels.
  If you’re not “liberal,” you’re not gonna like this voter guide. If you cannot budge on your radical politics to vote strategically for practical victories, you’re not gonna like this voter guide either.

Candidates

Oregon US Senator

• Ron Wyden (D): Well, dude’s polling at +22 points above snoozefest Callahan, which is promising. Wyden, himself somewhat of a snoozefest, is the incumbent Senior Senator from Oregon.
  Wyden is reeeeeeeal decent. Real adequate. Real okay. We need a blue Senate majority big timmmeeee for our next president, and it’s not the time to take a risk on voting for a third party senator. I like Wyden’s critique of the labyrinthine OR tax codes, I like tax breaks to incentivize clean energy, I like his work to replace No Child Left Behind, and I like that he’s an older white dude who throws down for Planned Parenthood. We need to secure a blue Senate 4evr. We have some serious Supreme Court nominations to get through. For mourning Bernie bros — Paul Ryan is scared that if we have a blue Senate, Sanders will become the Chair of the Senate Budget Committee. #dothingstoupsetpaulryan2k16
  Callahan (R) arbitrarily capitalizes non-proper nouns in the middle of his sentences (“Americans [should come together], as One Team.” Like…??? You wanna run a $16,000 campaign without hiring a copyeditor for, like, a day?) and advocates for a super poorly-informed “Flat Tax” (again arbitrarily capitalized) for all businesses in Oregon. I tried to find specific details about this “Flat Tax,” but outside of his strangely capitalized claim that he can do away with the 74,000 page tax system by issuing a flat tax of 16% to all businesses, details were hard to find. He claims that this 16% tax would result in a “Flat 10% Tax” for the average Oregonian. Where is your logic grounded in salient economics theory? Where are the warrants, the evidence? Do you think the nuances in, you know, urban v. rural regions and people and business itself might make it a good idea to have different tax levels? You really want billion-dollar corporations to be taxed at the same rate as the mom-and-pop Phở shop down the street? Farewell. He seems to favor making harsh, reductive generalizations. This is not an attractive quality in a senator who will be expected to reach across the aisle. He says this unnerving and skin crawly thing about being pro-life — oh, pardon me — “Pro-Life”: “I am 100% Pro-Life. I believe that you are either Pro-Life or you are not.” Even when the mama’s life is at risk? Even in cases of sexual assault? You really didn’t leave yourself with any wiggle room, Cally.

Oregon US House District 3

• Earl Blumenauer (D): Not just because he looks like a grandfatherly Bill Nye the Science Guy in his bowtie. Do it because no one else is really an option. He’s been in the House for hella days, but this is hardly the time to take a chance on anyone else.
  David Walker, who is running as a Republican and an Independent, straight up says, “Oust the Republican & Democrats by never voting for a Democrat or Republican candidate in any present or future local, state or federal election.” But, David…you…are listed as a Republican…???? So are you saying not to vote for you? Great. Can do.
  Blumenauer is an extremely thorough fellow. On his website, he has elaborated on more issues than virtually any other candidate I’ve seen for any office. Notably, he has an entire tab on honoring treaties with Native Americans. This is…surprisingly…cool. He’s against the Dakota Pipeline, and for Native-specific affordable housing. He strongly favors affirmative action, Obamacare, a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. He opposes privatized Social Security, expanding the military, and vouchers for school choice.

Oregon Governor

• Kate Brown (D): Someone give this woman a crown already. THIS VOTE IS VERY IMPORTANT for Oregon. Even if you’re waffling on other candidates or ballot measures, get your vote for KB in at all costs. You can write in “lol” for everyone else, but not Katie B and her Jane Lane from Daria hair. In late July, polls taken by the Oregonian (eh, I know…but fivethirtyeight doesn’t give a shit about our gubernatorial race, sadly. Here’s their gorgeous aggregate data on the Prez and Senate races, though: http://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2016-election-forecast/?ex_cid=2016-senate-forecast) showed Kate Brown and Republican challenger Bud Pierce in a “virtual dead heat.”
  Hella Republicans who know Trump won’t take Oregon or the White House are going to be religious about getting the vote out for other Republicans down the ballot, and you know they want Mahonia Hall. Here are a few of my myriad issues with Bud Pierce (R):
• Dude, your name is “Bud.” You know what I always say: Air Bud or no Bud at all.
• APANO, an Asian American community organization, sent a questionnaire to candidates that included the question, “What racial/cultural/ethnic identities do you claim?” Here’s part of Pierce’s cringey response: “[My father’s] father, of whom nothing is known, may have been a Native American.” Really, Bud? You’re gonna pull out a fantastical Native American ancestor? Even though you say that you don’t know anything about your grandfather? Isn’t there, then, an equal chance that your grandfather was Swedish? But you wanna throw the possibility of being a Cherokee princess on the table? Is this so you can wear a warbonnet to Coachella this year?
• He goes on to use lots of other cringey, outdated sentiments about race and equity throughout the questionnaire, relying on terms like “minorities” and “diversity,” citing “having people of color in his inner circle” as a key part of his official policies regarding equity in the governor’s office. This is what we in the biz call “tokenism.”
  His use of these terms stands in stark comparison with Brown’s adept use of the lingo — “inclusion,” “equity,” “historically underrepresented communities,” and so forth. I’m typically no semantics snob because so much social justice language is ensconced in the ivory tower, but I do absolutely hold someone aspiring to the fuckin’ GOVERNOR’S OFFICE accountable for learning not to rely on the rhetoric of passive diversity being a form of active implementation of equity. In a question about how to address the ROOT CAUSES OF INEQUITY IN OREGON, he vaguely acknowledges the potential for racial bias without calling that shit out explicitly, saying, “Human beings also may show favoritism to people who look more like them, which is best overcome by having people living and working together.” Really? Getting people who don’t all look like one another to live and work together without insitutionalizing rigorous inclusion and equity praxis, that’s how we “best overcome” the ROOT CAUSES OF INEQUITY in Oregon? Like??? Bud??
• If you have further questions about why tokenism and diversity cannot alone accomplish racial justice, here’s a simple article outlining that distinction in the workplace. Look, you can hire ten people and five of them can be people of color, but if the conditions at the workplace make it unsafe or risky for people of color to share their opinions, if those people of color are subjected to microaggressions that discourage them from being their full selves, if the conditions do not ALLOW for diverse and safe CONTRIBUTION, then having a couple of brown faces at the table does nothing to upset dominant culture.
• His primary reform to education would be investing in CTE “work-based learning.” I like investing in pre-professional skills as much as anyone, trust me, and I think it’s problematic on a number of racist, classist levels that we use higher education as the key measure of a student’s worth. But I worked in the French education system, where middle school students test into college preparatory high schools or vocational high schools for the exact reasons Pierce cites — and who do you think are funneled into these vocational high schools? Students of color. Students from immigrant families. Students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Having CTE as a viable choice for all students is good. Making an investment in CTE your flagship education reform, with no mention on your website of, I dunno, getting funding to all schools, thereby also increasing higher ed as a viable option for marginalized students? Yikes. (See Ballot Measures 97 and 98 to make both of those good things possible.)
• In regards to helping teachers, Pierce talks about lengthening the school year by eliminating “unnecessary in-service days that have proliferated in recent years.” He’s clueless about how overworked teachers are. We need in-service days with no students to make schools run. To me, this is a classic Republican attempt to cut corners and avoid increasing funding. Sure, Bud, let’s take away teacher prep time so we don’t have to significantly increase taxes to lengthen the school year meaningfully or sustainably. Yikes.
• Pierce waxes poetic about the Republican Party being the ones to abolish slavery in the Civil War, as if he isn’t well fucking aware that the Republican Party of 2016 has more racists than you can shake a blue stick at (y’know, cuz #bluelivesmatter), as if he isn’t well fucking aware that the Civil War was primarily a political attempt to keep the Union together, not an ethical crusade for slave liberation. YAWN to ya TIRED TROPES, BUD! THIS AIN’T A SPIELBERG MOVIE, BUD!

