You’re invited!

Join us for the Oregon Stonewall Democrats & the GLBT Caucus’ First Annual
House Party Celebration
to benefit the
Democratic Party of Oregon

Join us for the Oregon Stonewall Democrats & the GLBT Caucus’ First Annual House Party Celebration
to benefit the Democratic Party of Oregon
Thursday, September 9, 2010
6:00 pm
at Bill & David’s house in Southwest Portland
Enjoy hosted wine and hors d’oeuvres, great company, & special guests
– and –
help ensure we elect progressive leaders who will stand up for the rights of ALL Oregonians
Suggested donation $50 – $100 (sliding scale)
Space is limited; RSVP soon to farley@dpo.org, 503-239-8695
Address & directions provided upon RSVP

Meet the Host Committee

Bill Dickey & David Wagner Tireless supporters of equality and progressive causes of all kinds
Congressman Jarod Polis Representing Colorado’s 2nd District; the first openly gay Congressman in the U.S.
Representative Tina Kotek Oregon House Majority Whip; the only openly gay member of the OR Legislature
Carl Wolfson KPOJ radio personality and wildly entertaining stand-up comic
Maura Roche The crown jewel of Oregon’s progressive lobbyists
Byron Beck Former reporter for Willamette Week and now Oregon’s Perez Hilton
Don Powell Owner of Powell Phones and trusted by progressive campaigns nationwide
Frank Dixon & Dan Volkmer Democratic Party of Oregon Vice-Chair and partner
Laura Calvo DPO Treasurer, GLBT Caucus Chair, Oregon Stonewall Democrats Chair
Eddy Morales Political consultant and past speaker at Creating Change, DNC events
Cris Land Democratic Party of Oregon GLBT Caucus Treasurer
Jim Freed & Michael Sjoberg GLBT Caucus members with a passion for the repeal of DADT
Michael Miles & Ben Allen GLBT Caucus/Marion County Democrats Vice-Chair and partner
Mike Schryver GLBT Caucus Communications Officer
Carla “KC” Hanson Multnomah County Democrats Chair and GLBT Caucus Secretary

Contributions are not tax deductible for federal income tax purposes. Your contribution will be used in connection with federal elections and is subject to the limitations and prohibitions of the Federal Election Campaign Act.

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Events run from June 2nd through June 6th.

Click HERE for details and schedule.

_{(you can also try clicking on the post title for more information)}

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Corvallis Pride!

For more information click HERE

(you can also try clicking on the post title for more information)

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Info about Portland Pride at  PrideNW

(you can also try clicking on the post title for more information)

We’ll be at the Pride festival!

Come visit our booth or better yet volunteer at our booth.  Its easy and fun. Hang out with some great folks. Have a place to call home while you’re having fun at Pride!

Our booth is located near the north entrance to the festival (booth A8)

Our parade position this year is #66 72. Step-off time is 11:30am. If you’re marching with us, we’ll be gathering in the staging area at 10:00am. Check out parade staging and this year’s route HERE. For just the staging area where to meet us at Glisan and 12th HERE

Thank to everyone who came to the Parade and worked in the booth!

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Did you know that you have a direct line into the White House?

On January 20th 2009 at 12:01 pm while President Obama was taking the oath of office, www.whitehouse.gov went live and with it the publishing of President Obama’s civil rights agenda as well the rest of his agenda.

At the same time, the Office of Public Liaison went live with a direct link available to email the Obama administration.

The Office of Public Liaison & Intergovernmental Affairs (OPL-IGA) is the front door to the White House through which everyone can participate and inform the work of the President.

There is a great opportunity for you to to weigh in on a particular item concerning GLBT federal employees who are partnered through a civil union, domestic partnership or married and currently do not have all the employment benefits granted other married employees and their families.

In summary federal employees were denied employee benefits for their partners, even if they were legally married. The Office of Personnel Management ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act prohibited extending employees benefits to same sex couples. (New York Times)

Two Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judges made rulings, as the employers of federal employees working for the court,  that in essence supported granting the employment benefits to their employees. However the Office of Personnel Management ruled against the employees citing DOMA prevents granting partner benefits to same sex couples

Contact the White House Office of Public Liason to register your support for extending these important employee benefits to GLBT families who serve in our federal government.

Bookmark White House Office of Public Liason now.

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An influential GLBT caucus depends on you.

As our number of active members grows, so does our influence in the Democratic Party and in our GLBT community.  The more influence we have, the more likely it is that we can influence legislators and other elected officials so the needs of the GLBT community cannot be overlooked.

Please join us in this important task.

The Multnomah Democrats’ GLBT Caucus will meet Tuesday, March 17 at 7:00p.m. at the Donkey Stable (232 NE 9th AVE, Portland).

We need to begin planning for Pride as well as other fun activities.

Mark your calendars: our meetings will commence every third Tuesday of each month.

There is a possibility that Portland City Commissioner Amanda Fritz will be in attendance… as always, we may have a surprise guest.  Last time Secretary of State Kate Brown was a welcome surprise, which allowed caucus members to have a question and answer session.

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The following article was published in the Multnomah County Democrats Newsletter and Just Out. Photo from Just Out.

Dick Levy was my friend, a mentor to many, and an inspiration to all.  Every so often you meet a person whose combination of sincere warmth, humor, and character touches the lives of many, including your own. As dark a day Dick’s passing brings, the light he leaves behind will always be there for so many.” – Laura Calvo

In Rememberance of Dick Levy 1944-2009

Photo by Just Out

Richard C. Levy died February 24 of complications due to cancer surgery. He was at age 64.

Levy had been out since 1967 when he was a graduate student. He moved to Oregon to teach at the University of Portland.

