Gearing up for the 2022 Legislative Session

Families for Climate is excited to welcome Jamie Painter as our new Parent Climate Action Network Manager! Jamie Painter is a born-and-raised Northwesterner with a passion for public policy, advocacy, and environmental justice. Her experience navigating Oregon’s political landscape as a lobbyist and advocate over the past decade working with the Union of Concerned Scientists, Climate Solutions, and the PEW Environment Group have made her a natural negotiator, strategic problem solver and excellent listener. Below, she shares part of her climate story, and a call to action for the upcoming short session of the Oregon Legislature!

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Like most parents, I’ve had a lot of sleepless nights: when my son was a tiny baby and didn’t sleep through the night, when teething brought fevers and tears, and when the first day of preschool brought anxiety. In the last couple of years, catastrophic wildfires, heatwaves, and flooding keep happening right outside our front door, and worries about the future my child is going to inherit are what keep me up at night.

I joined Families for Climate because I needed to turn my worry into action. The first monthly meeting I attended, I felt at home — like I wasn’t alone. So many other families were also having sleepless nights and trying desperately to find ways to make a difference, to slow down the terrible beast of climate change. Soon after that meeting, we watched as a terrifying virus spread across the globe and the world seemed to stop. Schools closed and grocery store aisles were sparse. During this time, what kept me going was the community that seemed to grow overnight. Neighbors were sharing toilet paper, tomato starts, and childcare. People were forced to slow down and many started taking a critical look at what was no longer working in our society.

Two years later, I’m excited to come on board as the Parent Climate Action Network Manager: taking tangible actions and surrounding myself with people like you, who are committed to positive change, has helped me feel less helpless and more hopeful, and I hope that FFC can be a light for you, too.

Last week we hosted a webinar with a panel of speakers who explained the priority climate bills before the 2022 Oregon legislative session, and 100 people registered! 100 people who care enough about the world we are creating for our children that they were willing to spend their Thursday evening on Zoom, learning about the climate legislation that will be debated in Salem starting next week! We asked one of our speakers, Rep. Maxine Dexter, about why one of our legislative priorities last year — the Reach Code Bill — didn’t pass. She explained that there wasn't a great deal of opposition to the bill, but it just wasn’t front of mind for the majority of legislators.

This session, our goal is to change that: we want to make sure our legislators are hearing loud and clear from parents and families that we need to pass strong climate and climate justice legislation this — and every — session! This year, that includes the Reach Code bill, Farm Worker Protections, Emergency Heat Relief bills, and the Treasury Transparency bill.

If you missed the webinar, you can watch the recording here.

Want to join our climate team? Sign up for our Parent Climate Advocacy Network, and we’ll share opportunities for easy, efficient, and impactful ways to engage in the short session over the next month, including an exciting advocacy training session coming up in early February.