Bud’s website is largely well-written (although misleading) and well-designed, and I worry that folks will be convinced by the “sensible” tone. Get out the damn vote for Queen Katie. Here’s why we luv her:

• Kate was minding her own business and saving Oregon literal millions of dollars with efficiency measures as the Secretary of State when her predecessor Sketchy Moustache Kitzhaber resigned after a flurry of scandals. She stepped into office and developed the Motor Voter program, which stands as a stunning beacon of voter accessibility in the wake of the death of the Voting Rights Act, which has allowed hella states to make the requirements for voting more and more difficult to exclude women, people of color, and naturalized citizens.She’s helped push the Oregon Promise into existence, which MY STUDENTS and so many others are taking advantage of this year to get community college paid for. We have full-day kindergarten. People with uteruses can get 12 months of birth control at a time. She signed the raised minimum wage bill into law. She founded a Small Business Advisory Cabinet for ongoing common sense economic reforms. She’s supported legislation that will phase out coal power by 2030. I’m regurgitating a lot of this straight from her very coherent website.
• She’s openly bisexual, and as of early October, an open survivor of domestic violence. This representation matters. The kind of expertise informed by lived experience matters. In her commencement address to my alma mater, Willamette University, she talked about how many of her peers in the Senate had no idea what it was like to be afraid to come to work for fear of being outed and spurned. I see this experience bear fruit in her legislation to expand sick leave, to increase parental leave, and so on.
• Above all, she’s sensible as fuck. Her website is littered with specifics. Bud’s website has a nicer sans serif font but many vague plans.
• She has done highly detail-oriented work for her entire life. She isn’t perfect, but I trust her to do the reading and to ask the questions.

Oregon Secretary of State

• Brad Avakian (D): This is a toughie. I think both of our frontrunners are…bad. I voted for Val Hoyle in the primaries, but heeeeere weeee are. This choice sent me into an existential spiral of feeling trapped by the broken political system between a rock and a hard place more than any other candidate or ballot measure. Critics of Avakian return to this idea again and again: dude has a hard time staying in his lane.
  This Forbes article accuses him of lots of sketchiness, and politics is a sketchy world, so I’m willing to buy it.
  The question of role is a key thing here:
  The Office of the Secretary of State describes itself like this:
  The Secretary is Oregon’s chief elections officer, auditor and archivist. Additionally, the Secretary of State promotes job growth by streamlinin​g the creation and expansion of business, authenticates documents for travel or study abroad, and offers notary training and listings. Oregon is the only state where the secretary of state is responsible for auditing public spending. In addition, the secretary serves with the governor and treasurer on the Land Board and manages and oversees Oregon’s Common School Fund.
  The predicament is this: the role of the Secretary of State seems straightforward and limited in scope. This is problematic for both candidates, so I’m considering it somewhat of a wash. That leaves me with the question, “Who’s gonna protect the most vulnerable Oregonians better?” Oversight of the Land Board and the Common School Fund were big voting issues for me. Much election analysis cries woefully about Avakian’s ambitions being outside of the jurisdiction of the Secretary of State. An April 2016 editorial published in the Oregonian (a newspaper widely acknowledged to be rubbish) said, “Avakian is pledging to protect Oregonians from fraud, add civics classes to the curriculum for Oregon’s schools, ensure equal pay for women, champion promising candidates, rally for worthy causes and, while he’s at it, combat climate change. Considering his wide-ranging plan, we would not be surprised if Avakian were to trumpet a three-point plan for winning the war on terror as well.”
  Upon cross-referencing with the actual responsibilities of the Secretary of State, I can see the cloudy intersection of Avakian speaking inspirationally (without enough explicit reference to the SoS position itself) and media trying to pin him for acting outside of the office. To gain votes, I do believe Avakian is speaking grandly. A politician?! Shocking.
  However, as a member of the Land Board, the Secretary of State does have administrative input on climate change, conservation, and resource allocation matters. And while the Oregonian sneers at Avakian’s vow to ensure equal pay for women, Avakian’s plan is to audit private companies that do business with the state to track down when and where they may not be paying women equally. This far of a reach has not been done before, but I’m not convinced it’s an inherently bad idea. It is within the power of the Secretary of State to target audits. Folks are acting like a candidate’s political opinions don’t matter for this position, that it’s all neutral audits and clinical assessment of numbers. But the SoS inevitably focuses their attention on issues they believe matter most. So Avakian wants to be a crusader for auditing companies that work with the state. Is this informed by his liberal politics? Yeah. But this ability to choose whom to audit is why I won’t vote for Richardson.
  For instance, Richardson has pledged to audit the Department of Human Services. As an educator and youth advocate, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to burn that building to the ground when I don’t think they’re being effective at serving our children, particularly in cases of suspected domestic violence. I would like to personally audit DHS. HOWEVER! I am very, very concerned with the ends Richardson seeks in auditing DHS. Despite being competent in many ways, Richardson lost his bid for governor in 2014 because his conservatism alienated voters. He has distressing opinions on pro-life issues like sex ed and parental oversight of teenage pregnancy boundaries, marriage equality (“Same-sex marriage unfairly advantages same-sex couples over heterosexual couples”???? Nahhhhh), and most importantly as we consider his bid for SoS, private business and taxes. As a member of the House, Richardson voted against increasing the state minimum wage, against extending healthcare to cover folks with pre-existing conditions, and against increased family leave. I am not interested in an audit that will result in gutting DHS, which is already woefully underfunded. I work with breathtakingly wonderful DHS workers who are doing their damnedest to navigate the system. If I could be confident that a Richardson-led Secretary of State audit would actually streamline and reallocate preexisting funds within DHS, that would be one thing. I have searched for details of this plan to assuage my concerns, but they were nowhere to be found. Send ’em my way if you find any.
  So my question was this: Do I prefer a kinda sketch politician who has a hard time staying in his lane but who doesn’t threaten the social issues that I care about, or do I prefer a dude who probably isn’t a Slytherin but who can use the office to poke holes in things (under the banner of nonpartisan sensibility) that protect the most vulnerable, whether workers, healthcare recipients, defenders of public land, or children? I’ve gotta think of minimizing harm for the most, most vulnerable. I can get down with Avakian’s lofty promises to expand civic engagement to youth and to audit corporations for sexist tomfoolery and other shady business. He was the only SoS candidate to respond to APANO’s candidate questionnaire, and he spoke about race and equity in a competent milquetoast sort of way. I hope he doesn’t actually use his position of SoS to endorse political candidates down the road. But uh…I’m gonna go with the Slytherin.

