Photo: JCDP - HCAN Booth at 4th of July Celebration, 2009. Lynn Howe, (2nd from left) making REAL CHANGE HAPPEN with women leaders

Lynn Howe Invites YOU to:

Southern Oregon Emerge Workshop

Training Women Leaders For A Democratic Future - MARK YOUR CALENDAR -

Sat. August 8th at RCC/SOU Higher Education Center, Medford

PRINT AND MAIL THIS APPLICATION FOR THE WORKSHOP (FULL INFO INCLUDED)

 As we roll up our sleeves we will not forget what brought us to the table in the first place, and that is:

 "...what we all have in common is that strong urge to serve.  That sense that we are put on this earth for better reasons than to serve our own selfish interests.  We all want to be a part of positive change.  It makes it so you can’t sit by the sidelines and not interact with your community."  Emerge California participant.

Full Information

Information on JCDP Web Site

ACTION! - CITIZENS OF MEDFORD

The City of Medford invites you to participate in assisting with the development of a Five-Year Consolidated Plan.  The Plan is a requirement for obtaining Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds.  CDBG funds are used to assist low and moderate income Medford citizens with housing, health and human services, youth and family services, and homelessness. 

Read these powerful, personal stories from people in your area and around the country.

"For folks who don't yet understand why health care reform is such an urgent priority, these stories make the case far better than any statistics ever could.

For those who support health care reform but haven't yet found the time to join our campaign, these stories provide more motivation than any speech any politician could ever give.

So please read these stories, pass this note on to everyone in your address book, and help us show everyone in America why fixing our broken health care system is a necessity that just can't wait".

Thank you,

Vice President Joe Biden

_______________________________________

Also, read up on:

Why Small Business Owners Should Demand the Public Option Plan For Health Care Reform

How do we pay for health care? - By Steve Neuberger, Southern Oregon Organizer, Health Care for America NOW

ACTION! From Newt Gingrich to John Boehner, check out the extremes the right is using to block President Obama's plan to provide quality, affordable health insurance for all by keeping the insurance industry honest and bringing down costs.

Clearly it's not working. A national poll released yesterday found that more than 76 percent of Americans agree that they want the choice between keeping their health care coverage and a public health insurance option that would keep the insurance industry honest.¹

The video is a scream, we promise. Click here to watch.

After you watch the video, be sure to send it along to friends. We've got to get the word out about Republican fear-mongering, and we might as well have a little fun in the process!

To your health,

Levana Layendecker
Health Care for America Now 

ACTION! Write your representative and senators today with a quick email form and a click - Ask them to 

Support the

Employee Free Choice Act

Full Information

Every Fourth of July is an opportunity to celebrate the freedom we have, while remembering the freedoms for which we are still fighting. Our key fight now is about whether the workplace is a place of dignity—or of absolute employer power.

It’s a fight over the basic question of whether workers’ rights at work, health care and pensions are fundamental to having a decent life—or luxuries that only CEOs and investment bankers get to enjoy.

This is why we are fighting for the Employee Free Choice Act.

Thank your legislators for passing these Bills:

Foreclosure and Home Lending Protections:
PASSED -- Pre-foreclosure Loan Modification Meeting: SB 628. Lenders will be required to give homeowners facing foreclosure the opportunity to request a meeting and do a good faith review of a homeowner's loan modification request.

PASSED -- Protections for Tenants in Foreclosure: SB 952. Between the new state law and the new federal law, tenants facing eviction due to a foreclosure will have more notice and less financial risk.

PASSED -- Mortgage Lending Rules: HB 2188. Increases protections for borrowers entering into high-risk loans including a provision aimed at ensuring better disclosure for families who negotiate their loan in a language other than English.

PASSED -- Mortgage Lender Licensing: HB 2189. With few exceptions, all mortgage brokers will now be subject to the same state rules and licensing guidelines.

Asset Protection:
PASSED -- Exempt Income Protection Act: SB 731. Shields protected income such as Social Security and Unemployment benefits from illegal garnishment.

PASSED -- Lemon Law: SB 515. Increased protections against "lemon" vehicles.

Regulation of Abusive Debt Collection Practices:
PASSED -- Enforcement of Unlawful Debt Collection Practice Act: SB 328. The state Attorney General now has the authority to take action against debt collectors who use abusive and illegal tactics against consumers.

PASSED -- Oversight of Debt Management Companies: HB 2191. Unscrupulous debt settlement companies will no longer be allowed to run free in Oregon.

Message from the Oregon Executive Director of Stand For Children

Late on Monday night (June 29th), the state legislature ended their 2009 session. While it was impossible to fully protect children from the worst recession in a generation, effective advocacy made kids and their public schools a top priority.

