February 3, 2021
Dear fellow Tillamook County Democrats, I have a difficult personal story to share with you that relates to one of the most significant political developments in our state. In November, Oregonians and Tillamook County itself voted in favor of Measure 110, which made Oregon the first state in the country to decriminalize drug possession and re-invest in incarceration. However, I’ve recently learned that funding for Measure 110’s treatment programs is at significant risk and may be contingent on the state receiving federal stimulus. The stakes of this funding are incredibly high. If the programs are funded, Oregon has an opportunity to demonstrate a model, already proven in Portugal, that could end the war on drugs and their victims across the country. If the programs are not funded, Oregon risks becoming a cautionary tale of the dangers of decriminalization legislation.
The most effective thing I believe we, as Tillamook County Dems, can do is to reach out to our legislators about this issue. One of our members, Toni Naranjo-Rivera, has been working tirelessly on this issue and is preparing a toolkit for us. One of the most effective things we can do is to share our story about why this is important. Unfortunately, I have a compelling story on this issue that I’ve gone ahead and sent to Suzanne Weber and Betsy Johnson. Senator Johnson is an especially important figure as co-chair of Ways and Means who was a vocal opponent of Measure 110. I wanted to share it with you all to show how meaningful this legislation is for me and also to provide an example of issue-based storytelling:
Last month my brother in law, an admired and respected factory manager in Hillsboro, passed away unexpectedly from heart failure at the age of 41. He was living alone and struggling with addiction, yet our family had no idea that this was the case as he used COVID as an excuse to prevent us from seeing him. We are all incredibly saddened by this loss and feel the stigma of addiction played a role in his tragic death, which was made worse by the pandemic. We're toiled at the thought that we as his family may have helped perpetuate that stigma.
There are a lot of priorities in our state legislature in this time of crisis, but I think this story underscores that Oregon’s nation-leading addiction crisis is being made worse by the pandemic. It literally went straight for the heart of a person I loved. We need to do more than just help businesses get through the pandemic. We need to make sure we get people through it too. These trying times call for bold measures like Measure 110 which are backed by a broad coalition of medical and criminal justice experts. I ask you, my state legislator, to follow the will of Oregon voters by helping implement Measure 110 to its fullest extent without delay.
I believe stories like this are the most effective tool for changing minds of politicians and for motivating organizers to get involved. They’re actually at the heart of “relational organizing”, which we’ll be dabbling in during our Campaign School with Tillamook Vote forward. On February 11th at 7:30pm, I’m leading a “Relational organizing and storytelling workshop” on this subject. If you’d like to attend and learn more, please feel free to RSVP.
Thanks,
Peter Marks
Peter Marks is a Tillamook County Democrat Precinct Committeeperson (PCP) in Nehalem and a member of the Communications Committee. Peter has a deep history of working in political campaigns, including Senator Bernie Sanders presidential campaign.