Oregon Attorney General

• Ellen Rosenblum (D): Rosenblum, endorsed by other lawyers, lawmakers, public employees, nurses, and educators, is the incumbent running against newbie Daniel Crowe (R), endorsed by the NRA and the Oregon Firerarms Federation. Boy, bye.
  His campaign website literally cites “sunshine” as one of the themes he’s running under. Uh, my dude. Wrong state. He answered APANO’s question about the roots of racial inequity by saying, “I prefer to concentrate on what brings us together: moderation.” He pitched a fit about Rosenblum’s challenge to the state’s constitutional ban on gay marriage and tried to act like it was about his libertarian politics. His campaign website literally tries to hop on the bandwagon of Trump’s campaign being successful because of the Oregonian “abhorrence of ‘business as usual.’” I see that you’re trying to make a case for yourself as someone who isn’t a career politician, but maybe your best bet for that isn’t riding the coattails of a frothing-at-the-mouth fascist?
  In PDX, we’ve had Mayor Charlie Hales passing a weak, pandering police contract (notably allowing police to review footage on their body cams before writing a report, rather than writing it with no interference from memory, the standard practice because it allows for the most unbiased recollection and prevents against police manipulation or tweaking of stories) in the last months of his tenure. In Oregon, like in many states, we’ve got human trafficking, sexual assault on college campuses, families who depend on access to reproductive health. Rosenblum returns again and again to my Exceedingly Important and Most Relevant Catchphrase For Politics And Life As We Know It™ : “Protect the most vulnerable.” I really need for us to have an Attorney General who looks at legal oversight with compassion and empathy in mind. The justice system suffers from quite a dearth of both, no? She’s the one who started investigations into the dubious dealings of Gov. Kitzhaber, who eventually resigned. In 2013, her team filed briefs in support of same-sex marriage. She ordered protections against predatory mortgage lending in 2012. She says she’ll robustly prosecute civil rights violations, enforce child support payments, and work against consumer fraud and illegal trade practices. I’m here for it, Ellen.

Oregon Treasurer

• Tobias Read (D): Was Tobias the best character in K.A. Applegate’s hit series Animorphs? Negotiable. Is Tobias the best candidate for Oregon Treasurer? Non negotiable.
  This Willamette Bearcat really, really loves government. He’s the President Pro Tem of the OR House of Reps right now, where he has served on many very boring-looking finance committees like Joint Tax Credits, Revenue, Ways and Means. He’s worked in the business world, not just government, for those who are concerned with career politicians. He signed HB 4017, which expanded healthcare for Pacific Islanders legally residing in Oregon. He helped get us full-day kindergarten. Those concerned with Dems spending all the money can be reassured at the level to which he is committed to creating an Oregon Rainy Day Fund. I think Chris Henry (P) has a sensible understanding of Oregon’s investments and loans, but I don’t see him having the experience or clout to lead both Republicans and Democrats the way Tobias Read can. Jeff Gudman (R) has been an investor for as long as my little sister Nina has been alive. I can’t tell if he has an extremely thin moustache or just a really textured upper lip. He’s gone as high as City Council in filthy rich Lake Oswego — I don’t buy that he’s well prepared for the significantly less rich coffers of Oregon. A lotta shit that works in a rich city or a hospital foundation (he’s currently the treasurer for the Legacy Emanuel Foundation) isn’t gonna fly statewide. His website has a lengthy resume-type biography, but a well-formatted, accessible, issue-by-issue analysis or plan is nowhere to be found. Instead of an “Issues” tab, he has an entire tab for “Videos.” One of these videos features a screengrab of him with a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes leaning against a silver sedan. The title is “A Treasurer’s Wheels.” Um…truly, the only reason I would watch any of these videos is to try to excavate the mystery of his moustache-or-lip-philtrum.

Judge of the Supreme Court, Pos 6

• Lynn Nakamoto: Running unopposed, and we love her. The Honorable Lynn Bad Bitch Nakamoto was the first Asian American of any gender to serve on the Oregon Supreme Court. She’s the first member of her family to graduate from college. She’s an open queer queen and has sat on the board of my beloved Q Center here in PDX. When she moved back to Oregon from the Bronx in the late 1980s, she represented poor clients in farm and rural issues at the Marion-Polk County Legal Aid Service, eventually becoming its acting director. She’s been on the Oregon State Bar Affirmative Action Committee. When is she becoming the Attorney General of the US? When is she running for president? She has a fucking award named after her for “leaders who have demonstrated leadership, professionalism, mentorship and commitment to the promotion of APAs in the Oregon legal community.” She’s a walking superlative.

Judge of the Court of Appeals, Pos 8

• Roger Dehoog: Running unopposed…but we love him too! He was the second Asian American to be appointed to the state Supreme Court, directly succeeding Queen Nakamoto. He’s notably not from the Portland area, and has served in Deschutes County and other places in central Oregon, where he works to aid the needs of the most vulnerable in the area on the board of community organization Neighbors Impact. He has dogs. Plural. He was called a “tireless member” of the Circuit Court and many in Deschutes County were sorry to lose him. We’re happy to stick with this former Bar Ethics Committee member to preside over our state’s many civil and criminal cases.

Judge of the Court of Appeals, Pos 5

• Scott Schorr: Running unopposed. His forehead is truly a sight to behold. Fortunately it contains his brain, which is real decent at appellate law. He was part of a legal team that sued Philip Morris for hella dollars for misrepresenting its Marlboro Lights cigarettes as being less harmful than they obviiiiiiiiiiii are.

Judge of the Circuit Court, 4th Dist, Pos 35

• Patrick Henry: Unopposed. Queen Kate Brown called upon him specifically. He has spent much of his career working in Human Services, which I think is extremely important — think about who is disproportionately affected by the justice system, yeah? This article explains his reach well: “As general counsel to the Department of County Human Services, Henry has been the legal arm of the Aging, Disability, and Veteran Services Division, the Mental Health and Addiction Services Division, the Domestic Violence Coordination Office and the Developmental Disabilities Services Division. He saw his job as working to improve the community and county’s response to people who are in crisis and need of services.” All right, all right, all right.

Judge of the Circuit Court, 4th Dist, Pos 6

• Leslie Bottomly: Unopposed. Do it for her last name. Eyyyyyyyy.
  She is also really, really — almost boringly — even-keel and technical, which is an appealing trait for a judge. She spent much of her law career as a neutral arbitrator to mediate disputes, and she has done the heavily detail-oriented work on advising clients on healthcare and employment compliance. She’s been on the board of directors for Raphael House, a nonprofit that serves survivors of domestic abuse and systemically addresses causes of domestic violence.