Levy was one of the founding members of the Portland Town Council, an early gay rights organization here.

Levy once went to work as an aide to conservative Multnomah County Commissioner Gordon Shadburn. Levy’s gay friends were aghast, but he responded that it was an attempt to “work from inside.” But Shadburn’s conservative supporters eventually pressured the commissioner to oust the homosexual. Later Shadburn lost his political career after it was revealed that he had relations with young gay men.

Levy helped raise funds for numerous gay causes, including Basic Rights Oregon and the Sexual Minority Youth Resource Center.

Levy and his partner of 39 years, Larry Hobnet, were among the first gay couples to marry and to register as domestic partners in Multnomah County. Mayor Vera Katz and county chair Beverly Stein were their witnesses.

Levy was a college professor, a Multnomah County Commissioner in 1984 and real estate broker during his more than 40 years in Portland.

Beyond his leadership in the gay community, Levy was active in business and neighborhood issues and was honored by the city with the 1998 Spirit of Portland award.

Mayor Sam Adams recalled Levy as “tough and funny and tireless in his work to improve Portland for all Portlanders.”

Born in the Bronx and raised in a retail environment where both parents worked in a fabric store for more than 30 years in New York, Levy also was a former retail store manager. Levy received a bachelor’s degree from Harpur College/SUNY at Binghamton and masters degree from Michigan State University.

Since 1988 he was a commercial real estate sales and leasing broker. He started with Bluestone Realty and helped form North Rim Realty in 1999. He acquired a Windermere franchise in 2004 and with Craig Gilbert formed PDX Metro Commercial LLC / Windermere Community Commercial Realty. He was active in the Commercial Association of Realtors, Northeast Business Boosters, and Hollywood Business Association and CCIM.

He had served several stints as president of the Irvington Community Association – most recently from 2006 to 2008.

Among his civic activities were being a founding member of the Alliance of Portland Neighborhood Business Associations; chair of the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods; member of the Martin Luther King Blvd. Advisory Committee; vice chair of the Oregon Convention Center Urban Renewal Advisory Committee; and vice chair of Ethos Music Academy.

Levy also was active in numerous political campaigns and had been a delegate to the Oregon Democratic Central Committee and a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 2000.

An open house celebrating Dick Levy’s life will be held  March 14th 2009 from 4 to 7 p.m. at Ethos Music Project, 10 N. Killingsworth St.

Memorial donations in Dick Levy’s name to support the Sexual Minority Youth Resource Center’s programs for gay youth support, recreation and counseling may be sent to:

SMYRC, 2100 SE Belmont St., Portland, OR 97214. E-mail: info@smyrc.org

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On Sunday March 14th, 2009 the Democratic Party of Oregon State Central Committee will meet to elect a new term of party officers.

The DPO GLBT Caucus has endorsed the following candidates for party office:

Meredith Wood-Smith for Chair
Frank Dixon for Vice Chair
Jill Thorn for Vice Chair
Becky Gladstone for Secretary

The Democratic Party of Oregon State Central Committee is meeting at the Linn-Benton Community College in Albany OR.

The DPO GLBT Caucus will be meeting in conjunction with the State Central Committee meeting from 9:00am to 10:30am. The State Central Committee meeting starts at 1:00pm.

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Posted by Debra Porta, Vice-Chair, Multnomah County GLBT Caucus.

On Friday, March 6, Basic Rights Oregon, in partnership with the Oregon Students Equal Rights Alliance (a statewide organization of college students representing LGBTQ students across Oregon) will be converging on the capitol in Salem, in support of equality, and specifically the Oregon Safe Schools Act.   This act will strengthen Oregon’s current anti-bullying laws for K-12 schools.  Why do we need this?  Well, let’s see:

Students of color – In 1999, African‐American students were most likely to be bullied in middle and high school. Between 1999 and 2001, bullying of all students of color increased more than 60%. And 24% of children ages 8‐11 report that race‐related bullying takes place at their school either occasionally or often.

Rural students – Rural students are 26% more likely to experience bullying than their urban counterparts.

Students with disabilities – Students with developmental, psychological and physical disabilities are at substantially higher risk of being bullied.

Harassment is listed as the number one reason why students drop out of school.

Gay and transgender students – Gay youth are three times more likely than straight students to drop out of school, to find themselves homeless, and to attempt suicide (and more likely to succeed)—and those numbers jump even more drastically for transgender youth and gay and transgender youth of color. Currently, only 15% of Oregon school districts advertise bullying policies protecting gay youth from bullying, and only 1% advertise bullying policies protecting transgender youth.

Pretty much anyone who has attended a K-12 school, or has a child who has, knows that these numbers have not improved, and in some cases are worse.

Current Oregon law has little to know “bite” when it comes to institutionalizing anti-harassment policies and procedures.  This law addresses that and is a simple way to help to ensure that our youth are educated and have the opportunities that this society claims to want for them.

Contact BRO to get connected to the Day of Action.  Contact your legislators and let them know how important protecting Oregon’s youth is to the future of our state..and to you.

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I invite all members of the Multnomah County Democratic Party GLBT Caucus to join our ad hoc Strategic Planning Committee.  Our first meeting is Tuesday, January 27 at 6:30 p.m. at the Donkey Stable (232 NE 9th AVE, Portland).  We need your help in discussing our future plans as a caucus.  Do you have opinions regarding how we should do outreach, what we should focus on in the coming year, or any other opinions about increasing our influence in the Democratic Party and beyond?  Then, this is the perfect meeting for you to attend.

If you plan on attending, please email me at multnomah.chair@stonewalloregon.org.

In solidarity,
Joey Kerns
Chair, Multnomah County Democratic Party GLBT Caucus

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