Happy 4th of July!

Janeen Sollman

Friends & Neighbors,

Happy Independence Day! I hope that you enjoy this day celebrating the 4th with your family and friends. Summer is in full swing and that means school is out and more kids are out and about playing, please be extra careful while on the roads you travel and be an alert driver. May and June have been busy with visiting classrooms and talking with students, a Special Session in Salem, Legislative Days, transportation meetings, my second small business round table event, two separate Town Halls with Senator Riley and Representative Susan McLain and a trip to DC to the State-Federal STEM Education Summit.


Father's Day
Enjoying a fun family outing on Father's Day at Top Golf. Tony and I have been married 27 years and love every chance to hang with our boys.

Governor Brown called for a Special Session on Monday the 23rd. With public hearings being held prior to the 23rd, the Legislature could move the policy along in just one day. It was a bill that extended existing tax credits to sole proprietors who were currently being excluded. Click here for more info!

Legislative Days in Salem is a time to come together to meet with colleagues, attend committee meetings for reports and discussion, research and discuss future legislative concepts and meet with advocates. May Legislative Days were both eventful and productive. I am honored to be able to work with Rep Gene Whisnant and Rep Jeff Reardon on a Task Force on Workforce Development for People with Disabilities. It is an opportunity to hear from state agencies on the work being done in Oregon and to hear the challenges and ideas to move the work forward to support Oregonians with their employment needs. 


June Town Halls
Top: APANO Town Hall w/ Rep. Susan McLain. Bottom: Children First for Oregon Town Hall w/ Sen. Chuck Riley

Western Pathways

Western Pathways Conference took place in Salt Lake City this year. This was one of the best conferences I attended in 2017 and was happy that my legislative assistant, Drew Cummins, was able to attend this year to continue our work and learn more about the components and implementation of a strong pathways system within our education system, while building on connections with businesses. Drew joined a strong team from Oregon that were all there to learn and share our progress. This conference never ceases to inspire, like making sure business partners are at the table early-on and looking at the need to focus our work to skills/certifications rather than specific degrees. I am so thankful that Oregon is focusing on achieving a strong pathways system. We need to make sure that we are preparing our students for the skills they will need for strong living-wage jobs in the future, while working on ways to reduce their student loan debt. Drew and I look forward to the work ahead.  


poynter
I visited Poynter Middle School before summer and got to speak with three very engaged students about the importance of civic engagement and what they are seeing on an everyday basis in their classrooms.

TriMet held a Future Transit Improvements Workshop in June so they could hear from the community on what improvements could be made, including expanded service opportunities. Any chance that I have, I make sure that TriMet hears that the need for expanded service to North Hillsboro is critical for education and workforce needs. Did you know that Liberty High School is the only high school in the Hillsboro School District (4th largest school district in Oregon) that does not have regular public transportation service for students, staff and families to get to school and/or events? We also have a huge need for public transportation service to help folks get to and from their jobs. Businesses like Amazon, Reser’s Fine Foods and more have workforce transportation needs that need to be met. You can count on me to continue to be an advocate for expanded service opportunities in our district.   


Trucking Event
Last month, I was joined by Senator Lew Frederick at the Oregon Truck Driving Championships. It was a great opporunity to speak with some people in the profession about what they experience on a day to day basis.

As a member of the Safe & Effective Schools for All work group, we have had several meetings about addressing the growing needs of our students and the need for more wrap-around services in our schools. It has been a great opportunity and honor to lend my experience as a former school board member, parent in a school district and active school volunteer to this process. I look forward to seeing what the work from our many meetings will translate to for action from the Chief Education Office. Please stay tuned for more details.

My second, in a series, of small business round table discussions went very well. Thank you TRV Surveying and Davis Tool Inc. for being a part of the conversation. We talked about manufacturing needs, workforce training, implications of legislative actions on Hillsboro Chamber small business owners and the small business certification process. I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to speak to business owners in a small setting such as this.


Immigration Rally
#FamiliesBelongTogether Rally at the Hillsboro Civic Center

Get Involved

Are you looking for ways to contact our Oregon legislators that represent us in Washingon DC? Do you want to share your thoughts and ideas on issues they continue to work on for Oregonians?

Upcoming Events


I look forward to the warm and sunny days ahead. Please watch for upcoming community meetings to share your hopes, concerns and ideas with me. If you have questions about our government process or have a policy idea, please reach out and engage in a conversation. I hope to see you around the table at a coffee shop soon and maybe at our favorite hometown baseball field as we root for our fantastic Hillsboro Hops.

 Thanks again, take care! 

Onward & Upward,

E-Sig

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1430
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-487, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.JaneenSollman@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/sollman