Republican Commissioner from Central Oregon County Makes Public Commitment to CAUSA and Recursos Latinos

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 29, 2010

Contact:
Francisco Lopez, Executive Director: (503) 269-5694
Erik Sorensen, Communications Director: (503) 488-0263

Republican Commissioner from Central Oregon County Makes Public Commitment to CAUSA and Recursos Latinos
 
Redmond, Ore--On Thursday, Recursos Latinos, a central Oregon based Latino lead organization, and CAUSA held a Leaders' Assembly in Redmond. Deschutes County Commissioner Tammy Baney was invited to attend as a special guest.

During the assembly, members of the Latino community gave personal testimony to an auditorium filled with 200 people about the pain and struggle they themselves and their families face. The poor economic situation in Central Oregon, the nation's broken immigration system, and their lack of access to affordable healthcare and quality education were just some of the issues discussed during the evening--moving several people to tears.

Several Latino immigrant leaders asked Commissioner Baney to join them in their struggle to confront the public pressures impacting their families. By the close of the assembly, Commissioner Baney made a public commitment to join CAUSA and Recursos Latinos to work for affordable housing for farmworkers, driver's license access for immigrants regardless of their immigration status, quality education, access to affordable health care services for all and economic recovery incentives for Latinos in Deschutes County.

Baney, a Central Oregon Republican, followed her commitment with a passionate speech about her family, her struggles, her faith and why she is so moved to work with the Latino Immigrant Community. She said,

"We are all one community. I want to understand your lives so I can help be a partner in fixing things. In life, we don't get a choice in what happens, but we do in the way that we handle it. I don't hear the word "no" and I also don't hear "us" and "them" because we are all one."

The assembly in Redmond is just one of the many actions CAUSA and our allies around Oregon are doing in the run-up to the upcoming Legislative Session in February. CAUSA will continue to reach out to elected officials in communities around Oregon to see that the needs are met in the Latino and Immigrant Communities.


###CAUSA, Oregon's Immigrant Rights Coalition, is the largest Latino and Latina civil and human rights and advocacy organization in the Pacific Northwest. We work to defend and advance immigrant rights through coordination with local, state, and national coalitions and allies. For more information, visit www.causaoregon.org

Resources
Photos:  http://s516.photobucket.com/albums/u329/CAUSAOregon/Redmond%20Leaders%20Assembly/?albumview=slideshow

Posted in: Access to Healthcare,Affordable Housing,CAUSA,Deschutes County Commissioner Baney,Driver's Licenses,Leaders' Assembly,Recursos Latinos,Redmond