On Saturday, November 4th, South Willamette Valley NOW’s Legislative Task Force hosted a legislative forum in Eugene for NOW members from all over Oregon.

The forum provided an opportunity for NOW members to learn about key pieces of legislation that are expected in the 2018 short legislative session from some of our coalition partners, including Family Forward and Ceasefire Oregon, as well as from legislators and staff from Governor Brown’s office. NOW members discussed strategies for working together across chapters to coordinate and maximize our grassroots advocacy efforts.

Oregon NOW is grateful to the South Willamette Valley NOW Legislative Task Force for taking the initiative to plan and execute the forum and providing an opportunity for chapters to come together. We also thank Penny Okamoto from Ceasefire Oregon and Kate Newhall from Family Forward Oregon for joining and sharing their knowledge with us on key issues like paid family and medical leave, gun safety legislation, stable homes legislation, and more. We also are grateful to State Rep. Julie Fahey, State Sen. James Manning, and Karmen Fore from the Office of Governor Kate Brown for offering their guidance on how NOW members can best work with the state legislative and executive branches to achieve our priorities.

In addition to the upcoming legislative session, much of the discussion focused on the January 23 special election on Measure 101: Yes for Healthcare, which asks voters to support the healthcare plan developed by healthcare experts and advocates throughout Oregon, businesses and unions, hospitals, the AARP and patient advocates. Oregon NOW has endorsed Measure 101 and will be sharing more information in the coming months; if you’d like to find out what you can do to support Measure 101, visit yesforhealthcare.org.