Police accountability tops 2021 agenda for Oregon Legislature’s Black, Indigenous and People of Color caucus OregonLive.com 1/14/2021 Hillary Borrud, oregonlive.com
Oregon lawmakers of color on Wednesday unveiled a list of priorities for the 2021 session that they hope will build upon the momentum from last year, when the Legislature held a special session to pass police reforms and showed increased interest in racial justice.
Additional police accountability and tactical limits top the agenda for the Oregon Legislature’s 12-member Black, Indigenous and People of Color Caucus heading into the five-month regular session that begins Tuesday, the group said in a press conference Wednesday. Criminal justice reform, assistance for workers and business owners of color and education reforms are the other top three policy areas where legislators are focusing their efforts.
January 12 2021
New state lawmakers Reps. Khanh Pham, Wlnsvey Campos and Ricki Ruiz, are sworn in for their first session as elected legislators.
A trio of new lawmakers state Reps. Khanh Pham, Wlnsvey Campos and Ricki Ruiz were sworn in Monday, Jan. 11, and begin the long slog of the 2021 session next week. Pham and Ruiz represent portions of Multnomah County; Campos a portion of Washington County. All are young. Pham is Vietnamese American, while Campos self-identifies as Latina and Ruiz as Latinx.
They are a more diverse representation for a metro area that, itself, is growing more diverse.
And they have plans to make an impact on the state of Oregon.
Legislature opens 2021 session with a heavy infusion of reality
Ritual and rhetoric are subdued; members of color reach historic high in Oregon.
The new Oregon Legislature was light on the usual ritual and rhetoric during its opening day on Monday, Jan. 11 though they were present but heavy on the realities that have reshaped state politics during the past year.
All 60 representatives and 17 new senators took their oaths from Chief Justice Martha Walters. But unlike typical opening days which have been compared to the first day of school staff, families and friends were largely absent from the Capitol in Salem because of social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
January 12 2021
New state lawmakers Reps. Khanh Pham, Wlnsvey Campos and Ricki Ruiz, are sworn in for their first session as elected legislators.
A trio of new lawmakers state Reps. Khanh Pham, Wlnsvey Campos and Ricki Ruiz were sworn in Monday, Jan. 11, and begin the long slog of the 2021 session next week. Pham and Ruiz represent portions of Multnomah County; Campos a portion of Washington County. All are young. Pham is Vietnamese American, while Campos self-identifies as Latina and Ruiz as Latinx.
They are a more diverse representation for a metro area that, itself, is growing more diverse.
And they have plans to make an impact on the state of Oregon.
With the addition of a Vietnamese American, a Latina, a Latino and a Somali immigrant, the Legislature will include a record 12 people of color, including three Black men in the Senate. The House will be 15% non-white.