This is the balm I needed tonight.

First up, @miamaldonado.bsky.social has a helpful guide on how you — yes, you! — can follow bills and make your voice heard, because Oregon’s 90 lawmakers work for you. oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/02/03/u...

This is a good preview of this absolutely bonkers hang-on-for-8-seconds rodeo analogy of a session. And it’s just a surface scratch of the work we have to do (the full list would require a novella).

May the Epstein files remind every woman that she should not feel beholden to beauty standards established by men who are attracted to children.

Just experienced the most intense tear gassing of my life by federal officers outside the ICE facility in Portland where marchers gathered. There was no fast exit as they indiscriminately threw loads of gas and flash bangs. Children were in the crowd screaming. @oregoncapitalchronicle.com

I had to leave for an event just minutes before this. The crowd was full of kids, elders, and dogs, all peaceful, marching with union banners. The plumes that I saw went up from a distance are just bonkers. And this is why say ABOLISH. They are galvanizing the resistance with this violence.

Infinitely and unapologetically proud to be a fierce voice for working people.

Senator Campos, @replamarwise.bsky.social and I will be giving a press conference with ONA and providers on this tomorrow morning. LFG.

The Libertarians have something to say. Sure would love to know where all my self-proclaimed OrLeg “libertarian leaning” colleagues are on this and why they are wholly silent in the face of state-sanctioned violence.

See also, this: swing states with no automatic vote by mail that are trending blue. Terrorize, intimidate, manipulate. I’d be extra worried if I was PA (tho he has to keep Fetterman placated), NC, GA, OH, VA, for starters. This explains Maine.

CHILDREN. These are children screaming. The inhumanity of this is beyond comprehension.

If only we as a country, as we celebrate the 250th anniversary of our independence, had some historical events from our founding era that might help us understand why agents of a distant government shouldn’t murder protesters on the streets of the city where they live.

I agree with Candace. And I am NOT anti-policing (to the dismay of many on this platform, I acknowledge). But this cannot be reformed. This cannot be fixed. ICE has become the federal administration’s brown shirts. Abolish ICE.

To repeat: Abolish ICE.

This is a great read of the things that matter most as we head into session.

Authoritarianism has a shallow hold on our country. Fight back at the 1/25 #ResistanceLab Stand for Good virtual organizing training led by Rep. Pramila Jayapal & AG Keith Ellison featuring non-violent resistance tactics and region breakout sessions to turn our collective grief and anger into action

My simultaneous desperate hope that the 25th Amendment will be invoked is only matched by my existential dread that it would mean a President Vance.

Oregon lawmakers announced a coordinated effort to push back against federal overreach including protecting immigrants, civil liberties, schools, government data, and public dollars. Oregon stands for accountability, justice, and community safety. #orleg #orpol

The *epic* self-own in the last sentence of this statement by our “leading” R Gov candidate… is really something.

Whew. Yes.

In all of this terrible, I’m reconciling that my cat pants days are dwindling. The old warrior is moving into his last days, stoic, noble, but extra cuddly. I relish every one of these quiet moments.

To add to this point, after Lavoy Finicum almost plowed his car into an FBI agent and then reached for a gun while yelling “shoot me,” it fueled (and fuels) so much rage in the far right, despite it being captured on video.

This. This is an essential survival skill for the decade, it seems. Maybe always.

2025 IN LABOR: As reported in the Northwest Labor Press, the year's biggest developments for the labor movement in Oregon and Southwest Washington. nwlaborpress.org/2025/12/2025...

“Aspirational rurality.” “Cowboy mythology.” Once again Leah Sottile hits it out of the park, and I feel like some of the insomniac thoughts I have found words.

Holy. Shit. NWS Seattle issued a flash-flood alert due to possibility of Skagit River levee and dike failure. This is the map.

(And yes, I am still committed to setting up an invite transportation gathering. My necessary paying job has demanded my time and attention and I am maxed. I am one of the rare working stiffs in the leg that fills out a time card. But I will get there.)

