We're down to only 3 days left until our votes are tallied here in Oregon on Tuesday, and it's hard to believe that this is the last weekend of our Primary season. Candidates and their campaigns are hitting the streets everywhere on this absolutely beautiful warm and sunny Saturday here in Portland, and this year we have an embarrassment of riches in terms of progressive candidates running in contested primaries here in city, state and federal races.
I've chosen to work for and blog almost exclusively about one in particular this year, though - Jeff Merkley, our Democratic Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives, and the man who is going to take down Bush Republican Gordon Smith. We have a primary to get through first, though...and a whole bunch of amazing people hit the streets of our city today to speak to our neighbors about why Jeff Merkley is the best choice for us to put on November's ballot, so we can finally get rid of the last Republican Senator on the West Coast!
Words (and drawings!) continue below...
I began today by leaving my apartment in beautiful inner SE Portland, and the sun was smiling down on me!
To wit -
Caught my bus, and crossed the Willamette over into the Westside of my city, into NW Portland where I lived in an SRO for a few weeks last summer after finding myself temporarily without a place to stay. Not surprisingly, there was a Loan Shark "Payday Lender" right there on W. Burnside, one block from the building where I was staying, and within a quarter-mile of at least a dozen other places like mine. These lowlife scum feed off the desperation of hardworking people who just happen to catch a bad break in life. These leaches contribute exactly zero to the communities around them, and need to be put out of business forever.
We're working towards that here in Oregon, and Jeff Merkley has led the charge on that. As our Senator, he'll take this issue national, too -
Merkley championed the cause against scurrilous predatory lenders in Oregon by passing the Predatory Lending Cap Act, which imposed a 36 percent interest rate cap on state-regulated consumer loans, and the Check Cashing Fairness Act, which placed strict limits on check cashing fees.[1]
"The Bush economy is squeezing more and more families to the brink forcing them into the hands of loan sharks," said House Speaker Jeff Merkley. "Payday lenders are profiting off of innocent families who need help. We must change the system in Washington D.C. to protect families from predatory loan scams and get our economy growing again. In Oregon we took on the powerful predatory lender lobby and won. We need leaders in Washington D.C. to stand up to these big special interests and do what's right for families."
A great summary on this from sarahlane right here yesterday -
Merkley championed payday lending regulation that put a cap on interest rates. It passed and we're seeing results today in Oregon. Payday lenders are leaving the state because they can no longer charge Oregonians 500% interest rates. Boo hoo.
I knocked on doors -
in an inner NE Portland neighborhood, in the center of which lies an elementary school. I got to thinking about the crap I was fed in public school cafeterias during my childhood, and it wasn't a pleasant thought. Under Jeff Merkley's leadership, the Oregon House took action on this over the last legislative session -
Hoping to reverse the growing problem of childhood obesity, the Oregon House voted Tuesday to ban the sale of most junk food in public schools starting in fall 2008.
That means goodbye to candy bars, sugary colas, high-fat chips, oversized slices of pepperoni pizza and other high-calorie snacks.
to ensure that our children have healthier food options in Oregon Public Schools.
It was hot out there, though! So about halfway through my canvass, I walked a few blocks up to Alberta to get some water. As I crossed Alberta, and headed towards a little market...I saw a candidate for one of our City Commissioner positions riding his bike, pulling a bike trailer with signs. Welcome to Portland! Have I mentioned how much I love it here?
Armed with cold water(which didn't remain cold for long, though...), I kept going. I met all kinds of great people along the way, and had a few interesting conversations. There's nothing I love more than walking around aimlessly throughout the streets of Portland, and meeting neighbors.
We may not agree on everything, but we definitely agree that Gordon Smith (R-Bush) has to go this year. He's done, and he knows it.
That's why he's been getting desperate and panicked, and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars interfering in our primary, attacking Jeff Merkley already. And unfortunately, Smith's not the only one who's been lying about Jeff Merkley lately.
I won't get into that right here, though. I prefer to stay positive about my candidate, and not tear down other Democrats.
Jeff Merkley just led one of the most progressive legislative sessions in Oregon history; and the most impressive thing about that is that he literally did not have one vote to spare.
Jeff is a proven leader, and he'll be one of the leading progressive voices in Washington.
Here are just some of the many organizations who agree -
United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555
International Longshore and Warehouse Union
Oregon AFSCME Council 75
Oregon AFL-CIO
International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Local 97
Oregon State Association of Electrical Workers
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 48
American Federation of Teachers-Oregon
Exterior & Interior Specialists Local 2154
Council for a Livable World
Oregon Small Business for Responsible Leadership
Citizens for Global Solutions
American Nurses Association
Oregon Nurses Association
Service Employees International Union
The Sierra Club
Basic Rights Oregon
Planned Parenthood
eQualityGiving
Oregon Machinists Council
Humane Society Legislative Fund
21st Century Democrats
Gordon Smith's "Reign of Error" in Washington is nearing it's end, but we can definitely still use all the help we can get here...
If you can, please consider donating, volunteering or spreading the word for Jeff Merkley, and let's send a proven progressive fighter to the United States Senate for all of us!