Submitted by Marjory on Fri, 2010-01-15 06:06

Filed under:

• Social Change in Oregon
• Asian Pacific Islander
• Measures 66 & 67
• Rural

You can’t turn on the TV without seeing an ad about Measures 66 and 67.  But a 30-second ad, by necessity, has to simplify an issue to appeal to a large voting block.

So when we’re asked to identify with someone who will be impacted by the measures, the range of choices can be pretty limited. Do you identify with the struggling, white middle class worker who just lost his job or the struggling, white business owner who is against raising taxes?

The reality is that our lives and our communities are more complex. With just a little digging—and help from MRG’s grantees and allies—you can find resources that break it down for your community.

The Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO) is using an MRG Critical Response grant to help Oregon’s diverse Asian and Pacific Islander communities figure out how they will be impacted by the measures and to participate in the election. 

Small business owners who support the measures can find window signs and tools that help them figure out whether their business would be impacted on the Rural Organizing Project’s website.

ROP also has a Voter Guide written by and for rural and small town Oregon, with discussion questions for talking with your neighbors.

For the record, I support passage of Measures 66 and 67.  By raising the minimum corporate tax from $10 to $150 and a slight increase in taxes on income over $250,000, we’ll be able to protect nearly $1 billion in vital social services at a time when our communities need them the most. 

I hope you’ll join me in helping to pass Measure 66 & 67.  Listen to people in your community you respect. Read the text of the measures and get information about how these measures will impact your local community. Talk with your friends and family.

And then vote.