By: Tia Politi
Date: December 1, 2022

Well, the elections didn’t go the way we had hoped, but the good news is that there is no longer a super majority in Salem. The not so good news is that we will have to fight harder for property owners’ rights in our upcoming long legislative session. As we move through the 2023 session, we need you to stay alert and respond to calls to action by our Legislative Directors. We may even need you to descend on Salem to let your voices be heard!

Planning for elections for the 2023-25 Executive Committee is ramping up, and we were pleased to have At-Large Executive Committee member, Jill Maricich, heading up the search! Chapters will be hearing from her soon with requests for nominations.

Related to elections, at our September board meeting, the board voted to revise our “regions” within ORHA. Klamath Falls VP Jason Brush prepared four different options and the board chose to take our regions from five to four. Regions were created previously to ensure that all area of our state have representation on the Executive Committee (EC). Our new regions are as follows: NW Region – encompassing Clatsop County ROA, Salem RHA and Linn-Benton RHA; NE Region – encompassing Mid-Columbia RHA, ROA of Northeastern Oregon, Umatilla ROA, and Treasure Valley Rental Association; Metro Region – encompassing Portland Area ROA, Central Oregon ROA and Lane ROA; and Southern Region – encompassing ROA of Douglas County, ROA of Southwestern Oregon, Southern Oregon ROA, and Klamath ROA. After our Executive Committee elections, should a region not have a representative on that committee, the board will hold a separate election for At-Large EC members to fill any unrepresented region.

The board continues to work on refining our processes and procedures using Microsoft Teams, and to enhance our approvals process for invoices. Read Office Manager Ben Seamans’ update in his Office Report later in the newsletter. Our November and January board meetings are held virtually since the pandemic, and Teams lets us meet and record our meetings for future review.

The Education Committee is also using Teams to teach webinars for the chapters in our Mentorship Program, and at a far lower cost than Webinar Jam. We are always looking for ways to create efficiencies and save money to put our resources to their best possible use.

Thank you for your support and continued involvement with ORHA and your local chapters. Despite the many challenges we face, rental property ownership is still a tried-and-true way to build financial stability and generational wealth. I’m proud to be part of a far-reaching organization that supports our neighbors’ efforts to better themselves, and you should be too!

Happy Holidays!

Tia Politi, ORHA President