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MATT DILLON/CLIMATE SOLUTIONS
Initiative endorsements in Oregon: Be a climate voter!

Several Oregon ballot initiatives this year have important implications for the climate, and if you live in Portland, there’s an opportunity to pass a transformative ballot measure on clean energy.  Here’s how you can be a climate voter this fall. Ballots are due November 6!

Portland

Oregon statewide

Portland

Yes on 26-201: The Portland Clean Energy Initiative. This initiative supports a just, clean energy future for Portlanders. It creates an estimated $30 million in new revenue each year to weatherproof homes, build rooftop solar, provide clean energy job training, and increase green infrastructure, prioritizing communities of color and low income communities, who are most impacted by climate change and pollution from fossil fuels. With over 70% of carbon emissions coming from cities, local strategies like the Portland Clean Energy Initiative are essential to reach the city’s 100% clean energy target and benefit all Portlanders. Learn more at Portland Clean Energy Initiative.

Oregon Statewide

No on Measure 103: Measure 103 would create unnecessary and permanent tax loopholes for special interests and industries. Measure 103 amends the state constitution to ban a so-called “grocery tax” that doesn’t exist in Oregon and is not even being proposed. Due to the measure’s vague language, it could even reach to trucking companies that transport groceries, limiting the strategies available to curb harmful diesel pollution and protect the environment and public health. This is an unprecedented and untested change – no other state has a constitutional amendment like this.  Learn more at No on 103.

No on Measure 104: Measure 104 would dramatically extend the supermajority requirement in our state constitution which currently applies only to tax increases. Measure 104 would mean that a simple majority of legislators could not close tax loopholes or raise fees, causing unprecedented gridlock and jeopardizing needed funding for our natural resources, clean energy, and other essential programs supporting our ecosystems and economy. It is backed by special interests that want to protect their tax breaks by locking them into our constitution. Learn more at No on 104.

No on Measure 105: Measure 105 would overturn Oregon’s 31-year-old anti-profiling law, opening the door to widespread racial profiling. By making people afraid to call the police and directing local law enforcement resources to enforce federal immigration law, it would make everyone less safe. All people deserve to feel safe going about their daily lives, including Oregon communities on the frontlines of climate change. We stand in solidarity with immigrant communities across the state and say no. Learn more at Oregonians United Against Profiling.

Author Bio

Meredith Connolly

Oregon Director, Climate Solutions

Meredith brings over a decade of climate policy experience to her work accelerating Oregon’s transition to a clean energy economy. She advocates for innovative and equitable policy solutions to reduce pollution and create clean energy jobs across the state. Currently, Meredith leads a team diligently working to electrify everything from cars, trucks, and buses to homes and buildings, and power it all with 100% clean electricity.

Prior to joining Climate Solutions, Meredith was a Climate and Energy Attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council. At NRDC, she advanced renewable energy policies in the U.S. and internationally. She also implemented programs to protect public health and improve climate resilience to heat waves and air pollution in India’s growing cities. Before NRDC, Meredith practiced law in the private sector.

Meredith is a member of the Oregon and California State Bar Associations. She holds a JD from Boston College Law School and a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and French from Santa Clara University. In her free time, Meredith enjoys exploring her incredible home state of Oregon with her family and rooting too loudly for the Portland Thorns and Timbers.

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