9/8/2022 Senate District 15 Updates

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Senator Janeen Sollman

Friends and Neighbors,

This will be my last newsletter ahead of the 60-day blackout period until the November election. Please find below Save the Dates for my upcoming Community Conversations and speciaI pieces from former high school intern, Ryan Smith and incoming high school intern, Anna Kindley.

Please don't hesitate to reach out to my office in the meantime with any questions or concerns. I look forward to reconnecting by newsletter in November, seeing you at the table at a Community Conversation or at an upcoming event. 

Save the Dates

Save the Date

Storytime flyer

Intern Updates

A Few Reasons for Hope

~Former High School Intern, Ryan Smith

“Washington, D.C.” is often used synonymously with gridlock, corruption, or bureaucratic inefficiency. This summer, when I traveled to D.C. as an intern with Congressman DeFazio from Oregon’s 4th Congressional District, I expected to witness this stereotype in action.

And in many ways, I did. Before this summer, I had been involved predominantly in local government: I volunteered on the Hillsboro Youth Advisory Council in high school, and I interned in Janeen’s office during much of high school and occasionally during college (I’m currently a junior). Capitol Hill was far less streamlined and efficient than Hillsboro or Eugene, and as an institution it seemed obsessed more with prestige and attention and less with the inglorious mechanics of governance. But I want to focus on a few other discoveries I made during my summer in our nation’s capital, ones that were unexpected but encouraging—a few reasons for hope.

When I began my internship, one of the first things I noticed was the energy and dedication of the congressional staffers around me. Members of Congress might cast the votes and get the media attention, but staffers perpetually work behind the scenes to make Congress function. And I was blown away by the fiery passion they had for their work. Hearing stories of how a legislative staffer worked weekends to draft a bill that was then passed into law, or how a communications director led a successful Twitter outreach effort, was a heartwarming reminder that despite all the dysfunction in the headlines, many people in D.C. truly devote their lives to fixing our country’s problems.

I also witnessed firsthand how congressional offices care about their constituents. Everyone in Congressman DeFazio’s office was attuned to the constituent opinions coming in through the phones: in fact, one of my tasks as an intern was to keep notes on constituent communication and craft a weekly report that was shared with the entire team, including Congressman DeFazio himself. And no matter how frenzied their schedules got, nobody in the office was ever too busy to help constituents receive their social security benefits, get their passports, or navigate the federal bureaucracy.

Lastly, and perhaps most surprisingly, I was struck by the depth and thoughtfulness of the conversations I had with other interns. Despite D.C.’s reputation for insular partisanship, discussions with people who didn’t share my views often ended in a better understanding of how we each came to our opinions—exactly the kind of passionate but open-minded discussion that seems so rare nowadays. D.C. is a buzzword for dysfunction and gridlock, and for good reason. But after digging beneath the surface for just one summer, I started to realize that there’s more to it than this depiction would suggest.

Ryan/Buttigieg

P.S. As you can see from the picture, I had the chance to meet Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg! Janeen nearly had a heart attack when she heard. She is a big fan.


Meet Incoming High School Intern - Anna Kindley

Anna

Hi, my name is Anna Kindley. I am a sophomore at Glencoe High School and have lived in Hillsboro my entire life. I love Hillsboro and I think that it is an amazing place to live. I am excited to be more involved in my community and I know volunteering with Senator Sollman will give me that opportunity. 

While I am not exactly sure what I want to be when I grow up, I know that helping people has always interested me and is very important to me. I am excited to start this internship because it will open my eyes to new ideas and new ways that our communities need help. I hope to better my community in any way that I can, I look forward to meeting you in our community, if you see me - come say Hi! 


Over the summer I had the great fortune to visit with each of my past high school interns who are blossoming into young adults and doing great things in the world. I am so proud of each of them. 

Interns

Clockwise from top: Lily Donis, Ishaan Sinha, Olivia Vargas, Ceph Tronco, Juan David Alonso Garcia, Ryan Smith, Kelly Xu, Danny Adzima


Be good to yourself and each other. ❤

Onward & Upward,

Janeen

Senate District 15 lies on Kalapuya land. The Atfalati were the northernmost band of the Kalapuya that lived along the Tualatin River in present day Washington County. Many of the Atfalati descendants are members of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon today. The Indigenous Peoples of this land experienced a painful history of colonial violence, sickness and removal from their land. The Atfalati are the foundation of Oregon’s past and we must honor them well into our future.    

Capitol Phone: 503-986-1715
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, S-207, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Sen.JaneenSollman@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/sollman