Yesterday morning Charles headed down to the Eastbank Esplanade to bring Coakley to her first political rally. Charles spoke to a group of Bus Project volunteers before they headed out to canvass in Clackamas County for Brent Barton, a candidate for the State Legislature. Rep. Ben Cannon, introduced Charles to the crowd and held Coakley while Charles addressed the group.
Charles speaks to the crowd of Bus Project volunteers at the Eastbank Esplanade.
Charles spoke of the need to create lasting, progressive change here in Oregon and the importance of grassroots political work. While Ethos is a creative solution, addressing the lack of music programs in public schools, we need systemic change. We need to elect legislators who will create a permanent, stable funding base for our schools so all children, regardless of income, receive a well rounded education. The work that will be done by volunteers, knocking on doors in our communities and across the country, will go a long way towards creating this change.
The Bus Project calls itself an “innovative vehicle for hands on democracy.” This perfectly sums up the type of leadership Oregon needs. We don’t need elected officials who tell us we can’t, we wont and we shouldn’t even try. If we’re going to provide living wage jobs to everyone in this state, get to universal health care and fight global warming we need dedicated, innovative leadership. We need elected officials who won’t shy away from a challenge, won’t be deterred by obstacles and will follow through because they know the stakes are too high to do otherwise.
This is exactly the kind of leadership Charles will bring to the Portland City Council. It’s extremely exciting to see so many talented, dedicated people, both running for office and volunteering their time, with the same vision of bringing change to our government and to our society as a whole.
A special thanks is due to Garrett Downen, Henry Kraemer and Andra Brosy who organized the Bus Trip and invited Charles to speak.
