It’s Official!! Potluck Open House for New Office is June 3

The Potluck will be from 6:30 to 7:30 in the lovely conference room of our new headquarters. This is your chance to see our new facilities, and appreciate the effort put in by retiring Office Manager Michael Rey to accomplish the move. 

The JCDs will provide beverages. Please bring "finger food" to share.  There will also be an extra special feature for the evening.

GMO’s:  The Science, The Myths, The Money and the Politics Topic for May

Thursday, May 23, 6:30 p.m., at the OEA Building, 2495 S. Pacific Highway, Medford

Volunteer Office Staff Needed

Have a little spare time on your hands? 
With the Departure of Michael Rey, the Jackson County Democratic Party is looking for an Office Manager & additional office staff for a few hours a week. To see what it entails, click here.

50/50 Drawing Tickets Available Now!

Tickets for the drawing are $25 each and will be available at the Open House and Central Committee meetings. You may also purchase them online securely by clicking on this link. Drawing winner will announced onJuly 4th. Good Luck!

JCD Website to Feature Blogs

The JCD website is undergoing a transformation! One of the new changes is a blogging area that will allow Committee Members and guest bloggers to present opinion pieces and share their letters representatives and newspapers. We have openings for both regular and guest bloggers, and would love hear from you about current topics of interest to Jackson County Democrats. If you are interested in writing a blog, please contactcommunicationschair@jcdemocrats.org.

The Executive Committee Will Meet Thursday, June 13

TAKE ACTION

Support Common-Sense Gun Reform in Oregon – Speak Up Now!

Contact your legislator AGAIN. The message to convey, "You must take action to reduce gun violence this session."  It is important to focus most strongly on SB 700A (Universal Background Checks) and SB 347A (Allows school districts to limit guns in K-12 schools).

Protect the Immigration Reform Bill
Nearly 300 amendments have been offered -- many that would gut the bill, destroy the path to citizenship for those without documents, and keep 11 million people in the shadows. Sign Schumer's Petition.

Mi Voz Cuenta and Unete have a request for you each WEDNESDAY
We ask that every Wednesday you call to ask for Comprehensive Immigration Reform  that Keeps Families Together.

• Senator Ron Wyden 202.224.5244 or 541.858.5122
• Senator Jeff Merkley 202.224.3753 or 541.608.9102
• Representative Greg Walden 202.225.6730 or 541.776.4646
• Representative  Peter DeFazio 202.225.6416 or 541.440.3523

Go to Salem for Climate Action Day!
Oregon Climate Action Day event on will take place May 22 at the Salem Capitol steps, including meetings with our elected representatives. The goal is to lobby legislators about a revenue-neutral carbon tax, levied upstream on all fossil energy coming into Oregon. The "tax" would be redistributed to businesses and consumers to off-set the increased costs of fossil fuels. The goal is to incentivize businesses and consumers to imporove energy efficiency and to promote alternative renewable sources of energy like wind, solar, and ocean power. Contact Christine Haynie, co-organizer of this event, atchristineh1@charter.net. 

JACKSON COUNTY & OREGON NEWS

The next Inside Source show will feature Oregon Treasurer Ted Wheeler
On Monday, May 13 at 11:15 am, Treasurer Ted Wheeler will be joining the next “Inside Source” to talk about a range of issues affecting Oregonians, like paying for college and protecting the state's investments. Go here to sign up, and if you've got a question for Treasurer Wheeler, send it to questions@ouroregon.org.

Sal Esquivel Files to Stop New Driver’s License Law
Together with Rep. Kim Thatcher of Keizer and Portland activist Richard LaMountain with the group Oregonians for Immigration Reform, they are trying to stop the law from taking effect on January 1.  Read the Mail Tribune article here.

The Struggle to Retain Local Control of GMOs Goes On  
Your voice is needed to help keep Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) out of our valley!

After passing in the Senate,  SB633 is now in the Oregon House Speaker's office for a first reading and awaiting assignment to a House Committee by the Speaker of the House who is believed to be generally sympathetic to defeating SB633. Read more...

Oregon Live Has a Report on the Democrats’ Tax Bill and Republican Rejection 
During a floor session , the House Democrats' bill (HB2456) to generate $275 million by closing tax loopholes was significantly changed, replaced with an amended version of the bill that would raise only $18 million. Now the bill moves forward to the Senate.

From the DPO: This is what competition looks like: 
Oregon's rigorous public review of health insurance rates has already caused two insurers to request do-overs to lower their rates even before the state determines whether they're justified, one of them lowering its requested health insurance rates for 2014 by 15%. Follow the link to read more.

Join the Oregon League of Conservation Voters and Rogue Riverkeeper in Ashland next week for a happy hour for the Rogue River!

What: Happy Hour for the Rogue River
When: Thursday, May 16, 5:30PM - 7:30PM
Where: The beautiful Ashland Creek Inn, 70 Water Street, Ashland

Hobnob with fellow conservationists, enjoy a drink on us, and find out what you can do to help OLCV and Rogue Riverkeeper stop suction-dredge mining on the Rogue River and many other iconic Oregon waterways during this legislative session.
Senator Alan Bates will join us if his legislative schedule permits.
RSVPS are required, as space is limited. please RSVP to Andrew Hogan at ahogan@olcv.org or 503-224-4011 today!