Oregon State Senator, District 23

• Michael Dembow (D): Unopposed. He’s helped sponsor really, really sensible legislation like the HB 4017 Pacific Islander healthcare bill I mentioned earlier, and HB 4143, which declared the state of housing in Oregon an emergency and rolled out smart protections for renters like prohibiting rent increases for month-to-month renters in the first year of tenancy and lengthening other notice periods. He’s the House’s Assistant Majority Leader now and will have the political capital to continue getting shit done. He’s an English professor at PCC, teaches writing and film studies — a nerd for all nerds, I say! Community college is the shit, I say! I promise you, I tried to find a syllabus online. His RateMyProfessor entry is a fucking HOOT. Demmy has a 4.7/5 chili pepper hotness rating. He has this kinda trustworthy 1980s art teacher look to him…some combination of the round glasses and long face, I think…

Oregon State Senator, District 14

• Mark Hass (D): Unopposed, incumbent, currently Majority Whip. No relation to Hass avocados, sadly. I like when journalists become politicians, and he is that. I like that he’s signed onto bills to prioritize testing sexual assault kits in police departments, the same HB 4143 re: housing state of emergency, and making access to voting easier through pre-paid stamped envelopes.

Oregon State Senator, District 18

• Ginny Burdick (D): Unopposed, incumbent — we like her fine. Did you know that in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, they characterize a grown-up Ginny Weasley as a total health nut? It’s so unfair. It’s such a misinterpretation of her character, I think. There’s a scene where Harry says that he and his whole household are “off sugar” because Ginny says so. What a farce. #unrelatedginnynews

Oregon State Senator, District 21

• James Ofsink (P): Frankly, I don’t think he has a chance, but this is a low-risk third party endorsement. His opponent, Kathleen Taylor (D) has worked effectively in the OR House of Representatives, earned 89.4% of the May primary vote, and will almost certainly win District 21. I think her priorities (paid family leave, fair workweek legislation, raising the minimum wage, moving away from coal, etc.) are sound. If this were a race between an incumbent Dem, a Progressive, and a Republican, I wouldn’t risk splitting the blue vote and giving an opportunity for a Republican to swoop on a safe seat. However, since our end goal here is someone to bolster progressive issues in the Senate, and since both Ofsink and Taylor will do so, I’m gonna go with the candidate whose ideals more closely align with mine, particularly in regards to explicitly supporting #BLM, demilitarizing the police force and mandatory independent review of incidences of deadly force, renters rights, and public infrastructure investment. I think he would be a safe vote for the same issues I like Taylor for, but will push much-needed Senate conversations about race, housing, and public transport.

Oregon State Senator, District 22

• Lew Frederick (D): He’s technically not running unopposed, but please look at this official photo of his Libertarian opponent and accept that he is essentially running unopposed. He is honestly the most darling. Lew, a highly qualified black politician, was a radio news reporter and the narrator and host of a Science and History Education series, and you can hear his radio tone in the unbelievable writing in the OR Voters’ Pamphlet and on his website. His website’s sidebar includes this gem, which is so earnest and cheesy that I could not bear to edit it short: “Lew Frederick learned the importance of public service as a young man in Atlanta during the height of the civil rights movement, where a mentor once told him ‘Use the talents and opportunities you have. You’re supposed to make this world better for those who come after you.’
  That mentor was the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”
  Lew, do not do this my heart. He’s an MIT-trained science genius, has worked in Portland Public Schools, so I trust the way he’s gonna finagle those funds in N/NE, where my elementary school and therefore heart is located. His voting record is commendable. He calls incentivizing affordable healthcare, funding schools’ robust afterschool programs and effective teacher mentorship, protecting small businesses, curbing environmental biohazards, and addressing the disproportionate rate at which mentally ill and drug-addicted people are incarcerated here (Lew says 80%) are his priorities for the next term. I don’t wanna Lews him. ;)

Oregon State Senator, District 25

• Laurie Monnes Anderson (D): This is my mama’s district, so I feel very strongly about it, and about deep Eastside in general. We. Need. A. Blue. Senator. Out. East. The population of color out here has jumped a ton in the past ten years; folks of color who lived in N/NE PDX got gentrified out by all the vegan donut shops, and when they got pushed out, many moved to deep East Portland and Gresham. I coach the debate team at Gresham High School, where a whopping 45%+ of the students come from families of color. Gresham, if you recall, is where the KKK passed out fliers and candy last autumn — and just blocks from my mama’s apartment, a white supremacist killed a black teenage boy with his Jeep this August. I can’t say Anderson is out here championing for racial justice, but she cares about affordable housing, paid sick leave, services for senior citizens, and more robust funding for education. (Gresham voters should also vote in support for Measure 26–188, the Community Center, Recreation, Swimming/Aquatics Facilities Bonds to serve the GODDAMN COMMUNITY better!)

Multnomah County Sheriff

• Teressa Raiford: WRITE HER IN. Raiford, the head of Don’t Shoot Portland, is running against Mike Reese, who is otherwise unopposed. The organization has released a statement, which I encourage you to read in full. There is also a Facebook page with digestible, shareable images and blurbs. The gist is this: Reese, currently serving as interim Sheriff until he can be elected, is unfit to remain Sheriff if we really wanna imagine a Portland metro area whose justice can be transformed to actually serve its black citizens.
  So listen. Raiford won’t win. She has about the chance of a lit match at a waterpark. (But, hey, I’ve seen The Mighty Ducks and I know underdogs occasionally have their day.) I don’t particularly believe she wants to win. She’s a smart activist for a group she understands is seen as “extreme” (#yawn) and is demanding space in the mainstream public sphere. It’s clever activism. I would love to participate in sending a message to the Sheriff’s office: We. Are. Out. Here. We are watching and we are unsatisfied with our justice system, from the streets to the county prisons. Vote for her because 25 radicals voting for Teressa Raiford won’t scare the establishment — but maybe a hundred, or a thousand, or five thousand will.
  Mike Reese succeeded Dan Staton, who resigned in disgrace in August after allegations of abusive leadership from within the 800-person force had been stacking up. In August, he claimed that he would address a federal report that found — CHOQUANT! — force used disproportionately against inmates of color in county jails, among other racial disparities. On October 4th, an interview was released in Willamette Week in which Reese said, “I want our employees to treat members of the public like they’re members of their own family.” A mere eight days later, when #BlackLivesMatter activists protested the new police union contract at the Mayor’s office, police pepper sprayed protesters and images of people washing their faces off with milk went viral. So…okay, dude, nice job with your family. While many problematic orders came from the Portland Police Bureau, the Sheriff’s office is the highest in the county and they are the ultimate enforcer of the law and charged with “keeping the peace.” Although proponents say Reese listens well, particularly regarding homelessness and mental health, ultimately he will preserve the status quo which does not guarantee justice to all of our people, particularly our people of color, PARTICULARLY black people. In this election, Teressa Raiford gives us a tool to use within the problematic establishment: vote for her, and make the establishment uncomfortable as hell. It is amazing and brilliant that we have direct action representing the goals of #BlackLivesMatter taking up space in the local PDX election. This is where your fanciest pen and most legible penmanship come into play, babes.

