REGION
Saturday, January 19, 2019
A citizen’s guide to finding your voice at the Capitol
By CLAIRE
WITHYCOMBE
Oregon Capital Bureau
SALEM
—
When
Oregon legislators convene
on Tuesday, they could raise
or lower your taxes, cut or
boost government services
and decide how much your
landlord can hike the rent.
Interest groups, from the
pharmaceutical industry to
labor unions, spend millions
of dollars lobbying legisla-
tors and contributing to their
campaigns.
We
asked
former
lawmakers and citizen advo-
cates: how can an ordinary
constituent, without the
same cash or cachet, have an
impact? Here’s their advice
to help you influence what
happens at the Capitol
Get a group
The old adage holds:
There is strength in numbers.
“Bills that get passed are
the bills that the hearing
room is full,” said Bobbie
Jager, school choice outreach
coordinator at the Cascade
Policy Institute. “They’re
bills that make senators take
notice that it isn’t just their
opinion, it’s their people and
their constituents that want
something, and things move
usually that way.”
Jager isn’t a hardened
political operative. She got
her start in politics after she
was named 2012 Oregon
Mother of the Year.
After the honor brought
her to the Capitol to address
legislators, she was asked to
lead a group of parents advo-
cating for education reform.
If you’re passionate
about an issue — afford-
able housing, for example,
or criminal justice reform —
find a group that shares your
interests and point of view.
They will track proposals
that could become law.
Julie Parrish represented
Tualatin and West Linn in
the House for eight years
until she was defeated for
re-election in November.
“We’re all a special
interest at the end of the
day,” Parrish said. “If you’re
a veteran, if you’re a senior,
if you’re a mom with kids
in school, (you) have an
interest in what happens in
our government. And there’s
some group out there that is
speaking with your voice,
and so go find them, and
AP Photo/File
Peter Bergel waves a flag during the Occupy Salem rally and
march in 2011 at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem.
get involved with them, and
they will help mentor you as
well.”
Parents and families of
people with disabilities have
proven some of the most
successful lobbyists, Parrish
said.
“We worked on things
that mattered to families
because families showed
up,” Parrish said.
Write to your legislators
— in your own words
Whether you have your
own idea for a change to state
law or want to share your
opinion about an existing
proposal, lawmakers recom-
mend writing a letter or
email yourself and including
your address so that they
know you live in their
district.
Most legislators want
to stay in office, so they
pay attention to what their
constituents want. Many
also hold town hall meet-
ings in their districts where
constituents can share their
ideas or concerns.
To find your represen-
tative and senator, go the
legislature’s home page at
www.oregonlegislature.gov.
Beware of emails from
advocacy groups asking you
to click a link to send a form
letter to legislators.
It may be convenient, but
doing that can result in thou-
sands of identical messages
that pile up in lawmakers’
inboxes.
“Most of those aren’t
read,” said former State Sen.
Alan DeBoer, a Republican
from Ashland who didn’t
seek another term last year.
Testify
If you have the means and
time, testifying in person
can be an effective way to
influence lawmakers. If
you let your legislator know
you’ll be in town with a few
days’ notice, many will meet
with you.
“I believe that at any
level of government, direct
interaction is probably the
best way to go,” said JoAnn
Herrigel, deputy director
of Elders in Action, a Port-
land group that advocates
for older adults and educates
citizens on the state and
local political process.
Committee
hearings,
floor sessions and the whole
building are open to the
public.
If you’re keeping track
of a bill and see that it
has a public hearing in a
committee, you can testify.
You don’t need permis-
sion to appear as a witness,
which means you sit before
a committee and share your
thoughts about the issue
it is considering. You also
can submit your opinion in
writing to be considered by
committee members.
For the most impact, tell
lawmakers how a proposal
will directly affect you.
“I think personal stories
go a long way,” Herrigel
said.
Do your research
Knowing your subject
will make your comments
more compelling.
A wealth of information
on many topics is on the
Legislature’s website, and
with a little practice it can be
a helpful guide.
The legislative website
provides direct access to
each piece of legislation
and its journey through the
process, so you will know
what committee is consid-
ering a bill, when it has been
voted on by the committee
or a full chamber, and its
next step.
You can sign up to get
email notice about any
particular piece of legisla-
tion so you can be aware
of hearings and when to
provide testimony.
And try tapping your
local network for insights,
including people who have
served in office before or in
another level of government.
City councilors, county
commissioners,
school
board members and other
local officials are easy to
reach and are familiar with
the Legislature.
Be mindful of
political realities
How much influence
you have can come down
to politics, said Rich Vial,
a Republican who served in
the House for two years.
“Right now, partisan-
ship decides what issues
are going to get hearings,
what issues are going to
get leverage, what issues
are going to get any kind
of traction and what issues
aren’t,” Vial said. “If it’s not
one that the majority party
is interested in having go
anywhere, forget it.”
Democrat
Courtney
Neron
beat
Vial
in
November. That ouster was
part of a wave election that
replaced several Republi-
cans with Democrats in both
the House and Senate.
Frustrated by the power
that the majority party
holds, Vial wants to make
the Legislature nonpartisan.
Many lawmakers fill
their days with 15-minute
“speed dates” with lobby-
ists, Vial said. Those lobby-
ists have influence over what
lawmakers do because they
hold the purse strings for
campaign donations, which
can be critical to getting
reelected.
