By: Tia Politi, ORHA President
Date: 05/05/2022

Astoria Palooza!
This year’s “far-flung” meeting location is in beautiful Astoria, Oregon, May 19^th, 20^th and 21^st. We are shaking things up a bit and offering a days’ worth of great classes on Thursday the 19^th. Christian Bryant, Violet Wilson, and myself are teaching classes all day to help raise awareness (and money) for the Clatsop County ROA.

Remember, traveling for things like education is tax deductible as allowed by law, so we hope to see you there. Pre-registration is required, but if space allows, we may be able to accommodate extras. On Friday, we will be holding our committee meetings and, of course, Saturday is the board meeting. Check out Office Manager Ben Seaman’s office update for a full schedule and links to join in virtually if you can’t be there in person.

2022 Forms Manual
The 2022 Forms Manual is heading to the finish line! We will let you know when you can start placing orders. I have been asked if we will be producing a new law book this year, and the answer is no. The one bright spot during all the COVID-19 landlord restrictions was the inability of radical tenant advocates to enact many permanent changes to landlord-tenant law. The 2020 Law Book is still the most recent compilation and is still being sold; however, there are two inserts that should be included by the locals regarding changes to screening law and this year’s cooling bill. Links to both my article on screening, and Legislative Director Jason Miller’s outline of SB 1536 are available on the ORHA website. Please refer your members to the website for those references.

Elections
On another bright note, I’m hopeful that the extremism of the past few years may have nudged folks to vote differently. With high inflation, continuing reduction of housing stock due to short-sighted policies that have scared off rental housing investors, and lack of support for police highlighting the need for enhanced public safety, we may see a shift in Oregon politics come this November. How you vote is always crucial in our left-leaning state, but now more than ever. Rated as the most unpopular governor in the nation this year, Kate Brown is on her way out. Let’s hope we elect a new governor who has a balanced vision for our state. Your vote for senators is also crucial to creating balance in our legislature again. Please vote!!

ORH Key PAC
In other news, the ORH Key PAC continues to solicit donations to support legislative candidates. It may seem like we’re jumping the gun, but according to our lobbyist Shawn Miller, donations need to be handed out this summer, well ahead of the November election. Donations have increased recently, thank you for letting others know about this crucial part of our legislative efforts, and remember, local chapters, you can donate too!