Way back in September we told you about a "townhall" meeting hosted by three Salem legislators to review the 2007 legislative session & discuss the upcoming short session in 2.08. My main interest in the meeting was to learn about the potential for the paid leave bill to resurface in February and, if it did, what we could do to show some serious urbanMama support.
Truth be told I had never been to anything like a legislative townhall meeting, so it was part curiosity and also an urge to feel more a part of our democracy than just reading the newspaper and venting and voting (not to diss voting, mind you). So I've been meaning to share my experience there, especially about the three rockstar legislators that hosted the meeting: Sen. Kate Brown (yes, she said the word Activistas out loud three times, and I have been gloating ever since!), Rep. Carolyn Tomei, and Rep. Diane Rosenbaum. They are good, mamas. They are committed, they know their policies and they know Salem. I am heartened to know that they are the ones taking care of the people's business, my business.
And one thing I learned is how powerful wearing bright colored shirts can be! No really. There was a whole row of Planned Parenthood supporters in HOT PINK t-shirts. Not only were they noticeable, mamas, they were countable. And legislators need to know just how many mamas they're dealing with.
Paid Leave in '08? Not Likely. The one downside was to learn that the paid leave bill is not likely to be heard in February, which means 2009. Of course there'll be work to do in the interim, specifically reaching out to the business community and finding some common ground there. No brainer in my mind, but there is resistance and it needs to be sorted out to make it happen. Of course, by the time Oregon gets around to this, Congress may well beat us to it (at least that's one hopeful way of looking at it!).
This Saturday, 10.20 Townhall in SE. If you missed the 10.03 townhall, you have another chance! Another excellent legislator, Rep. Ben Cannon, is co-hosting a similar session this Saturday, 10.20, with Sen. Avel Gordly and Rep. Jackie Dingfelder in SE at Parkrose HS. One of the issues they'll cover is the D we got on our children's report card! How timely. Not sure if these are your legislators? It's easy to figure it out.
Gonna go? It's from 10 am to noon in the Parkrose HS Community Room (Street map). Park in SE parking lot on Shaver. Enter at the SE corner near the Library and head down hallway. The Community Room is on the left. Let us know how it goes...
So, if Paid Family Leave won't be one of the issues at the short session in Feb 08, what will be? Inquiring mamas want to know!
Posted by: olivia | October 24, 2007 at 10:30 PM