But, as a citizen, you
have one other powerful tool
at your disposal if you don’t
like what your lawmaker is
doing: your ballot.
———
Reporter Claire Withy-
combe: cwithycombe@
eomediagroup.com or
971-304-4148. Withycombe
is a reporter for the East
Oregonian working for the
Oregon Capital Bureau, a
collaboration of EO Media
Group, Pamplin Media
Group, and Salem Reporter.
Oregon finds discharges of 17 mentally ill patients improper
PORTLAND (AP) —
Oregon officials have over-
turned a contractor’s deci-
sion to force 17 severely
mentally ill patients out
of state-funded residential
facilities after a newspaper
and a nonprofit organiza-
tion raised concerns, The
O regonia n/O regon Live
reported Friday.
The Oregon Health
Authority had hired the
Pen nsylvania-based
contractor Kepro to review
the cases of about 1,600
patients in the facilities
to determine if they all
needed to be there. The
review was part of a $27
million contract for a three-
year project, the newspaper
said.
But after the newspaper
reported late last year
that at least three people
suffered serious harm after
discharge — including an
older schizophrenic woman
who was found wandering
the streets catatonic and
severely dehydrated after
her release — the agency
began taking action.
Disability
Rights
Oregon has also undertaken
a months-long investigation
into the contractor’s work.
“Clearly, there was some
room for improvement as
far as what OHA expected,”
said Saerom England, a
state spokeswoman. “This
is about the care, quality
and safety of residents in
the mental health residen-
tial system.”
OHA has a team of three
mental health professionals
reviewing all of Kepro’s
care decisions and so far,
the state has reversed the
contractor in all of 17 cases
they’ve looked at, the news-
paper reported.
Kepro
declined
to
address directly the rever-
sals. Chief operating officer
Meghan Harris said in an
email that the company
is working to amend its
contract with Oregon and
believes those changes
will “improve our ability
to serve the state and the
patients.”
The patients whose
cases were reviewed by
Kepro included about 250
people living in locked resi-
dential facilities. State offi-
cials have said at least 215
people from those facili-
ties have had to move else-
where after Kepro decided
they didn’t qualify to stay.
The state’s new over-
sight is limited to people
who want to stay in a secure
facility or move into one.
East Oregonian
A3
City taking input
on skate park plans
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
The city of Hermiston
is looking for input on a
planned skate park.
Skateboarders, neigh-
bors of the proposed park
and others with an interest
in the project are invited
to give their opinions
on Thursday from 3:45-
5:15 p.m. at Hermiston
High School.
The city aims to build
the park on South First
Street, just north of the
high school and across the
street from the building
that houses Hermiston
Police Department and
Umatilla County Fire
District. While the city
already owned a part of
the undeveloped prop-
erty across from the public
safety building, in 2017 it
made a deal with Mitco
Investments
to
lease
more land, allowing for a
larger design, parking and
landscaping.
Local skaters were first
asked to give their input on
the project in 2015, but the
park was put on hold after
an Oregon Supreme Court
ruling that opened cities
up to more liability for
public use of parks. The
legislature passed a bill
protecting cities in 2017,
and money for the skate
park was included in the
city’s 2018-19 budget.
The city has retained
California
Skateparks,
a skate park design and
construction
company,
and representatives from
the company will be on
hand Thursday to discuss
various design options for
the park.
For more informa-
tion,
call
Hermiston
Parks and Recreation at
541-667-5018.
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
The city of Hermiston wants to build a skate park across
South First Street from the building housing Hermiston
Police Department and Umatilla County Fire District.
AT TENTION!
CHANGES IN
PENDLETON!
The Pendleton Insurance Center wants
to wish Dan Ceniga of State Farm a very
happy retirement. His dedication to
our community has been nothing but
outstanding. Congrats Dan!
As an alternative…
We understand insurance, like most things,
has a way of changing. Premiums go up,
agents retire and agencies stop reviewing
policies. Besides our quadruple guarantee
we offer the following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Most Competitive rates in Eastern Oregon
Local Agency focused on individual service
Over 75 years of combined experience
Tailored Coverage’s just for you
New Companies with better price points
Friendly with excellent customer service
ONE-STOP shopping- offering all lines
State-of-the-art technology
The Pendleton Insurance Center is located
at 1904 SW Frazer Avenue in Pendleton,
Oregon. (Farmers Ins -Upstairs)
CALL US TODAY
(541) 276-9356
McKay Creek Estates
M
A
K
R
A
V
N
E
L
O
H
P
Thanks to modern
technology and
industry-leading
expertise, Phonak
is able to bring you
the best possible
solutions for your
hearing needs
FREE Cognitive
Screening
Is Mom a
little more
forgetful
lately?
There are many early warning signs of a
potential memory disorder, such as Alzheimer’s
disease. That’s why we’re offering a FREE
and CONFIDENTIAL cognitive screening. We
encourage anyone who is concerned about
cognitive decline to take this short, in-person
screening. The screening is administered by a
qualified health care professional.
To schedule your cognitive screening today, please call (541) 704-7146.
Renata Anderson, MA
2237 SW Court, Pendleton • 541-276-5053
www.renataanderson.com
McKay Creek Estates
7607 Southgate Pl.
Pendleton, OR 97807
www.PrestigeCare.com