Trust is the foundation for democracy; without it, people don't willingly engage with government policy. Our guest today is Jennifer McGuirk who keeps government agencies accountable. Jennifer is Multnomah County’s Auditor which means that she examines data to determine if there's been, abuse or mismanagement of government programs.

Since being sworn into office in 2019 the auditor's office, under Jennifer’s oversight,  has released multiple reports touching on topics including services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and Multnomah County's response to the covid-19 pandemic. In our interview, we discuss what compelled Jennifer to run for office, redistricting, and how auditors office works with the community.

If you suspect fraud, waste, and abuse of position contact the Good Government Hotline: 888-289-6839. Calls are not recorded and caller ID is disabled.

Kathleen Saadat has been called the conscience of Portland, Oregon. Here, Saadat talks about organizing Portland’s first gay pride parade, as well as the campaign to beat Measure 9 in 1992, a homophobic amendment to the Oregon Constitution. Kathleen also discussed coalition building and intersectional organizing as well as her work with the Portland Police Bureau and her thoughts on Black Lives Matter.

Cliff Jones, a Portland activist calls Kathleen a " ‘connector.’  No matter the issue, he says she strives to 'reach across differences.' ‘I describe her as velvet and steel,’ Jones says. ‘She’s incredibly compassionate and sees the humanity in everyone, even those with whom she vehemently disagrees. At the same time, her mind is a matrix, thinking down and across and over and under, seeing every side of an issue.’"

Kathleen has lived a remarkable life: at the age of 77, she released her first album, Love for Sale, which she recorded with the internationally acclaimed band Pink Martini.

Women makeup 51% of the US population and yet account for only 24% of the Senate and 27% of the House of Representatives. How can women start to change that landscape? Jillian Schoene, Emerge Oregon’s departing Executive Director, joins us to discuss how her organization trains and empowers Democratic women to run for public office.

Highlights and soundbites from the interview

No one runs and wins alone.

4:26-What I love about our program is…the cohort model because these women get to know each other and then when they do go on to run for office they can contact each other and be supported by each other. Or be reminded by them about how to do X Y or Z because it's impossible to remember it all and no one runs in wins alone.

Local politics

8:34 “I think there's a lot of attention on the state and the Congressional level but we have women that are just thriving in leadership roles at the school board and parks and district,

levels, (and city council)and that is really where policy is implemented really quickly and impacts people's lives immediately. 

Why it’s important to focus on training women from outside of Portland, OR to run for office

11:36 You know from Bend, or Pendleton, OR Klamath Falls…Those are women that we definitely need to be working with…because most likely in their communities the left side of the spectrum is probably not being represented…Probably no one else on that City Council or School Board shares your values and so getting them ready to run and at those decision making tables, it's incredibly important for the long-term health of democracy in our state.

Most of the Emerge Oregon candidates are working parents

16:33: "Most of our women who run are also working parents and so I campaign is like the third or fourth thing on their plate and so you know when they have a question… I try to respond as quickly as possible because I know the time is ticking"

23:30: "Democracy is all of our responsibilities, including recruiting and choosing our elected leaders"