Jennifer Williamson
With the start of the 79th Legislative Assembly, Oregon faces a set of challenges unlike any we’ve faced before. Solving them will mean coming together with courage, optimism, and a commitment to protecting Oregon values.
This session, we’ll tackle a $1.8 billion budget deficit caused by the longstanding flaws in our revenue system, craft a statewide transportation package, and do everything we can to resist the destructive actions of the Trump Administration and Republicans in Congress.
Oregon’s House Democrats released our blueprint for the 2017 session–called “Moving Oregon Forward Together”–reaffirming our commitments to equality, opportunity for all, efficiency, transparency, and creating a future where everyone has a shot at real prosperity. These values will shape how we approach the session.
Education: Despite having one of the fastest growing economies in the nation, our revenue system is so broken that we’re unable to fund our basic needs, let alone invest in the future. This could mean larger class sizes, shorter school years, and higher college tuition.
Shortchanging our children’s education and closing off access to higher education is exactly the wrong direction. In order to create the kind of education system our kids deserve, we’ll need everyone to come to the table with their best ideas–including ideas on how to fund our classrooms.
An Economy that Works for Everyone: In 2016, Oregon’s rate of job growth outpaced the national average. We’re going on more than 50 consecutive months of job growth, the longest stretch since we began collecting that data in 1990.
But clearly, we’ve got more work to do to ensure that the economic gains are being shared more widely. We need to invest in a comprehensive transportation plan that meets the everyday needs of families and businesses across the state. We need to facilitate small business growth across the state by connecting local entrepreneurs with grants, loans, and technical resources to get their ideas off the ground.
And we also need to ensure that working families have the protections they need to thrive. Oregon has led the way by ensuring that workers have access to paid sick leave and giving low-income workers a raise. Still, too many workers–particularly those in the service and retail industries–are forced to choose between their job and caring for their kids or a loved one. By exploring protections like paid family leave, predicable scheduling policies, and ensuring that women receive equal pay, we can improve the health of our communities and our local economies.
Standing With Our Vulnerable Neighbors: Donald Trump is making good on his most extreme, xenophobic, and cruel campaign promises, including breaking up immigrant families, scapegoating Muslim refugees, and restricting women’s access to reproductive care. Trump’s bigoted rhetoric has ushered in a spike in hate crimes, emboldening the worst elements of humanity.
As Democrats and as Oregonians, we will fight to make sure that this state remains open and welcoming to all. To our neighbors who are being directly targeted by the Trump Administration, please know that we’re standing by your side and will use every legal tool at our disposal to protect you.
The challenges ahead are enormous. But if we’re all pulling together, we can keeping moving Oregon forward.
Rep. Jennifer Williamson, D-Southwest and Northwest Portland, serves as the majority leader in the Oregon House of Representatives.
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