Wine, beer, and hors d'oeuvres will be served. (Thanks for Wooldridge Creek Winery for donating the wine!)

NATIONAL ISSUES

A Bill That Will Shrink Big Banks, and Can Actually Pass, from Sen. Sherrod Brown
He has a new, bipartisan plan to end Too Big to Fail, and break up Wall Street megabanks for good.  Learn about it here.

Call For an End to Citizens United – Support Tom Udall’s Constitutional Amendment
Special interest groups spent $1.1 billion in 2012 on attack ads, mailers, field operations and phone calls -- all without the American people knowing who or what entity was trying to influence their votes.  Sign up and support the initiative here.

Fix the Filibuster – With Senator Jeff Merkley and Democracy for America
We can’t wait any longer for the Senate to work!  Their petition is here.

Join Sen. Bernie Sanders and Jim Dean – Stop a Takeover of Major Media by the Koch Brothers
The Kochs spent $400 million just last year to further their extreme agenda. Now they want to own the Tribune companies .  Speak up NOW for a balanced media!

WIDER COMMUNITY

Southern Oregon Climate Action Network Events – Details at soclimate.org

• Friday, May 17, 5 p.m., Send the Salmon to Salem,  Porter’s Restaurant, 147 N  Front St, Medford
• Wednesday, May 22, 11:00-4:00  Oregon Climate Action Day in Salem

GMO Free Jackson County Has a Full May Schedule. Still to Come:

• May 13: Green Drinks in Medford
• May 15: "GMO Pickle: Jackson County at the Crossroads" in Medford
• May 16: Volunteer Orientation in Medford
• May 25: March Against Monsanto in Medford & Grants Pass

Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness - A Weekend of Justice for All 
Sunday, May 19, 2013 at the home of Ms. Chris Donchin, 471 Lindsey Lane, Ashland 
You are invited to the 4th Annual Southern Oregon Pride Festival’s fundraiser. You will enjoy hosted hors d’oeuvres, local wines, live entertainment, our silent auction and hear about the direction we are taking pride. There is a $20.00 donation at the door; all donations go to another successful SOPride Festival.  Also in October SOPride gives a substantial percentage of our intake to a local non- profit.

Gen Silent – a Free Showing
Thursday, May 23, 7 to 8:30 p.m., Smullin Center, 2825 E. Barnett Road, Medford
An award-winning film by Stu Maddux that shows the unique challenges of aging in the gay community.  To be followed by a Q&A session.

Save the Date: Saturday, June 8
ROPNET’s 20th Annual Rural Caucus & Strategy Session in Woodburn
The 2013 ROP Caucus will focus on Envisioning Community… 2033.

AFFINITY GROUPS

Citizens for Peace and Justice - Films first Tuesday
GMO Free Jackson County      Mon 9 a.m., Gresham Room, Ashland Public Library. 
Immense Possibilities - SOPTV, Fridays, 8:30 p.m.
Peace House - Activities Calendar
Rogue Valley Veterans for Peace First Wednesdays, Check Website for Location
Stonewall Democrats & Southern Oregon Pride
Southern Oregon Climate Action Network
Unete - Center for Farmworker Advocacy

There's an election happening in Oregon on May 21st - are you registered to vote at your current address? If not, you can do it online in less than two minutes - register to vote right now! It's the same process for updating existing registrations and for new registrations.

Have you moved since November 2012, or changed your name? If so, you'll want to update your voter registration to make sure you get a ballot. Just fill out this online form before the registration deadline of Tuesday, April 30th.

Not sure what this election is about? Have questions about local candidates and ballot initiatives? Contact your local county party ... you can find a list of Oregon Democratic county parties here.

All the best,

Frank Dixon, Chair
Democratic Party of Oregon

Gun Safety bills are coming up for a vote soon. Your help is needed! On April 18, the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced four bills to the floor of the Oregon Senate, including a stronger universal criminal background checks bill than what was being considered in Congress.

Greetings Everyone,

I am happy to announce to everyone that Tuition Equity has now passed the Oregon State Senate, and Governor Kitzhaber has announced that he is excited to sign it into law. Thank you everyone that helped work to make this possible through your phone calls and emails to our elected officials.

Tuition Equity will allow in-state tuition for students without immigration documents, if they graduated from high school or its equivalent in Oregon, attended Oregon schools three years before graduation and U.S. schools for five years. Students also would have to show intent to seek legal status or citizenship in the United States.

Greetings Everyone,

I am pleased to announce Edward Smith-Burns has accepted my offer of becoming the Chair of the Stonewall Democrats Caucus. Ed has an established background in non-profit administration, and is the Deputy Director of an established non-profit here in Medford. Ed also brings with him his experience of past leadership in the LGBT community which includes ties to SOPride, SOU Queer Resource Center. Ed also served as the Board President of the Abdill-Ellis Lambda Community Center which served as a resource center for the LGBT community.