*A NOTE ABOUT THE OREGON HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ELECTION* We (Dems) walked into this election season ONE SEAT AWAY from a three-fifth supermajority in the House. There are lots of contested seats, including Joe Potwora (R), who filed at the very last goddamn last minute to challenge incumbent Phil Barnhart (D) in District 11. Juuuuuuuuuuust to be difficult. Republicans are cutting their losses with That Republican Presidential Candidate Who Shall Not Be Named and coming to vote hard for other candidates — and the House is the most meaningful place for OR Repubs to turn things in their favor. So please vote for these and all the other Dem State Representatives and call your lowkey-racist-but-doesn’t-think-she’s-racist grandma in Salem, your uncle who always gets too drunk at Thanksgiving in Bend, your awkward one-night-stand from Tinder from your weekend at the Shakespeare Festival in Ashland. Get everyone you even tangentially know in Oregon to get out the damn vote for Democrats. SUPERMAJORITY. SUUUUPERMAJORITY. JUST THINK OF IT!

Oregon State Representative, District 22

• Teresa Alonso Leon (D): I know this is Keizer/Woodburn, but I feel very strongly about this queen. She answered APANO’s candidate questionnaire about engagement with communities of color like this, and I clapped alone in my office: “In HD 22, the only majority-minority district in Oregon, I can see that so many of our people of color feel disengaged from state government. When I am elected, I will be the first person of color to represent this area.” YES. She identifies as Latina and Purépecha (Indigenous Mexican), and is the daughter of migrant farmworkers. YES! She goes on to detail her understanding of inequities being written into the Constitution of this state, cites pragmatic inclusion tactics like her trilingual campaign materials. These are details that you grow up thinking about when your parents are treated like outsiders. As the daughter of an immigrant myself, LITERAL TEARS welled in my eyes thinking about a candidate who flows naturally between languages as she connects to her constituents. She has been working on affordable housing. She has been working on creative governmental and nonprofit partner solutions for broader healthcare coverage. SHE HAS BEEN. WORKING. ELECT HER TO WORK IN THE HOUSE.

Oregon State Representative, District 33

• Mitch Greenlick (D): Willamette Week called him “an oracle of Oregon healthcare.” He worked on HB 2116, which provided healthcare to 100,000 Oregon kids. He wants to modernize and expand healthcare, especially to make it work adaptively in different urban v. rural settings. His opponent, businessman John Verbeek (R) wrote that he would “EMPHASIZE private sector solutions” to healthcare, caps-lock and all. Spoiler alert: the private sector doesn’t provide solutions to healthcare. Goodbye, John.

Oregon State Representative, District 36

• Jennifer Williamson (D): This is a safe seat for Jen-Jen. Her opponent, Amanda Burnham (I) didn’t even make it into the OR Voters’ Pamphlet and is a virtually unknown real estate accountant. When you Google her, someone else’s LinkedIn is the first thing that pops up. Williamson also knows how to play the game in Salem. She’s on hella committees: Joint Ways and Means, Higher Ed and Workforce Development, and Judiciary. She helped push gender neutral language into Oregon’s marriage statute. She’ll make Oregon’s state-provided healthcare better, including pushing for reproductive care. Her voting track record is sensible and progressive.

Oregon State Representative, District 37

• Paul Carlos Southwick (D): Elect him to defeat incumbent Julie Parrish (R). Honestly, both candidates came across well in the APANO candidates questionnaire, but 1) SUPERMARJORITY, and 2) I like his fresh priorities — I’ve seen hardly any candidates identify transportation infrastructure as a key point of accessibility and equity, and he has done so. He is committed to reproductive healthcare coverage. He’s a reformed Republican who will play a moderate Dem game to get us some pragmatic wins.

Oregon State Representative, District 42

• Rob Nosse (D): Dude’s actually really competent in the House. After only one term, he’s already got his thumbs in some hard-hitting committees, even Vice Chairing the Healthcare Committee. Yes to lower tuition, universal healthcare, tossing out conversion therapy, and cleaning up environmental hazards. No to his opponent, James Stubbs (I), whose first Google hit is his Facebook, which includes this typo in his redundant bio: “Just an oridinary, everyday man trying to do some good with my time and talent.” Oridinary. His FB cover photo is a selfie. Oridinarily, I am pro selfie, but he thinks every kid should have an Individualized Education Plan. His capitalization implies that he’s referring to the preexisting program, IEP — Individualized Education Program. If so, holy SHIT, you do not understand the education system. IEPs are for students who have very high needs. It is a measure we try when a lot of other stuff hasn’t served the student effectively. It requires a large team meeting, lots of paperwork, and intensive intervention. When students need IEPs, they are often very well served by them. I am about them. I help implement them. But that level of bureaucratic intervention is not what every student needs. This is a misallocation of resources, money, and time, and MOST IMPORTANTLY demonstrates a cynicism and misunderstanding of how educators run their classes. Dude, every single teacher already has an individualized plan in mind for each of their students. They change strategies in the blink of an eye to accommodate those individualized understandings. Nosse’s other opponent, Jeremy Wilson (L) was actually sort of endearing to me in his OR Voters’ Pamphlet writeup — a lot of “I’m just a working class guy” rhetoric — but he’s not a threat to Nosse.

Oregon State Representative, District 43

• Tawna Sanchez (D): Unopposed, but she’s the shit. Let’s bask in it for a minute. Check out this amazing photo of her splashed on the front of her website. She is Native, of Shoshone-Bannock, Ute, and Carrizo descent, and has lived in Portland her whole life. She helped found NAYA, which serves Native American youth, families, elders, AND THE BROADER PORTLAND COMMUNITY (we worked with NAYA on the Oregon Queer Youth Summit — and they hosted us and hundreds of queer youth from around the state for a day of workshops and a Queer Prom — FOR. FREE. Offering space for a lasting relationship was all they wanted as an org). She has worked for survivors of domestic violence at Bradley Angle and in all aspects of her professional life. She has lived in this district for 20 years and is committed to long-term affordable housing, equal pay, reforming the Department of Human Services, and many more good things. I want to live in a world where indigenous Americans run this government. Tawna Sanchez is a great start.

Oregon State Representative, District 44

• Tina Kotek (D): Kotek is one of the Democratic Party’s darlings and an Oregon State Rep powerhouse. I’m glad her opponent, Franklin HS teacher Joe Rowe (G), has forced a conversation about rent control and eviction, but he has no chance in hell. Kotek is mad competent in the legislature and is currently our Speaker of the House. She was a key player in the minimum wage fight and has pushed for incremental reforms to housing development and renter’s rights. She’s inspired voters to come through for her in sometimes tricky situations (see: 2008) and works pretty ruthlessly to get shit done. She is here and queer and will probs be our governor soon.

Oregon State Representative, District 45

• Barbara Smith Warner (D): Unopposed, incumbent. Her track record is solid and reflects the leftie politics of her NE district: yes to Fast Track housing programs, yes to expanding healthcare to APIs, yes to stricter background checks for firearm purchases, and so on. She voted for a program to specifically address absenteeism in our schools, which is a huge issue that reflects unstable housing and income issues for our families, and for a bill that funds medical services to female veterans in particular. Before working as a State Rep, she did the damn thing as a grassroots and community organizer.

