The U.S. House of Representatives Democratic Caucus today adopted a resolution by Rep. Peter DeFazio that will stop the Obama tax giveaway bill from going to the floor of the House for a vote. DeFazio appeared on the Oregon ballot this year as the candidate of both the Progressive and Democratic parties. According to The Hill magazine:

"We have tremendous concerns about what was given away by the White House," DeFazio told reporters in the Capitol basement after the vote.

DeFazio said the voice vote was "virtually unanimous," with only one or two members expressing dissent.

"We have given our leadership license to force the Senate and the White House back to the table to get a better deal for the American people," he said.

The full article from The Hill is here: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/132885-house-dems-vote-to-reject-tax-c...

The final count in the November 2010 general election shows that the Progressive Party candidate for U.S. Senate, Rick Staggenborg, also earned the 1% of the vote necessary to earn the Progressive Party the right to place candidates on the 2012 Oregon general election ballot for all partisan races.

Way to go, Rick!

Anti-War groups stop Condoleeza Rice from coming to Portland
by Joe Walsh - Lone Vet

Members from Individuals For Justice, Veterans For Peace, PPRC, Code Pink, the Oregon Progressive Party and others gathered at the Downtown Hilton on November 13 to celebrate Condi Rice's decision not to show up in order to avoid a peaceful protest of her policies during the Bush Administration.

We received word that she had canceled her appearance at the Inaugural Portland Authors Luncheon. Security at the Hilton confirmed that the ex-Secretary of State decided not to confront protesters here in Portland.

We stopped a war criminal from coming to our city. A small band of dedicated activists spent an hour in front of the Hilton just to make the point that it is not a good PR move for a charity or foundation to use the notoriety of war criminals to raise money, because many of us will raise hell. We are happy that Condi did not come to Portland to sell her book. We are happy that one war criminal was told to stay away and was so afraid of a peaceful, non-violent group that she did. We should smile! This is a victory for non-violence and ending the occupations.

Thanks to you who showed up, got up early and stood for peace. I know I was going to have coffee with many of you but my body said go home. I was wet, tired and do listen to my body when it tells me, enough!

Thanks to the strong showing of Walt Brown in the race for State Treasurer, the Progressive Party of Oregon has maintained its right to nominate candidates in the 2012 general election.

That right depended upon earning at least 1% of the vote in a statewide race.  Walt Brown earned 2.70% in the race for State Treasurer.

Progressive candidate for U.S. Senate, Rick Staggenborg, earned 0.99% of the statewide vote.

If Walt Brown had not received over 1% of the vote, the Progressive Party would have needed to increase its membership from 1,952 today to 13,829 by the start of August 2012.

Thanks to Walt Brown, Beverly Brown, Alaina Melville, and everyone who helped Walt meet our goal for this election.

One of the quieter races this electoral season has been that of Oregon treasurer. Former Multnomah County Chair Ted Wheeler seems to be in a good place to keep the position, which he was appointed to last spring when Ben Westlund passed away.

However, one man continues a long crusade to bring attention to some issues and solutions that are commonly-overlooked.

Walt Brown – a retired Lake Oswego attorney, who represented the area in the state Senate from 1975 to 1987 and has made third party bids for attorney general, Congress and president- is making a go at the office that oversees the state’s finances, and is hoping to bring up several ideas (some of which he admits are outside the purview of the office he’s pursuing) that he says will improve Oregon’s economy.

State bank

Brown wants the creation of a state bank to get capital and lending flowing in the state, which will help combat Oregon’s chronically high unemployment rate. He said that a state bank would work with private banks to help co-invest and keep interest rates low.

He points to North Dakota, which has a state bank and a relatively healthy economy, as an example of how such an entity can be a stabilizing influence.

However, the idea faces one big hurdle: Oregon’s constitution prohibits the creation of a state bank.

“That would be a problem,” admits Brown. “But all problems that are legal can be solved simply by amending the constitution. Of course, you don’t want to amend the constitution in a stupid way, which we’ve done from time to time.”

Health care reform

Brown said that the cost of providing health insurance to employees is hurting businesses, and the health care cost to state workers is also hurting Oregon’s finances.

He has been a longtime advocate for single-payer health insurance, which he said will be good for the state and good for business by shifting the cost of increasingly expensive health insurance premiums.

“The state could really save money if they set up their own health insurance,” he said.

Public power

Brown argues that Washington state is faring better economically because businesses have fewer costs under publicly-owned utilities, unlike much of Oregon, which he hopes to change.