What is happening up north in the Skagit Valley should be a terrifying reminder for us all. Historic flooding. Evacuating 78,000 people. As an emergency manager, this is a nightmare. And don’t get me started on the role of ODOT if we have a situation like this evolve here. I’m real fun at parties.

I have been dreading the holidays, the dull ache of Addison’s death acute and sharp this week. She loved making pies. I am not a pie person (I know, I know), but you better believe we have pies. I still can’t believe she’s not going to be standing in my kitchen, mocking my Gen X music tastes today.

Transportation peeps in the PDX metro— who would be into a small in-person focus group around messaging? I’d host in late December/ early January, our office in Multnomah Village. Respond/ DM if interested and I’ll send a calendar poll out after this weekend. I want to learn and do better.

I am hearing my constituents loud and clear, and while this is just my opinion as one legislator— I’m not willing to cut budgets without also disconnecting (at least parts) from the federal tax code.

These women should not have to wear their trauma for movement on this. Every survivor knows the profound pain these women bear— please please please do not let it be in vain. Release the goddamn files, I don’t care who they are. There must be accountability. (Also: TW. This is intense).

“Pretty substantial?” I’d argue complete betrayal. How dare they. You just got handed the golden gloves, extra rounds and the keys to a killer left hook and you’re… just saying “meh”? Unfuckingbelievable.

Fight back. Join staff from Neighborhood House and I at 2pm today at the Multnomah Arts Center to build connection and support and uplift the incredible work being done in our community.

Protecting our neighbors is for EVERYONE. Find a “migrawatch” and “know your rights” training with @oregonforall.bsky.social

This swelling in my chest… is this hope? To be moved to tears by an election for good reasons is really something. This. This is the dream of America.

SHARE: Today, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, is the last day to vote in the Special Election. Multnomah County Elections recommends voters return their ballot to an Official Ballot Drop Site by 8 p.m. today, to ensure it’s received by an election office in time to count: multco.us/dropsites

Let’s build community together with Neighborhood House and keep our neighbors fed. Sunday 11/9, 2-4pm, Multnomah Arts Center. The following Sunday (same time and place) we’ll be learning how to protect our immigrant neighbors. Strategize. Organize. Mobilize. And yes, there will be snacks.

Republicans will not stop stealing your food unless you let them steal your medicine. www.oregonlive.com/retail/2025/...

My heart is breaking for Jamaica. This is unbelievably powerful and will be catastrophic. In the past, the US would have been a powerhouse to provide aid. We’ll see how isolationist this federal government really is in a few days…

Fascinating map of the impending SNAP cliff. The darker green counties (2 shades) are 20%+ SNAP- dependent households.

The very foundation of emergency management— of emergency response! (hate conflating the two because they are very different, but bear with me)— is that no matter who/ what/ where is in need, a core function of government, when people are in distress, is to respond. REGARDLESS of politics.

We’ve officially entered the time of year in my house known as “is my husband watching premier league (soccer) or is he having a medical event?”

Brought to you by the same group that did everything in their power to try and stop UI for striking workers (they are still trying). This legislator will absolutely not be voting to repeal 3115, because I believe in humanity and dignity and actual problem solving.

The party claiming to be “pro life” giving a fast pass to the very pathogens and diseases that can (and will) devastate and kill their children and families.

We will urge the *full* Ninth Circuit to vacate today’s decision by a three-judge panel, before illegal Guard deployments can occur. A Ninth Circuit judge has already called for a vote on whether the case should be heard by the full court. Our team will file a brief encouraging the court to do so.

I am not related to this judge, as awesome as that would be (I use a “y” in my last name), but her dissent is righteous.

I said what I said. Love, the pansies.

This puts the Qatari deal in better context, but I can’t get this (admittedly conspiracy theorist) thought out of my head: if he can’t find a way to order US troops against our cities… could he leverage these airmen?

🧊Know Your Rights Training! This year, our attorneys have conducted numerous Know Your Rights trainings to prepare Oregonians for potential encounters with ICE. We want to help as many people as possible prepare so we're offering an online training. Register here: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...