The Weekly Way (3/19/21)
Paving the way for our youth to thrive, businesses to grow, and democracy to be more representative.
Editor’s Note: Do your part to Sustain the Way! We’re nearly at $500 raised.
Donate here or subscribe below to create a part-time editor position. Thank you! - kevin
Editor’s Note:
As your executive, it will be my policy to consider all legislation strictly on its merits, to approve only such as I believe essential for the welfare of the people, and to keep governmental expenses down to the lowest level consistent with efficiency. To accomplish this I need and am confident of receiving your hearty cooperation.
Governor Julius L. Meier included this pledge in his remarks to the Oregon Legislature in 1931. Elected as an Independent, Meier emphasized that he would govern with people, not party in mind.
His election came during a turbulent economic and political time. Meier’s path to the governship was only possible due to an intense political battle between George W. P. Joseph, a State Senator, and the Oregon Supreme Court.
Joseph had accused two members of the Supreme Court of colluding with his adversary, Thomas Mannix, in litigation. Mannix launched disbarment proceedings against Joseph as a result, which spurred Joseph to run for governor, in part, to be vindicated by the people of Oregon. Joseph won the race for Governor, but then soon lost his life to a stroke. Meiers then ran for and won the seat.
All this shows that the people of Oregon were paying close attention to the state government at the time and, in particular, how the independent Meier planned to govern. That’s why his first remarks to the legislature are so informative.
What do you say when tensions are high? What do you prioritize when politics seem to volatile? Meiers offered an interesting answer. Reflecting on those who sought to punish Joseph for his speech, Meiers said:
In a republic it is absolutely essential that there be freedom of speech. Without free speech there can be no ascertainment of the truth, no progress, no advancement on the part of the state or nation. Every citizen, be his station high or humble, has the right to give his reasons for the course he pursues and the suppression of this right constitutes a double wrong—it denies the right of one to speak and the people to hear.
He then remarked, “It is better a thousand times that the right of free speech be abused than that it be denied; for the abuse dies in a day, but the denial of free speech strikes at the very foundation of our American form of government.”
We live, too, live in turbulent times. If Meier were around, I think he would encourage us all to think about the “very foundation” of our government and what we can do to bolster that foundation.
To a better Oregon,
Kevin
To support:
Our volunteer editor is joining the Air Force. Let’s Sustain the Way and raise the fund required to formalize this organization.
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To look forward to:
Contributions from our latest new community member: Nick Johnson of LCRI.
To ponder: When kids head back to class, what should we prioritize teaching them?
To read:
John Horvick points out that Motor Voter and Closed Primaries are at odds. How do we resolve that conflict?
Nearly half (47%) of voters ages 18-34 were registered as non-affiliated compared to just 16% of those ages 65+. Together with third party registrants, a majority of young voters are not eligible to vote in Oregon’s closed primary elections.
If Oregon continues its system of closed primary elections, and continues to default Motor Voter registrants as non-affiliated, these gaps will increase. As a result, candidates will have an ever decreasing need to consider the interests of younger voters. This will weaken our representative system and fail to deliver benefits that are shared across generations.
Brenda Smith reflects on what communities can do to empower Oregon’s youth, who have missed out on so many opportunites to grow and explore this past year.
It’s been hard this last year for students to know the community is always rooting for their success. After all, it’d be a little odd to make a sign and go cheer on a student from outside their window. It’s also been hard for the rest of us not to be able to show our support and to pay it forward. I know I sure miss making a couple of pies for the science club fundraiser pie auction.
As I would hope is the case for most communities, we believe that Harney County’s youth are the lifeblood and future of the community. We want our youth to know they have opportunities in Harney County, whether they stay in Harney County or go acquire education and training elsewhere, this will always be their home.
Vacancies shouldn’t be filled by party favorites. Rich Vial describes how the current replacement process robs the people of a chance to select their representative.
If the Oregon Way is to give all its citizens an equal opportunity to choose their representatives, then filling vacancies through fair and open elections is the only real solution. Let’s stop presuming that simply because the voters elected a member of one party yesterday that they would prefer a handpicked replacement and favorite of the most diehard, loyal party members to the chance of selecting from new candidates of all ideologies.
Jared Wiener points out that changes to how we work mean that Oregon has to change how it thinks about economic development.
A key component of growth is population growth. As John Tapogna pointed out in his most recent post, the states that manage to attract the workers of the 21st Century will see greater economic progress. The mobility created by the pandemic means that educational attainment is rising both for those born in Oregon and those moving here.
Educational attainment is correlated to economic mobility so as folks become more educated in Oregon and across the country, more of them will have greater choices of which community to work in. Couple this trend with the move away from full time office work for knowledge workers, and the importance of place is heightened. In other words, the states that succeed in creating spaces and communities for knowledge workers to call home will have an immense competitive advantage for the foreseeable future.
To quote:
You may differ widely in your politics, in your opinions regarding questions of political economy, and in your theories of government, but when an attempt at legislative jobbery is sought to be carried out, you should with one accord rebuke it most emphatically.