What about now? Now?

Right now—like, literally right now—legislators are talking amongst themselves about a huge game-changing public safety bill called HB 3194. The bill already received a hearing and the sausage-making has commenced.

If HB 3194 were to pass unchanged, it would:

• Flatline prison growth over the next decade and avoid $600 million in new prison expenses;
• Some of those savings would be re-invested into under-resourced parts of our public safety sector: community-based victim services, community corrections, drug courts, addiction and mental health treatment, and re-entry programs.

So, you know, pretty common sense stuff if you’re a lover of safety, savings, and justice. And let’s be real, who among us isn’t?

But as with actual sausage-making, the figurative sausage-making of the legislature ain’t pretty and it’s totally possible someone could lose a finger. You see, opponents are speaking out and they’re pressuring our policy makers to water down key parts of the bill.

This is where you come in. We need to make sure that the good people in our legislature aren’t just hearing from opponents; they need to hear from the supporters as well.

There’s two ways you can make sure they hear you now and help the bill get a good reception (get it? Because cell phones?) in the legislature.

Option 1: Come to Phone Phest Next Tuesday

Next Tuesday, Partnership for Safety & Justice and the Bus will be calling voters all over Oregon and encouraging them to have a phone date with their legislator. It’s a few hours of telephonic awesomeness plus good eats and great folks.

• When: April 30th, food at 5 PM, calls from 5:30 – 8:00
• Where: Bus Central, 333 SE 2nd Ave, Portland

Click hear to RSVP so we know how much food to make.

Option 2: Make Yourself Heard

Can’t make the Phone Phest? No worries, friend. Just take 5 minutes today and call your legislator to let them know you support HB 3194. Even if your rep or senator is generally supportive, it still helps to hear friendly supporters cheering them on.

Click hear to find your legislators.

Click hear to learn more about the issues.

For a Jolly Good Fellowship

Do you know someone looking to ignite a career organizing for the environment, running political campaigns, fighting for equal rights and social justice, or launching their own nonprofit?

Then they should totally apply for PolitiCorps Summer 2013, the ninth edition of our signature summer bootcamp for aspiring public interest leaders.

The PolitiCorps Class of 2013 is filling up fast, but the search for 24 of the most inspiring young leaders isn’t over yet. And we need your help.

Can you help us identify the most creative, driven, entrepreneurial, passionate young folks in Oregon? We know you know them. In fact, many of you are them.

That’s why we need you to nominate these people. Like, today. (The deadline for applications is rolling, but the sooner someone applies, the better).

Who’s right for PolitiCorps? Well, for starters nominees should be college seniors or recent graduates and they should be ready to bust serious tail for the entire summer. Beyond that, Fellows come in all stripes. They come from every state in the union, some who grew up with a clipboard in their hand and others who are still getting their campaign legs under them.

Sound like someone you know? We thought so. So go ahead and nominate those fine folks here and then let them know that you’ve nominated them. And we’ll take it from there.

Wanna apply for PolitiCorps yourself? Skip the whole nomination process and get started on your application today. Click here to apply.

We’ll keep this short and sweet: you freaking rule, Bus people.

The candidates that the Bus supported this year went 8 for 8. That’s so much winning that we won’t even begrudge you for busting out a Charlie Sheen reference.

Thanks to you, the Oregon Legislature has five brand-spankin’ new representatives in Chris Gorsek, Caddy McKeown, Joe Gallegos and long-time Bus volunteers Shemia Fagan & Ben Unger.

Thanks to you, Arnie Roblan has made the jump from the House to the Senate.

Thanks to you, Senator Laurie Monnes Anderson keeps her seat where she’ll continue to be a leading advocate for education and health care.

And thanks to you, Oregon can continue to be a leader in accessible, effective democracy with Kate Brown at the helm as Secretary of State.

These eight races were won by an incredible coalition, dedicated campaign staff and some truly inspiring candidates. These wins were fueled by generous donors, selfless volunteers from all over Oregon, and the hundreds and hundreds of Bus volunteers who gave their weekends, weeknights and everything in between to hit over 25,000 doors in races that were decided by just hundreds of votes.

Oregon, we love you so damn much.

Hello Bus Friends,

I thought you’d be interested in this piece the NY Times just ran about the youth vote this year. In addition to the nice boost to our collective self-esteem to see the Bus name-checked as a model for youth organizing, the article sparked a few thoughts:

1. We have to ask the right questions. You’ve probably noticed that media coverage of the youth vote all follows the same, baffled frame: “Why are young people so apathetic?!” And so often the conversation stops there. This piece, however, goes deeper. Young people do care about their communities, their rights and the general welfare of society.

