Last week was a heavy one ...
Monday we woke up in the reality of a world where Roe v Wade fell. It was the two year anniversary of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) handing down their ruling in Dobbs v Jackson, immediately reversing precedent that had protected a woman's right to make her own medical decisions for 49 years.
It's a stark -- even dystopian -- example of the impact an administration can have far beyond its term through influence like judicial appointments.
Wednesday I attended the grand opening of the Arbor Lodge Shelter for houseless veterans -- a project I've been watching unfold as an Arbor Lodge neighbor. I also sat with my own discomfort of waiting to hear what will come of the Rosemont Court and its 100 units of senior affordable housing.
Congress' decades long disinvestment in housing infrastructure has us reeling with housing instability and lack of affordability, and a houseless state of emergency, relying on fragmented, siloed, and inadequate local systems attempting to address the crisis.
Thursday I watched "the debate." I listened as the former president touted his forced militarization of our very city ...
"When they ripped down Portland ... If I didn’t bring in the National Guard, that city would have been destroyed."
Friday we rose to learn that SCOTUS had struck down lower court rulings in Grants Pass v Johnson -- allowing our neighbors living on the street to be fined and arrested, even if they have no where else to go -- opening the door to the legal criminalization of houselessness.
As I reflect ... as I seethe ... as I grieve ... I find myself ultimately landing in a place of hope and excitement.
We have chosen to strike down our own political dysfunction and begin a new day in our local political landscape where our Council is representative of, and beholden to, our communities!
We have the ability to say with our ballots this November that we want City Council members who will priorities our values as they govern, who will make decisions based upon the impact on our communities and our neighbors, who will center our humanity in their decisions, not money and privilege.
This hope can only become our reality if we band together and vote in Council members who represent these commitments.