Oregon State Representative, District 46

• Alissa Keny-Guyer (D): Unopposed. I like her focus on early childhood care, including prenatal care and Head Start; indeed, much of her experience in the community has focused on the education and wellbeing of our youth. I’m not a huge fan of her vaguely neocolonial past (I have questions about her teaching/volunteering efforts in Asia), but she’s elbow-deep in the Human Services and Housing, Healthcare, and Joint Health Insurance committees. I am particularly compelled by the leverage I hope she will take advantage of re: housing.

Oregon State Representative, District 47

• Diego Hernandez (D): We love him. Everyone loves him — he’s earned endorsements from Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon, the Oregon Education Association, the League of Conservation Voters, the American Federation of Teachers, Basic Rights Oregon, Willamette Week, the Oregonian, and y’all, I hope. He is the Executive Director of Momentum Alliance, which invests in young social justice leaders. I have youth who have attended free intersectional social justice summer camps run by MA. Like…what the fuck. That’s so sick. He’s on the Reynolds School Board, has served on Oregon’s Commission of Hispanic Affairs. He says public ed, infrastructure to support access and community safety to East PDX (like…fucking SIDEWALKS) and affordable housing for families to stay in the community are his priorities. Elect him and tell all your friends to vote for him too. And give him my number.

Oregon State Representative, District 48

• Jeff Reardon (D): Reardon plays the politics game well — he gets shit done, and East County needs the resources a skilled politician can bring. His opponent Gary Dye (L) literally listed his occupation as “Landlord.” GUESS WHOSE VOICES DO NOT NEED ADDITIONAL REPRESENTATION IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AS WE BATTLE THE WORST HOUSING CRISIS, SINCE, LIKE, EVER?!?!!??!

Oregon State Representative, District 49

• Chris Gorsek (D): Unopposed. He’s a moderate who works well with other parties in his Eastside/Troutdale constituency. Thanks for supporting all-day kindergarten and for having such a dense moustache, dude.

Oregon State Representative, District 50

• Carla Piluso (D): Her opponents, Calcagno (I) and Armstrong (R), don’t have the experience to work on large scale legislative projects. Piluso has been the state rep. She’s not my absolute favorite, but I am appreciative of her push for investment in public school, and especially her respectable work in expanding Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), a welfare program that many rely upon as they get back on their feet.

Oregon State Representative, District 51

• Janelle Bynum (D): I’m delighted, to be honest, that we’ve reached a point in our history where two hella qualified women of color are vying for a House spot. My vote goes to Janelle, McDonald’s franchise owner with state government experience. She will get much-needed infrastructure to Eastside and invest in education. WW says, “She offers nuanced opinions on how Oregon should implement workplace reforms like flexible scheduling.” Regarding racial justice in Oregon, she goes right to the historical heart: “Oregon was born into racial inequity, even as she entered the Union a free state.” Chavez-DeRemer (R), her opponent, is smart, and a good mayor to Happy Valley, but she seems to buy into the bootstrap myth. When asked what would help make Oregon more racially equitable, she goes right to individual responsibility: “More of us need to seek elected office.” I agree with her, for sure, but I know that there are so many barriers preventing people of color from doing so in the first place. When asked about the root of racial inequity in Oregon, where Bynum went historical, she said, “Most inequities are caused by economics, opportunity and racial/ethnic bias.” I worry about rhetoric that tries to center class as the more pressing equity issue of 2016, rather than classism as a byproduct of racial inequity in the first place.

Portland City Commissioner (City Council), Pos 4

• Chloe Eudaly: Yeah, in a voter guide saturated with strategically pragmatic candidate after candidate, I”m endorsing the long shot. Steve Novick, her opponent, is also progressive and has lots of government experience, including a lot of shit that I agree with. Eudaly shines to me a feasible opportunity to place an outsider with fresh, ideals-driven ideas in an office where she could conceivably get some cool shit done. She’s a mama, small business owner, co-founder of the dope IPRC. She has a ton of experience doing grassroots community activism, so I don’t believe her “naïve” or “out of her league” (accusations of naïveté would be — ding ding ding — SEXIST!). I think either Novick or Eudaly would work well with Mayor-Elect Ted Wheeler on housing — I think Eudaly would push other members of Portland’s government further left. Steps of high magnitude are the ones we need right now.

The Hunger Games, District 13

• Marissa Yang Bertucci: Running unopposed. She’s all right. Can’t tell if she’s a Hufflepuff or what.

United States President

• Hillary Clinton (D):

Listen, I know the critiques of Hillary, and believe me, I have them too. This article outlines the ways she’s failed the black community, and midway down this one includes a tidy list of common critiques of HRC from the left. To reiterate: I can see why folks with multiple marginalized identities find it too damn morally objectionable to vote for a presidential candidate right now, and I’m not here to guilt you or hound you. I trust the things you need to do for your self care and peace of mind.
But for everybody else: this isn’t a great time to suddenly decide you are fed up with a political process that has been corrupt and poorly-reflective of the people SINCE THE FOUNDING OF THIS NATION ON THE BACKS OF SLAVES AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLE.
Here’s where my jaded ass is at. You don’t need me to detail the offenses of the Republican nominee. Communications and Rhetoric classes for years to come will extol the praises of Michelle Obama’s genius rhetorical strategy of talking MAD, SPECIFIC SHIT about him without ever deigning to say his name — always, “the Republican nominee” or “Hillary’s opponent.” That’s where I’m gonna attempt to live for the rest of this election. I know you wouldn’t have read this far if voting for Hillary’s opponent was a real possibility for you (unless you’re reading this to be a troll and say some nasty shit to me, in which case, plz find a hobby).

I can’t get with abstentionism because this is the world we live in — and we need a Democratic president or we’re gonna lose catastrophic amounts of political ground.

Here’s a useful illustration, taken from an article about the Leftist Case for HRC.

I’m the stick figure — much, much further left than either of the candidates, but nevertheless voting for the candidate who can engage in this partisan tug-of-war and pull us closer to where I believe we need to be. I do not believe we can afford to abstain or — HEAVEN FUCKING FORBID — write in Bernie, a harebrained scheme that Bernie himself has advised y’all against. Let’s begin with some realness. Take it away, Terrence:

Thanks, Terrence.

Here’s why I’m voting for HRC, from my humble poor/queer/brown/immigrant girl perspective: POTUS rallies the ranks and pushes key legislation through the House and Senate. This is strategy, baby. You seen Scandal or House of Cards? Much evidence seems to point to D.C.’s inner workings being even more convoluted and cutthroat than that. So let’s get a Slytherin in office. She’s been pushed further and further left by the Sanders camp, and brilliant strategies from activists across this country who are counting on the political gains they have made with their statements and protest.

