Exec - 2nd & 4th Mondays, 7:30pm, Contact Chair
Budget - Contact Chair
Communications - First Tuesday, 8pm, Contact Chair
Fundraising - Last Wednesday, 7pm, Contact Chair
Office - First Friday, 7pm, Contact Chair
Outreach - First Thursday, 7pm, Contact Chair
Political Action - Contact Chair

Want to help turn out voters for the primary elections? Sign-up to be a neighborhood leader. Learn more here. Email secretary@ycdemocrats.org to get involved.

What we've been talking about

• Five local community members and an education organization have been nominated by the Oregon Safe Schools and Communities Coalition (OSSCC) for their 2022 Safe Schools Awards. The organization supports community endeavors to decrease LGBTQIA+ youth suicide and other harmful behaviors. Nominees include current Newberg School Board directors Rebecca Piros and Brandy Penner, former school board director Ines Pená, former Newberg school superintendent Joe Morelock, Newberg High School counselor and Gay-Straight Alliance advisor Sara Linnertz, and the Newberg Education Association. Read reporting from the Newberg Grpahic here.
• After news broke of the leaked U.S. Supreme Court opinion overturning the landmark abortion rights case, Roe v. Wade, citizens gathered last Tuesday in McMinnville to voice their support for continued access to abortion services and other reproductive rights. Read the story here.
• At Tuesday night's meeting, the Newberg School Board voted to hire Stephen Phillips as the next school district Superintendent. Phillips most recently served as the Superintendent of the Jewell school district, where he was placed on paid leave in March pending the results of an investigation into a potential wrongful termination (for which he is also being sued). He was previously forced to resign from a position with the Beaverton school district (where he also focused on book bans) after retweeting an offensive remark about undocumented immigrants. Read reporting by OPB here. Read a story about the tweet that lost him his job here.
• Representative Jessica George (HD-25) was quoted in an article by Oregon Business regarding her opposition to SB 1545, Future Ready Oregon, a bill that "invests $200 million into a variety of proven and new workforce-
development schemes with a good portion going to Career Pathways programs and, more importantly, the wraparound support services that make career training a realistic option for disadvantaged, cost-burdened students." Read the story here.
• The Dundee City Council passed a resolution to create a new park named in recognition of the "Kalapuya, the Indigenous people of the Willamette Valley who have lived in the region for thousands of years." Read the Newberg Graphic's reporting here.

• Linfield held a candidate forum for Yamhill County Commissioner candidates on Monday. Watch it here.
• Candidates for Yamhill County Commissioner position 1, Bob Luoto and Kit Johnston, were each interviewed by the News-Register. Read Luoto's interview here and Johnston's here.
• Last week, incumbent for Yamhill County Commissioner, Mary Starrett, posted on her Facebook page that she had been endorsed by the Oregon Firearms Federation, a Political Action Committee of which she is the Director.
• Howie Harkema interviewed Casey Kulla on Speaking Frankly. Watch the interview here.

• Give your feedback on McMinnville's Third Street Improvement Project. English survey or Spanish survey. Deadline is Friday, May 13.
• Help get out the vote for the May primary. Sign-up to canvass with Doris Towery here.
• Help the Yamhill County Democrats conduct a survey to find out why so many registered Democrats didn't vote in the recall election. Access the phone bank here.
• Add your name to the list of supporters calling for removal of the Consent Decree limiting the ability of Tribal members of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde to hunt and fish on their ancestral lands. Click here. Read Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy's opinion piece in the Oregonian here.
• Sign the petition to rename Columbus Elementary School in McMinnville. Click here.
• The Chehalem Cultural Center wants your input on how to make the Center more inclusive for all. Complete the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) survey here.
• Want to help people in Yamhill County experiencing homelessness? Volunteer at the Newberg Emergency Shelter. Sign-up here. You can also donate by purchasing items from the shelter's Amazon wishlist here. Read the shelter's newsletter here. Encompass Yamhill Valley also provides support to this population. Learn more about them here.
• Volunteer with McMinnville's low-barrier shelter on Fridays. Volunteers are needed for 4 shifts between 8pm-8am, including two meal shifts. Sign-up here.
• Join Wine Country Pride's Pet Parade on Saturday, June 25 at 1:45pm. Link here.

• Support students at Newberg High School by joining the Booster Club's virtual auction. Link here.
• Reminder: the Food Bank at the First Baptist Church in Dayton (300 Flower Ln.) is open every other Tuesday from 4-6pm and is accepting donations.
• Donate to Turtle Dove Shelters, Inc. here. Turtle Dove Shelters provides shelter for homeless individuals through the design, construction, and donation of portable, semi-permanent shelters.
• Donate to Patton Middle School's Backpack Drive here. The Patton Boutique, a resource room designed to help students with unmet needs, is collecting backpacks for students in need.
• Donate to the McMinnville High School Resource Room here. They are looking for: tampons, pens, water bottles, cup of noodles/ramen (single serving cups), and other individual snacks and microwavable food items. The Resource Room is for any MHS student who is having trouble getting their basic needs met. The MHS Resource Room has clothing, school supplies, hygiene products, and non-perishable family meals. Email agreene@msd.k12.or.us or kcarlson@msd.k12.or.us if you'd like to volunteer.
• Want to provide assistance to people affected by the war in Ukraine? Donate here.

• The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde have opened sponsorship applications for reimbursement in the following areas: Emergency Preparedness and Energy Generation, Health and Fitness, Healthy Foods, and Technology. Learn more here.

• Planning Commission member
• Historic Landmark Committee member

PCPs elect County Party leadership, decide which candidates and issues to endorse, and how to spend money.  Become an integral member of our County Party, and submit the write-in form before May 17th. You will need to ask 3 friends (you can be one) in your precinct to write in your name on their ballot. Write-In Form

Women’s March
Saturday, May 14, 9-11am
Cannery Square, 22622 SW Pine Street, Sherwood
Meet at 8am at the McMinnville Public Library parking lot or at 8:30am at the Newberg Fred Meyer bottle drop to carpool

Get Out the Vote for Doris Towery
Saturday, May 14, 11-2pm
Meet at Billick Park, Dundee

Election Day!
Get your ballots in (or postmarked by the post office) by 8pm on Tuesday, May 17!

Peace Now Rally - Standing in Solidarity with the People of Ukraine
Wednesday, May 18, 4:30-5:30pm
(recurring every Wednesday)
NE 2nd & Adams Streets, McMinnville 

Women Build & Brunch
Fundraiser for McMinnville Area Habitat for Humanity
Saturday, May 14, 11-1pm
Maysara Winery, McMinnville
Register here