Oregon? Oh her? She flies with her own kicker. In this episode we break down how Oregon's Libertarian roots are working against the state's progress when it comes to previous legislation. Imagine all the cool things we could do if our legislators put forward courageous kicker reform? Imagine having fully funded schools, cities, and infrastructure. Perhaps the wealthiest 1% of Oregonians wouldn't be getting $600,000+ dropped into their bank accounts on what has become a semi-normal basis. The kicker isn't working for all of us, but it very much could!

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Virginia's remarks from the People's March at the Oregon State Capitol January 18, 2025.

We need you to get involved with your local organizers and get ready to help create a different outcome in the coming months and years.

In Salem and in Oregon we have the Marion County Democrats, The Working Families Party, Progressive Salem, Keizer Forward, MomsforSalemOregon, and MomsforOregon.

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RIP Tiktok

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It's been a wild year this week at City Council! Five days and two public meetings into her tenure as Mayor and Julie Hoy has been hot and cold with the media when it comes to her plan to address the major budget deficit at the City of Salem. Boards and Commissions appointments are the one power the Mayor has in addition to those held by City Councilors. WHO the mayor appoints to Boards and Commissions will tell you a lot about their plan for the future of the city. It appears there is a very specific agenda woven into the choices our new Mayor has made for the city's most powerful Boards and Commissions.

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Salem has a new Mayor and a brand new City Council. While the progressive edge looks to be holding, we can always count on the Chamber of Commerce and the Home Builders to do everything they can to get their way. Join us as we introduce you to your new City Council, your new mayor, and break down the energy in the room for the first gathering in Council Chambers this year. We will be watching the Council closely, especially leading up to the May 2025 election and the looming budget shortfall before all of us.

The book Virginia references in the podcast is Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging by Sebastian Junger and it is available at the Salem Public Library in book, ebook, and audio book formats.

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This episode is a DOOZY! Give us an hour to try to answer some really important questions including:

What happens when public tax dollars are tithed to faith-based pregnancy clinics?

Who's fault is it when the incinerator gets shut down?

Are our public health officials against birth control, masking, and vaccines?

Why does Marion County only have three partisan-based commissioners when Deschutes County has five commissioners for a county ~150K residents smaller?

Why do our Commissioners make more money than the Governor? (a correction: the Governor makes $98,600 to the Commissioners $120,506)

And what kind of dark money is funding this movement?

Our County Commissioners were elected to handle our public health--but are they?

Contact our Marion County Commissioners:

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

Marion County Commissioner Meetings are Tuesday mornings at 9:30-11:30am 555 Court St NE 5th Floor Suite 5231 - also on zoom. The first 30 mins is for public comment.

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New year, same brats. Join us as we discuss key takeaways from 2024 and what's at the top of our to do lists for 2025. Whats in, what's out, and what you can expect to hear from us on the pod in the new year! A special thank you to Whitney at the Statesman Journal for publishing a story about our pod this week! You can read it at the link below. If you would like to read the book Virginia references on Dark Skies, it is called The End of Night by Paul Bogard and it is available on print and e-edition through the Salem Public Library (we're big fans of libraries around here!) Now get out there and slay the new year, or don't, there's really no rush.

https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/politics/2024/12/31/brat-salem-podcast-demobrats-local-politics-city-budget/77235986007/

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A warning: The content of this episode references domestic violence, abuse, racism, violence, and suicidal ideation. Listener discretion is advised.

They say you don't know what you've got until it's gone. Join Vik and Virginia for Mayor Chris Hoy's most personal public exit interview. We discuss the third bridge, homelessness, Keiko the Whale, and so much more. Things get really good around minute 48. Trust us when we say we let a really fantastic public servant get away. Period.

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Campaign Manager Caleb is back as we continue to share all about our experiences on the trail this summer including the endorsement process, the millions of dollars spent by our opponent, the victories for our team, the social media trolling that never happened, and the origins of BRAT.

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Do private big developers and their friends have any business involving themselves in local politics? The Salem City Council, City Staff, and future electeds received a letter last week from The Salem Chamber of Commerce and the Home Builders Association. They are requesting the formation of a "Blue Ribbon Committee" to take a redundant deep dive into understanding the city's already dwindling resources. Join Vik and Virginia as they examine the distrust these groups have been shepherding in the community since the fall of the payroll tax in 2023 and the potential motivations behind this letter.

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Special guest and A-1 Campaign Manager, Caleb Hayes joins Virginia and Vik to talk about how we spent the summer trying to fire Kevin Mannix and flip House District 21. We're excited to share the behind the scenes of our campaign, hilarious moments on the trail, a few one-off stories of out of pocket interactions, and how our campaign changed the way campaigns will be run forever (and forced him to spend a million dollars to keep his job!). This is part one in a two part series.

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