Thank you, Stand for Children members. You organized a 5,000 person rally on the Capitol steps. You urged over 8,000 of your friends and neighbors to sign postcards calling for a shared solution to the economic crisis. You testified at hearings, met with your legislators, turned out to Town Halls, and delivered hundreds of calls and e-mails.

You showed up, spoke up, reached out. And you were heard.

The legislature passed a $6 billion budget for K-12, maintained their smart investment in mentors for new teachers and principals and quality pre-K, and took action to provide health care coverage for 80,000 uninsured children.

Read on for the details of what the legislature accomplished - with your support - for kids and schools.

These outcomes prove that with strong leadership and the involvement of thousands of advocates like you, we can move our schools forward and protect our kids despite these tough economic times.

Thank you, so much, for standing with us for children,

Holly Pruett
Stand for Children

Special thanks to legislative leadership – Speaker of the House Dave Hunt, Senate President Peter Courtney, Majority Leaders Rep. Mary Nolan and Sen. Richard Devlin, and Ways & Means Co-Chairs Rep. Peter Buckley and Sen. Margaret Carter – along with Rep. Greg Smith (R-Heppner) and Rep. Bob Jenson (R-Pendleton).

The legislature also chose to delay costly sentencing increases. Stand for Children was a member of the "Promise of Measure 57 Coalition" – a group of organizations that supported Measure 57 because of the promised investments in proven drug treatment and prevention programs. Together we advocated for, and won, a phase-in of increased sentencing requirements for drug and property crimes and cost-saving public safety reforms that will slow the growth of spending on prisons.

Legislative Accomplishments FOR CHILDREN

Veto Override to Provide $6 billion for K-12

Stand for Children members, along with other coalition partners, prevented deeper cuts to schools twice this short legislative session. In February, we organized the largest rally in our history on the Capitol steps – 5,000 parents, teachers, children and concerned community members. The rally and our 8,000-person No More Cuts petition helped decreased proposed cuts to the current school year by half, preserving a full school year for most districts.

Then, when faced with worst-case budget scenarios for the coming budget cycle, Stand members organized 11 events around the state where more than 1,000 constituents delivered over 8,000 postcards in person to their legislators. These efforts helped persuade legislators to balance about $2 billion in cuts with nearly $1 billion in reserves and stimulus dollars and $800 million in new revenue. After the Governor vetoed the K-12 budget, Republicans and Democrats joined together to override the veto.

Mentors for New Educators

Equitable Funding for Rural High Schools

Other Legislative Wins for Kids Supported by Stand for Children Members Include:

Maintaining Investments in Oregon Pre-Kindergarten:
After threatened by $11 million in cuts, early childhood education advocates pressed the legislature to restore this funding and ensure 670 low-income 3- and 4-year olds start school ready to learn.

Moving Toward Full-Day Kindergarten

Expanding Health Insurance for 80,000 Children:
The legislature expanded the Oregon Health Plan to provide over 95% of children in Oregon with have access to health care.

Strengthening Anti-Bullying Policies

Planning for Children with Autism

$17 million for Portland Public Schools:
The legislature renewed Portland's "gap bond" allowing Portland to retain $17 million in local funding for schoolchildren in Portland Public Schools.

Smart Fiscal Policies

In the face of a $4 billion shortfall, the legislature took bold steps to protect schools and other vulnerable Oregonians by enacting a shared solution – balancing the budget by making cuts, responsibly using reserves and stimulus dollars, and asking the largest corporations and wealthiest Oregonians contribute a little more.

Read Complete Details (Full Article)

How do PCPs fit into the state and national parties?
"PCPs elect representatives from each county party to represent the county as part of the State Central Committee. The SCC selects the officers for the state party.
"The SCC also selects the DNC Committeeman and DNC Committeewoman. These two people represent the state to the national party, along with the state chair and vice chair. The delegates from all the states choose leadership within the DNC, including its chairman."
How you can become a PCP
If you would like to become a PCP and help our party grow, just call the Jackson County Democratic Headquarters at 878-1050 and tell the office volunteer or the answering machine that you are interested in becoming a precinct committee person.  We'll have someone phone you back very soon.  Alternatively, you can email me, Allen Hallmark, at vicechair@jcdemocrats.org.

I hope you will call or email very soon.  You'll be glad you became a PCP.

Health Care Action on Two Fronts - JOIN ONE OF THE ACTION RESPONSE TEAMS 

to write letters to editor, call your Senator 

 "Let there be no doubt: Health care reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will not wait another year."  

    … President Barack Obama

More Information

VOLUNTEERS ALWAYS NEEDED & APPRECIATED FOR OUR STANDING COMMITTEES

FULL INFORMATION