Post election greetings to you —
We’ve had a few days to ponder the election results — both here in Oregon and nationally. And of course there’s good news and bad news, things to celebrate and things to figure out how to do better next time.
As a Mother PAC supporter, you probably want to know how our endorsed candidates and ballot measures fared. We’re pretty pleased that of the 58 candidates we endorsed this November, 42 (possibly 43) won! That’s a 72% success rate!
Good news first! And there’s a good bit of it, happily:
- U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici are headed back to Washington! We proudly endorsed both these national candidates because they understand and prioritize the issues that matter to mothers and our families.
- Two of our three priority state legislative candidates won – Sara Gelser won a Senate seat in the Corvallis area (Senate District 8) and Susan McLain won a House seat (House District 29) in the Hillsboro area. Both are moms – which matters (a lot) to our chances of passing mom-friendly policies.
- Overall, our state legislature is more family-friendly than it was before Nov. 4th, which is incredibly important to our work over the next few years. Our sister organization, Family Forward Action, will be involving women and families in advocating for the policies Oregon mothers need during the upcoming 2015 state legislative session (and beyond). With this new make-up of the legislature, our chances of success are far better.
- National momentum for paid sick days is really picking up. On election day people in three cities (on both coasts!) and a very populous state (Massachusetts) voted in support of paid sick days laws, making it possible for another ONE MILLION Americans to earn paid sick time where they work. This is a huge win and will make our work bringing paid sick time to every Oregonian that much more important. We hope you can help us do it in 2015!
- One of our three endorsed statewide ballot measures passed handily with 63% of the vote. With the passage of Measure 89, Oregon became the 23rd state to add the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to its state constitution – to guarantee without equivocation that that “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the state of Oregon or by any political subdivision in this state on account of sex.”
Less good news (but don’t worry, we’ll bring you back):
- One of our three priority mom candidates, Jamie Damon, lost her bid for a senate seat (in the Clackamas County area) by a hair. We really like Jamie and look forward to where she will head next. We need more people like Jamie in elected office.
- Two of the three statewide ballot measures we endorsed did not pass: Measure 86 would have permitted the state to increase its bond capacity to fund higher education and Measure 88 would have affirmed our state legislature’s 2013 vote to allow driver cards for Oregonians without other IDs. Both problems remain and we look forward to supporting solutions to these important family economic justice issues soon in other ways.
It may be tempting to wallow in national results that feel like a quick trip back to the dark ages (or at least the 19th Century), but I encourage you to focus instead on Oregon, where we are and where we could be with your continued help.
Our work here, now, at the state level is increasingly important. States are where things are actually happening, and the make-up of our post-election state legislature makes it possible for us to make headway in 2015.
Our sister organization Family Forward Action will be right there, making sure our vision of an Oregon that works well for mothers is on the front burner. And I sure hope you’ll help – we’ll need you. Because truth is, we can’t make change without you.
All my best,
Andrea Paluso, Founder + Director, The Mother PAC