So the question is not “Why are young people apathetic?”, but “What’s the disconnect between the Millennial Generation’s deep connection to community and their comparatively low political engagement?” Which brings me to my next point:

2. We need to meet the Millennial Generation where they are. We need to connect democracy with the issues young people care about, things like equity, sustainability and an economy that doesn’t sport a youth unemployment rate double the national average. And not just that, but we need to proactively reach out to young people where they are: concerts, community gardens, sports events, and the like. When it comes to balancing the voices in our democratic process, relying on the traditional opt-in method just doesn’t work.

3. Politics needs to change.  Last, the author makes the argument that we’ve been making since our founding: we can’t just leave politics unchanged and expect young people to jump on board. The generation more likely to get their news from Stephen Colbert & Jon Stewart fully reconginzes the outsize influence of money in politics. They see elected leadership that doesn’t reflect the diversity of the rising American electorate. They see the way that they’re courted during the election season only to be discounted when the sausage-making happens. And all along the way, they’re forced to deal with a process that’s boring, confusing and not built for the 21st century.

If we want a democratic process that includes the voices of the Millennial Generation to the same extent as older Americans, we have to address these three points. We need to ask the right questions, make politics relevant and unavoidable and fundamentally transform the structures of governance. 

I like to think the Bus does a pretty good job on these three points, and that’s why I’m proud to be a part of it. Nice to see the Gray Lady thinks so, too.

This work doesn’t happen without your support. Our donors are 15 years old to 80 years old, and they give what they can.Can you make a contribution of $25, $50 or $100 today?

Get on the Bus,

Caitlin Baggott
Executive Director
The Bus Project

So, quick & cool news. After doing nearly 8,000 doors in the primary, BOTH of the Bus’s target campaigns won. 2 for 2! 2 for 2!

Oregon’s great moderate Republican Bob Jenson survived hyper-conservative challengers in Eastern Oregon. Big news for voter access & tuition equity. Thanks to Shana, Hillary, Elliot (both of ‘em), McKenna, Nick, Scotty, Pete, JP, Scott and Matt for knocking so many damn doors in Pendleton.

David Douglas is getting a new school bond - the children of East Portland will be getting new textbooks, upgraded school buildings and will stop drinking brown water out of their water fountains. Thanks SO DANG MUCH to the Bus volunteers who helped make that happen.

There’s a bunch more work to do. But today, feel good. Oregon is better off than it was yesterday, and you helped make that happen. You kick ass. The Bus loves you.

Sincerely,
Henry Kraemer
Organizing and Political Director / Organize-Czar
Bus Project

We’re giving quick, easy, impactful nonpartisan reminder calls to young voters and voters of color in CD 1 and we need your help, alongside our partners CAUSA, the Urban League of Portland, the Center for Intercultural Organizing, Oregon Action and more.

We need the sweet dulcet tones of your voice to help remind CD-1′s young people and people of color to vote every night, so we made every night special for you.

Dial “V” for Voting – A night of mystery. Wednesday, January 18th, 5:30pm to 8:30pm @ Bus Central

Ring My Bell – Disco-style. Sunday, January 22nd, 3pm to 6pm @ TBD

Ring a Ding Ding – Rat Pack / Mad Men stylings. Wednesday, January 25th, 5:30pm to 8:30pm @ TBD

Notorious D.I.A.L. – In honor of Biggie Smalls. Sunday, January 29th, 3pm to 6pm @ TBD

THE BUS IS SO HIRING.

Everyone’s wondering where the jobs are. We don’t have all of ‘em, but we do have a whopping six new gigs open.

The Bus has a huge year coming up in 2012. It’s going to require a serious dream team. Think Ocean’s 11 but…cooler. We need to grow our team in a big way, adding dynamic, energetic and hilarious people to our band of lovable misfits. We need people who are gonna grind out some big wins with us over the next 12 months. We need you.

Check out our jobs page for info and details on how to apply.

In addition to the six staff positions, we will soon be accepting applications for two fellowships: PolitiCorps Summer (June-August, bootcamp for 25 fresh from college rockstars, with a stipend) and Democracy Summer (March-November — ok, it’s nine months, but Democracy Spring-Summer-Fall didn’t roll off the tongue. This is a paid term of service position for a dozen folks with a previous direct campaign experience).