Although #BlackLivesMatter as a national network has justifiably declined to endorse a candidate, I will remind you of the monumental labor and genius planning members of this organization have employed to get NATIONAL PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES TALKING OPENLY ABOUT IMPLICIT BIAS. ABOUT POLICE BRUTALITY. ABOUT RACISM. I’m getting goosebumps just typing this. Although they know that this system ultimately needs to be reworked from the bottom up, they are forcing conversations that otherwise were not happening in a manner that is unique and unusually influential for grassroots activism. In 2014, only 17% of the American public thought that we needed to worry about “race relations” in the USA. As of 2016, in a post-#BLM world, that number has at least doubled to 35%, according to summer 2016 studies. I would argue that #BLM did not work their asses off on these strategic actions for y’all to claim to be “too liberal” and “too ethical” to vote. Their labor makes sense in the way of accomplishing tangible results only if we elect candidates who were successfully radicalized (even just a little bit — and in Clinton’s case, I think it’s A LOT) by their tactics.
Certain members of #BLM have, in the past few days, come forward with personal, not institutional endorsements of Clinton, citing the same pragmatic “we need S O M E B O D Y who isn’t T-bag in the White House” logic that I ascribe to.
I will not abide by losing Obamacare. Guess who loses their insurance if we compromise on Obamacare? All of y’all who are allowed to stay on your fam’s insurance until you’re 26 or out of higher education. Me. My all-suffering mother, who because of a history of cancer, strokes, and physical disability would be denied even very expensive coverage for her preexisting conditions. My queer ass will not abide by Supreme Court nominees that are not interested in my basic humanity. I will not abide by further cuts to education, especially as Bernie and HRC have collaborated on a plan to make public higher education free. I will not abide by losing traction on the KAJILLIONS of small, tedious, day-to-day technical issues brought before national politicians.

Here’s a real digestible, fluffy article from HuffPost that you can send to your moderate aunties who would be turned off by all the swearing in this voter guide, and another feel-good piece straight from the Clinton campaign. Here is an article to convince disillusioned Bernie bros to listen to Bernie himself and vote for HRC. Here are articles to convince your conservative college roommate to vote for HRC, or at least avoid voting for the Republican contender. After all, Time reports, “‘Distancing [from the GOP Presidential nominee] is no longer a calculation,’ says one major fundraiser for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. ‘It is the official Republican policy.’” I livetweeted the Presidential and VP debates if you’re interested in some of my more specific criticism of line-by-line decorum or language of the candidates — ultimately, we saw a collected President in HRC and a limp, wailing, badly-coiffured river eel in the GOP candidate.

Ballot Measures

Oregon Ballot Measure 94 Amends Constitution: Eliminates mandatory retirement age for state judges

• Yes. 75 is an arbitrary age limit. Ageist and weird. We don’t have an age limit for the highest court in the land; it follows that we ought not for any.

Oregon Ballot Measure 95 Amends Constitution: Allows investments in equities by public universities

• Yes. I hate that our universities are run like businesses. I hate that universities can invest in prisons, in companies that are doing shady shit abroad. We have entire movements like BDS that are active on campuses. But the damage has already been done in OR — this ballot measure only amends a small part of the preexisting laws that already allow colleges to do this. This is just a technicality tweak. I grudgingly vote for it because I think if this is the shitty education-as-business system we’re living under, public universities ought to be able to seek funds for the benefit of students attending those universities.

Oregon Ballot Measure 96 Amends Constitution: Dedicates 1.5% of lottery funds for veterans

• Yes. This is a wonderfully done study on all homelessness in the greater PDX area to remind us of the seriousness of the issue. The study says, “Veterans make up 12% of the adult homeless population in Multnomah County. In comparison, 7% of Multnomah County’s adult population is veterans.” 10% of HUD Homeless people of color are veterans. We have an obligation to provide comprehensive services to our veterans, and this ballot measure outlines a few key areas of concern: Healthcare, mental health and addiction treatment, PTSD support, curbing veteran homelessness, and career/higher-ed access.

Oregon Ballot Measure 97 Increases corporate minimum tax when sales exceed $25 million

• HELL yes. This summer, I experienced a particular kind of heart sink when I saw the Portland Public Schools lead report at my elementary school showed elevated levels of lead especially in the preschool Head Start classrooms and in the drinking fountains outside the 4th Grade bathrooms. I’d been drinking this water all year. Kids and coworkers I loved made their tea and washed their little hands with this stuff. PPS needs better physical infrastructure, and we definitely need more institutional support. Other states pay oodles more per kid than we do, so Oregon’s low attendance, graduation, and performance rates are of no surprise. Many of PDX’s wealthier schools do not feel the blows so intensely, but I urge you to think of rural Oregon as well. The “better education will result in national job security and grow the economy from the bottom up” rhetoric is some of the only shit I buy in a world of abstract political promises. As taxpayers, we really need to get our shit together and allow our money to pay for things that may take years to manifest positively for the community. #sustainability
  Economists speculate that Measure 97 will generate upwards of $3 billion for public schools, senior services, and healthcare. The way the bill is written is a tad loosey goosey, so we can expect the money to be pretty hotly sought after by lobbyists.
  Don’t buy the ads that imply that Measure 97 will be catastrophic for small business or the medical industry. The No on 97 campaign has been able to raise twice as much as the Yes campaign for their tricky-ass ads because they’re being funded by corporations as far away as New Jersey. Some companies have the legal right to pass some of the additional cost burden onto consumers, so there may be slight increases to things like utilities. I don’t believe speculation backed by opponents that grocery prices would rise as much as 6% — Safeway, Fred Meyer, and Walmart will be affected by Measure 97, but other stores like New Seasons and Winco won’t (although New Seasons prices are already wiiild and out). So either Winco and others raise prices to match the raised prices of Safeway and Freddy’s, or Safeway and Freddy’s keep their prices down so they don’t lose customers who suddenly find New Seasons more affordable than Freddy’s. I find the latter more plausible than the former, and perhaps an in-between most plausible of all. Profit maximization theory would imply that some of the increased financial burden of taxes would be passed onto consumers, but with so many variable market features, it is too soon to tell how it will all shake out.
  But even if some stuff at the grocery store becomes slightly more expensive, the cost-benefit analysis in my mind still tips in favor of this aggressive increase on funding for public services. My mama receives Medicaid and uses EBT food benefits because she’s paid taxes her whole life and is disabled now, so I’m very conscious of even slight price increases to necessities like food and utilities. And, y’all, we’ve gotta try something now. We don’t have time to wait for a different measure. If this measure is defeated, I believe the political capital used will mean any future measure to increase taxes for education will stagnate because public interest will drop off.
• The OR Voters’ Pamphlet contains a good spread of arguments for and against.
• http://www.opb.org/news/series/election-2016/oregon-measure-97-schools/
• http://news.streetroots.org/2016/10/13/economists-answers-about-measure-97

Oregon Ballot Measure 98 High School Graduation and College and Career Readiness

• Yes. We want Measure 97 to pass to pay for Measure 98, basically, so vote for both. Opponents are bummed about wiggle room in how this will be funded — unforeseen consequences like other education initiatives being cut to pay for this. This is a valid concern, but not a reason to withhold a vote. Our high school graduation rates are some of the lowest in the country because of chronic disinvestment, and we need specific funds to target the reasons kids drop out. We’re gonna have to spend a lot of money to catch up. It’s time to bite the bullet. Career Technical Education (CTE) deserves more funding to be a viable and vibrant choice for our students. Because this guarantees some money to every Oregon high school, this measure could get really cool shit into schools that typically don’t have the resources to do so — shit like robotics, 3D printing, coding, and so on. APANO supports this bill in particular to target our Asian American communities who have fallen behind even as other measures have successfully reached other communities of color; Laotian and Cambodian students are the least likely to graduate in the state.

