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Oregon
Working Families
Party
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A Working Families Party in Oregon? The Working Families Party is a minor political party with major ambitions. The Working Families Party is focused on the economic issues that are so important to working people in Oregon but too often ignored by both of the major parties. But the Working Families Party doesn't want to be relegated to the "spoiler" role of third parties in our present voting system. We also want to change the voting system back to what it used to be in Oregon, when fusion voting was legal. What's fusion voting? Back when our democracy was younger and more vibrant, fusion was a common voting system throughout the US, including in Oregon. But because it gave a voice to workers and farmers, the major parties outlawed it in all but a few states at the turn of the last century. Fusion is now legal only in a few states, and until this year, only used actively in New York. Fusion voting permits more than one party to nominate the same candidate, in other words, to cross-endorse a candidate, so that voters can vote for their party and their issues on their ballot line without throwing their vote away. Votes from the different parties are tallied separately and then combined for that candidate's total. Using fusion, minor parties can demonstrate in clear and unequivocal terms how much support they can deliver to a candidate by highlighting the number of votes a candidate receives on each party's line. This gives greater influence with candidates and elected officials, especially when a third party provides the margin of victory. That's what happened in the 19th century, when fusion was legal in Oregon and the Populist Party (called the Unity Party in Oregon) was a viable third party. The Populists regularly 'fused' with the Democratic Party and, as a result, populist candidates were elected and a number of populist reforms were put in place. In the 1890?s, the Republicans focused their energy on making fusion voting illegal, and they succeeded in Oregon and in most other states. Find out more about fusion voting. What can a Working Families Party accomplish? New York State gives us the best example of what a Working Families Party can accomplish through fusion voting. There, in 1998, a coalition of labor unions and community organizations formed the Working Families Party. It now has over 60 affiliate unions and community organizations and over one million members in chapters throughout New York State. The Working Families Party regularly fuses with Democrats, and with the occasional Republican, who support their issues, which include living wages, progressive taxes, support for public education, and universal health care. The Party will run their own candidates when neither of the two major parties? candidates supports working families? issues, but their greatest impact comes from aggressively promoting their issues rather than personalities, and using fusion by cross-endorsing major party candidates who commit to support working families' issues. In 2002 the Working Families Party led the fight for solving the New York City budget crisis through progressive revenue increases, not deep social service cuts as Oregon and so many other states have done. The Working Families Party has also been given credit for the passage of strong campaign finance legislation in New York City, a $2/hour raise in the NY State minimum wage, and the recent repeal the worst aspects of the Rockefeller drug laws, which set the bar two decades ago for mandatory sentencing. As a result of the New York WFP's successes, Working Families Parties are starting in a number of states, and had notable success in Connecticut in the last election. Building a Working Families Party in Oregon Here in Oregon we have long suffered through a gridlocked Legislature from which we get no real solutions to our current economic, educational, health care crises. Could fusion voting make a difference? Can we imagine forming our own Working Families Party in Oregon to build a strong majority for basic economic issues, issues of education, economic development, living wages, health care, affordable housing, and support for a progressive tax structure where corporations and wealthy individuals pay their fair share? Could such a party appeal to the many working people, including some 40% of union members, who now vote Republican on 'cultural issues'? In late November, 2005, representatives from thirteen unions and eight community organizations met to begin working toward the formation of a Working Families Party in Oregon. In January, 2006, we filed papers with Secretary of State's office to begin the process to qualify the Working Families Party as a minor party in Oregon. Approximately 28,000 signatures from Oregonians in 30 counties were collected by volunteers from various unions and community organizations, as well as by the Working America and ACORN canvasses. On June 27, 2006, the Secretary of State certified that the Working Families Party had obtained a sufficient number of valid signatures to qualify as a minor party in the State of Oregon. The real strength of the Working Families Party comes with fusion voting, when we can choose to nominate any qualified candidate who supports our platform, even if they have been nominated by another party as well. We do not want to waste our votes, we want to build a real mandate for affordable and universal health care, for adequate funding for excellent public schools, for living wages, decent jobs and sustainable economic development. We introduced Bills in the 2007 (HB 3040) and 2008 (SB 1102) Legislative sessions to legalize fusion voting, but were stalled in both sessions in the Ways and Means Committee because of opposition from the County Clerks who have routinely opposed any election reforms. We have a similar Bill in the 2009 session, and are also pursuing the possibility of a ballot initiative in 2010 if we cannot convince the Legislature to enact this simple democratic reform. Join the Working Families Party of Oregon 503-841-7161 |