[WEC] PLEASE TESTIFY THIS FRIDAY: Support needed for OregonConsensus and Higher Ed budget

Tue Apr 28 12:39:59 PDT 2009

Thank you Rob,

I would like to just add a couple of small things to his email.  First, I am
working with Kim Travis at Oregon Solutions to get people signed up to
testify on Friday.  However, if you are not able to come and testify, we
would ask that you provide written testimony that we can bundle with other
letters of support.  It is important to note that both Oregon Consensus and
Oregon Solutions connect with the communities they work in and help to
establish working durable relationships that help communities in the long
run.  Additionally, these programs provide a valuable service to the
university communities at PSU and UO by providing internships (such as mine)
on projects that allow students to gain practical experience in these
complex processes.  Without these programs I would have not worked on this
project.  I feel honored and blessed that I did have the opportunity to work
with all of you and was able to see your work send such a powerful message
of the strength and wisdom of collaboration.  This was no small feat!  Thank
You!

Also, I wanted to update the information provided by Rob because they have
changed the location of the hearing, the correct details are below:

Friday, May 1 - Eugene
University of Oregon
Lillis Hall, Room 182
955 East 13th Avenue
1 to 3:30 p.m

I will arrive early to sign up as many people as they will let me for
testimony.  Please let me know if you have any questions and/or are
interested in testifying. 

Yours truly,

Tim

Timothy M. McCabe M.S.

Oregon Consensus 

National Policy Consensus Center, NPCC

Portland State University

115 E 31st Ave

Eugene, OR 97405

(541) 686-3252 Office

(541) 514-1966 Cell

tmccabe at pdx.edu  

  _____  

From: wec at westeugenecollaborative.org
[mailto:wec at westeugenecollaborative.org] On Behalf Of Rob Zako
Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 2009 12:04 PM
To: West Eugene Collaborative
Subject: [WEC] PLEASE TESTIFY THIS FRIDAY: Support needed for
OregonConsensus and Higher Ed budget

Dear WEC friends,

To be clear, there is a chance the Legislature could decide to totally
eliminate Oregon Consensus and its sister program Oregon Solutions.

Yes, we live in difficult economic times. But in my view, severely cutting
or even eliminating this work at PSU would be penny wise and pound foolish.
All over the state there are examples of spending millions of dollars of
public money-for example, roadway money from the state highway trust fund-on
projects that for various reasons don't come to fruition. A current example
is a project on Highway 101 in Seaside, which had already gotten the
necessary approvals when the citizens of Seaside voted against the project.
Without going into details, what we have is failure to communicate, and such
failures can end up wasting millions of public dollars. Would it make more
sense to invest a little bit of money in help people
communicate-collaborate, if you will-early on so that precious public
dollars end up going to purposes that are actually wanted and will do the
most good? Does it make sense to invest a little public money in Oregon
Consensus and Oregon Solutions to save a lot of public money?

Well, that is my story, and the one I would tell if I could be in town this
Friday to testify. As it is, I am going to ask some of my 1000 friends to
say something along these lines to Ways and Means.

And I hope that many others will find time this Friday afternoon to testify
to the Ways and Means Committee, or otherwise communicate your views, for
example, taking from Elaine's suggestions below:

    Friday, May 1, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
    Prince Lucien Campbell Hall (PLC) Room 180, University of Oregon, 1415
Kincaid Street

I am sure Tim is ready to assist in any way, in particular, to go in advance
to sign up people willing to testify. Let him know if you can: 686-3252

Rob Z

On Apr 18, 2009, at 9:15 AM, Elaine Hallmark wrote:

Dear WEC Friends:

You have undoubtedly heard that the Oregon Legislature is faced with making
serious cuts in programs due to the economic recession.  Higher Education
has been asked to look at 30% cuts, and has said that its public service
programs will need to take a disproportionate share, such as 60% or even be
eliminated.  Oregon Consensus, who provided you with the facilitation
expertise to be so successful, is a public service program of Portland State
University.  We also operate an intern training program that serves both U
of O and PSU students, such as Tim McCabe.  We are asking people who have
experienced a connection with our program to help make the legislature and
others aware that these programs provide a vital part of students' education
as well as vital services to the community and are a connection between the
community and the university.  Thirty per cent cuts will devastate higher
education in Oregon.  Sixty per cent cuts will eliminate the bulk of public
services from our programs.

The Higher Education Subcommittee of the Joint Ways and Means Committee is
holding its only scheduled meeting to receive public testimony on Monday
morning, April 20, at 8:30 a.m.  Tim McCabe will attend and is hoping that
Jim Welsh may join him there.  If anyone else is available to attend at this
late date, it would be great to have you go.  Please let Tim know if you
plan to attend or would like to coordinate with him.  His numbers are:
541-686-3252 (home/office) and 541-514-1966 cell.  The time will be limited,
so you may not get to testify, but you should bring a short written
statement which you can leave with the committee.  You are supposed to bring
25 copies to leave.  The Co-Chairs of the Subcommittee are:  Senator Rod
Monroe and Representative Betty Komp.

