Who’s Hot and Who’s No in Oregon Politics: Foster Youth Connection, Sonny Mehta, PERS
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Friday, May 08, 2015
Douglas Fasching, GoLocalPDX Contributor
Every Friday, GoLocalPDX breaks down who's rising and who's falling in the world of Oregon politics. Check out who made the lists this week.
HOT:
The Oregon Foster Youth Connection
Who is currently making an impact in Salem fighting for the Punky Brewsters and Michael Ohers of this state? That would be the Oregon Foster Youth Connection. Led by Program Director Lisa McMahon, this advocacy group for current and former foster youth is spearheading two bills that would make the lives of foster kids a little better. HB 2889 would ensure foster kids have access to extra-curricular activities and HB 2890 would allow them to have savings accounts in their own names. Well done, OFYC.
Sonny Mehta
Last week Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign tapped Sonny Mehta to serve as a grassroots organizer whose job it will be to build a network of supporters around the state. Talk about free money. Does anyone really think this state will go to anyone but Mrs. Clinton in either the primary or general elections? What will his job entail, having a few house parties to get people excited for Hillary's candidacy? News flash: People are already excited. So a hearty hurrah to this Mehta-human for landing the easiest gig in town.
Oregonians
Yes, Oregonians. All of us. This week, the Oregon legislature passed historic legislation requiring background checks on all hand gun sales both public and private. One of the goals of this bill is to prevent convicted felons from getting their hands on things they should not be getting their hands on. The bill is now headed to Governor Brown's desk to sign which she will surely do. The biggest supporter of this bill has got to be Wayne LaPierre as this will definitely keep those donations rolling in.
NOT:
Rep. Jim Weidner, R-Yamhill
Why single out Rep. Weidner when he is just one of the many gun nuts advocates butt-hurt by the new legislation requiring background checks for all handgun sales? Because of this quote in the Oregonian: "It shames me we did not talk to people in rural Oregon. Sometimes you don't even know where the gun comes from in your truck." What the hell? First of all, how many guns does he have in his truck? And second, who is secretly putting their gun in his truck? Does this happen to him often? So, for letting his pick 'em up truck be used as an anonymous gun repository, Rep. Weidner makes it into the Not column.
Portland Street Car
The Portland Street Car made the news this week when local mayoral candidate and social activist Cameron Whitten was escorted off the streetcar by police for attempting to bring to the attention to the driver that there was a water leak in the car. The driver could have dealt with this by simply saying "Thank you, we will get that fixed." Unfortunately, he didn't and now this molehill has become a mountain in the form of a lawsuit. This story is shocking, but not as shocking as finding out locals actually ride the street car. I thought only tourists did this with their pink donut boxes tucked under their arms looking for Grimm landmarks. Anyway, the best of luck to Mr. Cameron. If he prevails in his lawsuit, he definitely won't have to go on any hunger strikes any time soon.
PERS Reformers
Hey, remember that time a couple years ago when the legislature passed that law that changed the way PERS pensions were calculated? That was good times. Republicans high-fived democrats. Then Governor Kitzhaber looked like a leader and the rest of the state celebrated. Well, pretend that never happened, cuz the Oregon Supreme Court is going to make it rain. Because the Court overturned that law, the State now owes each PERS retiree about $500 in back payments and another $35 per month going forward. Those bingo parlors are going to be a lot livelier now.
Related Slideshow: The Eight Political Types
What political type are you? The Pew Research Center says most Americans fall into eight groups. Can you find your match?
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Steadfast Conservatives
Republicans who regularly attend religious services (55 percent attend at least weekly) and are very politically engaged. Steadfast Conservatives are mostly male (59 percent), non-Hispanic white (87 percent), and hold very negative thoughts towards immigrants/immigration.
Learn more
Photo Credit: Denise Cross Photography,Day 36/366.....I Voted, Feb 5 036/366, Live look
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Business Conservatives
If you are an individualist who invests in the stock market and believes the government is doing a bad job, then you might be a Business Conservative. Unlike Steadfast Conservatives, Business Conservatives believe that immigrants strengthen the country. Most Business Conservatives live in suburbs with 45 percent earning $75,000 a year or more.
Learn more
Photo Credit: "Photos NewYork1 032". Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - Live look (image cropped)
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Solid Liberals
Educated liberals who are optimistic about the nation’s future and who continually support President Obama (with 84 percent approving his job performance) and, you guessed it, faithfully vote Democrat. Unlike Business Conservatives who prefer the suburbs, 45 percent of Solid Liberals prefer to live in a city.
Learn more
Photo Credit: "President Barack Obama, 2012 portrait crop" by Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
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Young Outsiders
Are you a person that dislikes both Republicans and Democrats? Young Outsiders may lean towards the Republican Party, but heavily support the environment and liberal social policies, unlike their conservative counterparts. Also they are one of the youngest typology groups, with 30 percent under the age of 30. Young Outsiders are 73 percent non-Hispanic whites who think "poor people today have it easy because they can get government benefits without doing anything in return."
Learn more
Photo Credit: Tucker Carlson, Tucker Carlson's Twitter Profile
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Hard-Pressed Skeptics
Like Young Outsiders, Hard-Pressed Skeptics doubt Democrats and Republicans, but lean towards the Democratic Party view, although fewer than half approve of Obama’s job performance. Difficult financial circumstances have left Hard-Pressed Skeptics to believe that “the poor have hard lives because government benefits don’t go far enough to help them live decently.”
Learn More
Photo Credit: By Dorothea Lange, Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information / Office of Emergency Management / Resettlement Administration [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons (image cropped)
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Next Generation Left
You might just be a Next Generation Left if you're liberal on social issues: abortion, same-sex marriage and affirmative action. However, Next Generation Leftists deny the belief that racial discrimination is a barrier to success for racial minorities.
Learn more
Photo Credit: Jfruh at the English language Wikipedia [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 Live look (image cropped)
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Faith and Family Left
This group is highly diverse with 30 percent African-American and 18 percent foreign born. Faith and Family Left want a greater government role in programs such as aid for the poor. However, they are conservative when it comes to social issues, like opposing same sex marriage and legalizing marijuana, probably because the majority put religion and family first.
Learn more
Photo Credit: Vinoth Chandar "play of light in santhome church" Live look (image cropped)
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Bystanders
If you keep saying “I don’t get it, I don’t see myself as any of the types,” you might just be a Bystander, which means you're the person on the sidelines. You're more interested in celebrities like Jay-Z and Beyonce (are they really getting a divorce?) than government and politics. Noteworthy that Bystanders don't registered to vote, but do love the outdoors. Some 66 percent of bystanders consider themselves an “outdoor person.”
Learn more
Photo Credit: By idrewuk (originally posted to Flickr as Hello hubbie!) [CC-BY-2.0 Live look, via Wikimedia Commons
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