Invest in Oregon

Brown said that if elected treasurer he would stop directing the state’s investments outside of Oregon, even if they bring in a lower return, a stance that he said distinguishes him from Wheeler. He would also push to have every layer of state and local government buy locally.

“There’s a multiplier effect of increasing jobs,” said Brown of his approach.

Investing money back into the state’s economy will pay off in the long run, he said.

The Progressive Party of Oregon on October 8 announced its endorsements on Oregon's statewide ballot measures and one Portland measure.

Measure 74: YES.
Establishes medical marijuana supply system (licensed dispensaries) and assistance and research programs.  Measure 74 would bring medical marijuana under stricter state control and state taxation.

Measure 75: NO.
Authorizes a large privately-owned casino in Multnomah County.  Measure 75 would expand the victimization of Oregon families by easy access to addictive gambling.  It would also suck nearly $100 million per year out of the Oregon economy to pay the owners of the new casino.

Portland Measure 26-108:  YES.
Continues Portland's "voter-owned elections" system of providing limited matching campaign funds to candidates for City Commission or Auditor who qualify by raising $5,000 or $7,500 from contributions of $5 per person or less.  Once qualified for public funding, the candidates cannot accept campaign contributions from any source.

Contact:

Dan Meek
503-293-9021 voice
dan@progparty.org

The Oregon League of Women Voters has prepared a very simplified Easy Voters Guide. It lists only a couple of reason to vote for or against each measure. It limited each candidate and each political party to a statement of 50 words. We stated this:

The Progressive Party supports campaign finance reform, workers’ rights, family wages, small/local businesses, single-payer healthcare, protecting the environment, green energy, same-sex marriage, an Oregon State Bank, ending the wars, and cutting military spending.

We oppose corporate personhood, Wall Street bailouts, monopolies, nuclear, coal, and offshore drilling.

Minor-party candidates for treasurer see opportunity to change course

by Peter Wong
October 13, 2010

Walt Brown was a Democratic state senator from Lake Oswego from 1975 to 1987, but he's running as the Progressive Party nominee for state treasurer.

Since he left the Senate, Brown has been the Socialist Party nominee for Congress in four elections, the Socialist Party USA candidate for president in 2004, and the Pacific Green Party nominee for attorney general in 2008. He said the treasurer is an independent official who should not be the financial adviser to governors and legislators. But he also said the treasurer has a role to play in Oregon's economy, particularly in trying to reduce the current unemployment rate. "We've got to turn that around," he said. He is an advocate of a state-owned bank, based on the only other such bank in North Dakota. Voters would have to remove a constitutional ban on a state bank that dates to statehood 151 years ago.

Michael Marsh of Salem, a maintenance worker at McDonald's, was the Constitution Party nominee for state treasurer in 2008. (There is another Mike Marsh in Salem, who is unrelated, a former state official who is a contributing assistant professor at the Atkinson Graduate School of Management at Willamette University.) He said he would block issuance of any new state debt, and that he is running to make a point not only about Oregon's finances but also the nation's. "The United States government is self-destructive, and I'd like the chance to turn things around," he said.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Candidates For Oregon Treasurer Speak At City Club Of Eugene
October 1, 2010
By Angela Kellner, KLCC Radio

The 3 candidates running for Oregon Treasurer spoke at the City Club of Eugene Friday. Each was asked how they would approach the job. Walter Brown, with the Progressive Party, served in the Oregon Senate from 1975 to 1987. He's also a veteran and attorney.

Walter Brown: "The Treasurer's Office is on the front lines of what's happening on Wall Street and elsewhere. And it's a good thing for the Treasurer to be on top of the current economy which way it's going and why it's going there and see if we can invest more in Oregon."

The current Treasurer, Ted Wheeler, was appointed to the position earlier this year when Ben Westlund passed away. Wheeler is the former Chair of Multnomah County.

Ted Wheeler: "I want to help the Legislature find ways to actually improve our financial footing. For example, I'll be introducing legislation that will allow us to protect interest on the general fund and go into a rainy day fund. It doesn't cost taxpayers anything else and it doesn't take money out of existing programs."

State Representative Chris Telfer has been a certified public accountant for nearly 30 years and owns a CPA firm.

Chris Telfer: "The job of the Treasurer as the chief financial officer of the state is to provide financial strategies, planning and analyzation of trends and the current situations and moving forward. You know, as a CPA, that's exactly what we're trained to do."

The City Club of Eugene airs Monday night at 6:30 on KLCC. Note: The podcast, when ready, will be here: http://www.klcc.org/audio/cityclub2010_10_01.mp3