The Oregon Legislature's Joint Ways and Means Committee will hold eight
public budget hearings (on all issues) around the state over the next two
weeks.  The hearings will begin in Lincoln City on Monday (see full schedule
below) and will include stops in Pendleton, Ontario, Portland, Bend, Eugene
and Ashland, as well as a hearing at the State Capitol.  If the opportunity
to attend one of these hearings works for you, especially in Eugene on May
1, we strongly encourage your participation.  Tim McCabe is working with
Jamie Damon to coordinate appearances at the Eugene hearing, so let them
know if you can attend.  Due to high interest in these hearings, we
recommend you arrive early, especially if you plan to testify.

If you cannot attend a hearing, we encourage you to send a message to the
members of the committee (emails below).  For your convenience, we have
included some suggested talking points.  Thanks so much for your support.

R. Elaine Hallmark, Director

Oregon Consensus, National Policy Consensus Center

Portland State University

P.O. Box 751

Portland, OR 97207

503-725-9019 Direct

503-725-9070 Program

503-781-0116 Cell

elaineh at pdx.edu

www.orconsensus.pdx.edu

TALKING POINTS

General

* Higher education is a potent economic engine for the state and has
historically helped lead the state out of recession.

* All sectors of education should be treated fairly (Pre-K through
postsecondary education).

Specific

1.  I am here tonight to talk about a very important public service center
at Portland State University and the valuable role it played in our
community.

2.  Oregon Consensus has helped us to X (brief description of project
outcome). 

3.  Because the important role the University played in providing a
credible, neutral forum for the project, community members came to the table
willingly and we were able to find a solution.

4.      (optional, as appropriate)

We had faculty experts involved in the project who provided the information
we needed to make decisions.  Students were engaged in learning first hand
what it takes to make good decisions that lead to positive results
benefiting the community.

5.  This program has connected us to the University and made it relevant to
the needs of our community.  We are thankful for the legislature's support
for this program, and hope that support continues.

------

SCHEDULE OF PUBLIC HEARINGS:

...

Eugene
Friday, May 1
University of Oregon
Prince Lucien Campbell Hall (PLC) Room 180, 1415 Kincaid Street
1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

------

Contact Information for Ways and Means Committee:

Sen. Margaret Carter, co-chair (D-Portland) sen.margaretcarter at state.or.us
<mailto:sen.margaretcarter at state.or.us>

Rep. Peter Buckley, co-chair (D-Ashland) rep.peterbuckley at state.or.us
<mailto:rep.peterbuckley at state.or.us>

Sen. Betsy Johnson, vice-chair (D-Scappoose) sen.betsyjohnson at state.or.us
<mailto:sen.betsyjohnson at state.or.us>

Rep. Nancy Nathanson, vice-chair (D-Eugene) rep.nancynathanson at state.or.us
<mailto:rep.nancynathanson at state.or.us>

Sen. Alan Bates (D-Ashland) sen.alanbates at state.or.us
<mailto:sen.alanbates at state.or.us>

Sen. Fred Girod (R-Stayton) sen.fredgirod at state.or.us
<mailto:sen.fredgirod at state.or.us>

Sen. Rod Monroe (D-Portland) sen.rodmonroe at state.or.us
<mailto:sen.rodmonroe at state.or.us>

Sen. David Nelson (R-Pendleton) sen.davidnelson at state.or.us
<mailto:sen.davidnelson at state.or.us>

Sen. Joanne Verger (D-Coos Bay) sen.joanneverger at state.or.us
<mailto:sen.joanneverger at state.or.us>

Sen. Vicki Walker (D-Eugene) sen.vickiwalker at state.or.us
<mailto:sen.vickiwalker at state.or.us>

Sen. Doug Whitsett (R-Klamath Falls) sen.dougwhitsett at state.or.us
<mailto:sen.dougwhitsett at state.or.us>

Sen. Jackie Winters (R-Salem) sen.jackiewinters at state.or.us
<mailto:sen.jackiewinters at state.or.us>

Rep. David Edwards (D-Hillsboro) rep.davidedwards at state.or.us
<mailto:rep.davidedwards at state.or.us>

Rep. Larry Galizio (D-Tigard) rep.larrygalizio at state.or.us
<mailto:rep.larrygalizio at state.or.us>

Rep. Bill Garrard (R-Klamath Falls) rep.billgarrard at state.or.us
<mailto:rep.billgarrard at state.or.us>

Rep. George Gilman (R-Medford) rep.georgegilman at state.or.us
<mailto:rep.georgegilman at state.or.us>

Rep. Bob Jenson (R-Pendleton) rep.bobjenson at state.or.us
<mailto:rep.bobjenson at state.or.us>

Rep. Betty Komp (D-Woodburn) rep.bettykomp at state.or.us
<mailto:rep.bettykomp at state.or.us>

Rep. Tina Kotek (D-Portland) rep.tinakotek at state.or.us
<mailto:rep.tinakotek at state.or.us>

Rep. Dennis Richardson (R-Central Point) rep.dennisrichardson at state.or.us
<mailto:rep.dennisrichardson at state.or.us>

Rep. Chip Shields (D-Portland) rep.chipshields at state.or.us
<mailto:rep.chipshields at state.or.us>

Rep. Greg Smith (R-Heppner) rep.gregsmith at state.or.us
<mailto:rep.gregsmith at state.or.us>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.designcommunity.com/pipermail/wec/attachments/20090428/22c517b9/attachment-0001.htm 