Oregon Ballot Measure 99 Outdoor School Education Fund

• Yes. It’s not a perfect bill, but it will increase student access to Outdoor School in a state where less than half are able to attend. And guess which schools are unable to go? You already know. Opponents say that there will still be students and schools who can’t make it work, but that’s not a reason to withhold the $22 million/year. This money comes from lottery proceeds, and will likely cut into the state’s economic development funds, so there’s gonna be a tradeoff here. What do you think is more valuable? I am compelled by long term research that says enrichment programs like Outdoor School, particularly when they are able to reach our most vulnerable students, result in higher graduation rates and buy-in to education. We’ll see more kiddos choose STEM fields and conservation tech work. I think it will ultimately be a good economic investment in this way. I have faith in the myriad provisions to assist small businesses stay and grow in Oregon. Let more kids lick banana slugs, make leaf rubbings, and learn that edible redwood sorrel tastes just like green apples (actual things that transpired when I went to Outdoor School in CA). I know I’m better off for it.

Oregon Ballot Measure 100 Wildlife Trafficking Prevention Act

• Yes. We’re a port city and endangered wildlife contraband comes through here more often than you would think. This is a good, ethical, common-sense policy that would cost the state less than $100,000. Do it for the baby tigers. Do it for the sharkies. Wtf is a pangolin? Do it for the pangolins.

Metro Ballot Measure 26–178 Renews local option levy; protects natural areas, water quality, fish

• Yes. This would mean that if a home is assessed at $200,000, the owner pays $20 per year for 5 years for continued care of parks, clean water, and wildlife, especially ensuring that low-income neighborhoods have access to nature. APANO cites a national study that says, “Low income and people of color neighborhoods were 50% less likely to have a recreational facility in their community than White and high-income neighborhoods.”

Portland Ballot Measure 26–179 Bonds to fund affordable housing

• YESSSSS. This $258 million bond would guarantee at least 1,300 high quality affordable units to house at least 2,900 Portlanders. WW opposes this bill, saying that this allows room for units that are too expensive, citing cities that are making affordable housing that costs ~$25,000 per unit to the state. My gut brings me back to a coffee I had with a former student a few weeks ago. They are queer, Latinx, working class, now studying architecture in college. They talked about a recent class project to design affordable housing units, and said, “Man, people think poor people should live in ugly-ass houses.” Affordable housing can be efficient, beautiful, joyful to live in, AND relatively cost-effective to build…but it’s gonna be expensive no matter which way you slice it. Wanting to stop the bleeding of the housing crisis by throwing up hella cheap units says a lot about what middle class folks think poor folks deserve. WW also rolled its eyes at the number of units, saying 1,300 is barely a drop in the bucket of the larger crisis and that we should wait for a better bond. Y’all know what I’m gonna shout from the rooftop I am so fucking blessed to have over my head: WHAT ABOUT THE MOST VULNERABLE? WHAT ABOUT THOSE 1,300 PRECIOUS, VULNERABLE HOUSEHOLDS RIGHT NOW? WHAT IF THEY DON’T HAVE TIME TO WAIT FOR A BOND THAT YOU THINK IS CHEAP ENOUGH? SHINY ENOUGH? GREEN ENOUGH? FUCK OFF and VOTE FOR THIS BOND.
• http://news.streetroots.org/2016/10/06/director-s-desk-vote-affordable-housing-s-built-last

Portland Ballot Measure 26–180 Establish tax on recreational marijuana sales; dedicate purposes for funds

• Yes. 3% sales tax on ya pre-rolled blunts don’t hit the consumer hard and contribute to the existing tax on weed, with an estimated extra $5 million going the exact same places: 40% to the state’s Common School Fund, 20% to mental health, alcoholism and drug services, 15% to Oregon State Police, 10% for city law enforcement, 10% for county law enforcement and 5% to the Oregon Health Authority for alcohol and drug abuse prevention, early intervention and treatment services. I don’t love all of these places, but I sure do love school, mental health, and prevention services.

Multnomah County Ballot Measure 26–181 Amends charter, extends term limits to three consecutive terms

• Yes. This is a change from eight potential years in office to 12. This article reiterates what proponents say: yes, we shouldn’t abandon term limits altogether because it is so difficult to beat incumbents, but extending the term can keep the chaos of turnover to a minimum and allow for more time to be spent doing the work. Three terms isn’t insignificant, so we’ll see more candidates who take this seriously as their career, and fewer who see it is a “stepping stone to another office.”

Multnomah County Ballot Measure 26–182 Amends charter, commissioners may run for Chair midterm without resigning

• Yes. Cuz, like…what if they don’t win? Low-key change that doesn’t require a county commissioner to gamble their current role as representative if they have ideas they want to try elsewhere.

Multnomah County Ballot Measure 26–183 Amends Charter, changes elected sheriff position to appointed department head

• Yes. This was a toughie for me. My gut wants to say no, the public ought to be able to hold a sheriff accountable with a vote, but we’re seeing in the Mike Reese/Teressa Raiford drama unfolding that often the so-called elected position is a de-facto appointment, but with even fewer checks and balances to be fired or otherwise held accountable later on (like…the pain of a recall campaign and so forth rather than a swift fire and reappoint). With this change, the county board would appoint the sheriff just as it appoints other department heads, and in this way, a progressive board could make sure that cronyism isn’t taking place. Street Roots says, “It’s time we stop letting special interests within the sheriff’s department choose their boss, and disconnect political ambition from the job of law enforcement. Accountability comes with the oversight of the county chair who is responsible to citizens, rather than sheriffs union interests.”

Multnomah County Ballot Measure 26–184 Limits contributions, expenditures, requires disclosure in Multnomah County candidate elections

• Yes. This is a very common-sense accountability and disclosure policy. We are one of only six states without limits on campaign contributions. Money isn’t speech, Citizens United is trash, and we should have policies that differ from its ruling. My nosy ass wants to know who is funding elections, and my broke ass wants a $100 contribution to be a meaningful. It’s kinda off-kilter that this only affects candidates in Multnomah County…I hope the rest of the state will implement a mirror of this policy ASAP.

Multnomah County Ballot Measure 26–185 Amends charter review committee appointment process, sets appointment, convening timelines

• Yes. Moving these matters to Office of Citizen Involvement will likely result in more quality attention being spent, even hopefully attracting more diverse candidates to the office.

Happy voting, babes!

xoxo,
bitchtucci

P.S. My friend Stephen convinced me that if I allow the community an opportunity to give some love back, they will come. So if you enjoyed this voter guide, instead of donating to me, consider donating to my chronically ill and disabled mother’s ongoing healthcare fund. She is the reason I care deeply about politics and community issues. Her light and humor have taught me just as much as her suffering has. So much of my political praxis is informed by envisioning a world that would care for her in the way she deserves. ♥