The Way: Minty Morris on Water, Wilde on Organized Crime, Unger on #Striketober
Look forward to pieces on redistricting, Measure 109, and our #GovernorGoals series
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Editor’s Note:
During the Democratic Primary for Mayor of New York City, each candidate offered bold and feasible ideas for how to resolve the city’s affordable housing crisis. Voters expected as much. New Yorkers have become accustomed to a culture of political experimentation and progress. Innovations related to transit, homelessness, and economic development have all emerged in this culture, mainly for the better. And, both Democratic and Republican administrations have harnessed the community’s will for substantive improvements.
New York City manages to achieve this policy innovation and democratic improvement despite a massive population, formidable bureaucracy, and entrenched special interests. Oregon, then, has no excuses for not serving as one of the best labs for democratic innovation. In fact, Oregon should be the Goldilocks Zone for democratic reform.
Our state is just large enough to struggle with the issues common to bigger cities and states and just small enough to quickly run and learn from experiments in good governance and social progress. Oregonians are also fiercely proud of their roots and community, which means that with the right stakeholders in place this sort of bold experimentation is possible.
For too long, though, the stakeholders required to bring about this progress have failed to work together and to earn the trust of normal Oregonians. What should be a wheel turning thanks to spokes from every part of society often struggles to turn by relying on one or two private, public, nonprofit and philanthropic organizations collaborating. Each of these stakeholders is required if Oregon is going to lead on experiments like Boomers mentoring Gen Zers, employers trying new apprenticeship programs, and realizing a “Right to Housing” by assisting churches and other social groups with shelter development. The current approach isn’t capable of doing these experiments in the right way: there’s too little transparency, too few participants, and too many missed opportunities. A fragmented approach leads to duplication and missed opportunities.
Though experimentation sounds scary and carries risk, it can be structured to move everyone forward. Inherent to experimentation is uncertainty; the trick is mitigating that uncertainty. The chance for a bad outcome is much higher if stakeholders are forced to try new solutions on a one off basis—in that case, they are likely to miss out on the key lessons required to help the entire community benefit from that test. A collaborative approach to experimentation can make sure the right data is gathered, the right communities consulted, and the proper lessons learned and disseminated. Only through that approach can experimentation lead to broad progress.
Oregon has a unique opportunity to be the home of innovation—economic, social, political, you name it. While this small state cannot solve climate change, heal the nation’s deep racial wounds, nor restore the entirety of the American Dream, it can offer models that, when scaled, can achieve all those things.
By becoming the place that dares to solve the issues of the day, we will attract companies, organizations, and individuals dedicated to forming an ecosystem of experimenting, learning, and progressing.
Here’s to a better Oregon,
Kevin
To look forward to:
Nathan Howard talks about his new role related to implementing Measure 109.
Reagan Knopp explores the long-term ramifications of redistricting on Oregon politics.
To read:
Luhui Whitebear analyzes why only some Oregonians feel comfortable calling this state “home” and provides some suggestions for how to change that.
read more here.
Melissa Unger discusses why #Striketober is just the beginning of the labor movement’s response to decades of insufficient support.
read more here.
Rep. Wilde raises a red flag about a surge in organized crime, especially in rural Oregon, related to the marijuana market.
read more here.
Priscilla Macy highlights the importance of the River Democracy Act to protecting the outdoors and the economic returns that come from our love of Oregon’s pristine environment.
read more here.
Kelley Minty Morris summarizes an impressive and collaborative effort to respond to the newest water issue in the Klamath Basin.
read more here.
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"Morning Fog in Florence, Oregon" by Einahpets32 (Stephanie) is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0