S1E17: Moss/Elana, Queer Lobbyist in the Capitol

Meet Moss Elana Lynn (they/them), a queer activist who works on queer issues, healthcare and criminal justice. Together we explore how anyone can get involved and influence the going ons in the Oregon Capitol. We also discuss just how many pets Moss has. 

Resources shared: 

The City of Salem Human Rights Commission: https://www.cityofsalem.net/government/boards-commissions/salem-human-rights-commission

 Get involved by talking to your local representative: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/FindYourLegislator/legislator-lookup.html

Keep tabs on the city: https://www.cityofsalem.net/government/city-council-mayor/city-council-meetings

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Ahoy, gems and jewels.

SPEAKER_03 0:02

And non-binary ghouls. I'm Talo. I'm Nyx. And you're listening to Treasures of Queer Salem. Where two of your favorite troublemaking pirates discover the riches of the queer sea while aboard the Salamander.

SPEAKER_01 0:13

Today we're talking to Ilana Moss Lynn, they them, who is a local political activist that specializes in queer issues, health care, and criminal justice. They have worked in politics for three years, where they developed a passion for getting everyone involved in politics on some level. They are also a huge animal lover with 26 animals in counting.

SPEAKER_00 1:08

So I might have given everyone food poisoning. Um and the captain decided that that was a uh put me in the break offense.

SPEAKER_01 1:16

Yeah, that'll do it. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:18

I I would probably be on the side of the captain at that point because I just don't like getting food poisoned.

SPEAKER_00 1:24

I mean, yeah, but I was trying to make sure everyone didn't get like scurvy. I was trying to be proactive.

SPEAKER_01 1:31

Hey, that's that's are there mushrooms that have vitamin C?

SPEAKER_00 1:35

They could have. Instead, they had poison. Yeah. Turns out I'm not a good forager.

SPEAKER_03 1:45

Well, we'll note that. So we always start with the first question of like, what do you identify as? And how did you get to the identity that you currently identify with today?

SPEAKER_00 1:55

Yeah, so to start with the alphabet soup, and then I'll say how I got there. I am a queer, non-binary, disabled person. Um, disabled is more recent, so still discovering what that means for me. Um, also autistic. Uh so how I got here, I was born in Georgia, which was super fun with all of those identities. Um, people say I came out the womb gay. Uh, it was a shock to no one. I kissed my first girl in pre-K. Um, so that was a very quick start on being queer, and I was also Jewish. Um, so it was not very well liked in the South. Uh, so as soon as I left high school, I moved to Oregon, heard the word non-binary for the first time, came out two weeks later. Um, and then I moved here in 2020 and promptly got COVID also after moving here, which um Welcome.

SPEAKER_03 2:56

Welcome to Oregon. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:57

Yeah, no, everything was on fire. So that was also a first for me. Things don't really burn in Georgia, uh, they flood.

SPEAKER_04 3:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:06

Uh so everything was on fire. Then I got COVID, um, and it awakened every like latent disability I had in my body. So now I'm celiac. Uh, I have pots and hypermobile Ellers Download syndrome. So shopping for canes right now. Very fun.

SPEAKER_03 3:22

Hey. That's awesome. I mean, not awesome that you have that situation that you're going through, but I mean it's really cool to see the narrative of coming somebody coming from Georgia over here and experiencing the fires. I remember when when they were happening, I was working for 4H and we were like taking care of most people during the fair in the fairgrounds, because that were that's what's that's where many of the people who were from like the canyon, they would move in from there. And yeah, it was an option for those.

SPEAKER_01 3:53

I was in deep uh isolation. We had we we moved up right before COVID, so January 2020. And then COVID hit like two months later. So I didn't know anybody. I was very much staying in the house. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:12

Fair. I also knew no one, uh, but my boss came to work with COVID and didn't tell anyone.

SPEAKER_01 4:17

So uh did you have family in Oregon or did you like, oh, I'm queer and Oregon's queer friendly. We'll go there.

SPEAKER_00 4:30

That was most of it. I had just gotten my associate's degree in Georgia um and freshly turned 19, and I was like, it's time to go. Uh so I moved here mostly for the safety and also because Lewis and Clark gave me a good scholarship, and I was like, ah, free money, great. Yes, yes. So I knew zero people before moving here.

SPEAKER_03 4:50

Oh, but you were in the dorms, right?

SPEAKER_00 4:53

So I moved here with a couple animals, and so I got a special exception to live off campus. Oh, so I didn't really get like the dorm experience. Um, and my school in college was a commuter military school, so most of my classmates were like in their late 40s, uh, so I also didn't really get the college experience there. Plus, it was COVID. So I will say that I've had like 5% of the normal college experiences because I also graduated before I turned 21.

SPEAKER_03 5:23

Yeah, and we're noticing the pattern. I know we talked about this outside of recording, but you mentioned 26 like little creatures, little little babies.

SPEAKER_00 5:31

Yeah, when I left Georgia, I had to find a home for about a hundred animals. Um, because my house had become the unofficial uh drop-off site for unwanted animals. Um, so I've had upward of like 300 animals at one point. Uh so when I moved here, I had to send out like quiz surveys to potential adopters and like FaceTime videos of their homes to see the enclosures. So I was like, I am not giving these to anyone who are gonna want to give them back when I'm halfway across the country, well, all the way across the country. So yeah, I moved here with some snakes and spiders and guinea pigs and my dog. Um, and the school did not want that in their dorms, obviously.

SPEAKER_01 6:13

What have made you a popular roommate, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_00 6:17

It did convince some people to drive all the way from Lewis and Clark to Tualeton, where my house was. Because I also was using Georgia logic, and I was like, wow, Tualaton's right next to Lewis and Clark, basically. Turns out not by Oregon standards.

SPEAKER_01 6:31

No.

unknown 6:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:34

How long of a drive is that?

SPEAKER_00 6:35

It's like 20 minutes.

SPEAKER_01 6:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:38

It's like nothing. In Georgia, 20 minutes is a grocery store run.

SPEAKER_03 6:41

Yeah. Yeah, that's how it feels like sometimes. It's just like you travel a lot of distance here, but it still feels like a lot longer. Um, yeah. In that whole animal trade, are you working your way up to the 300 number again?

SPEAKER_00 6:56

I don't I don't want to. Um, but I still rescue a lot of animals. And so if I see an animal in need and I know I can take care of it, I will take it in. But don't, let's not public publicize this, please. I do not want to become the new drop-off.

SPEAKER_03 7:13

Please do not drop off your animals at Moss's place.

unknown 7:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:17

It's a human address.

SPEAKER_03 7:18

Yeah. You mentioned, um, which I thought was really funny, uh really quick topic that you kind of brushed over, but like the whole idea of you coming out and it was no shock to anybody. You you kissed somebody in preschool.

SPEAKER_00 7:30

Yeah, I so my parents are both from New York and they're both uh first gen uh of like their parents were immigrants. Um, but they definitely grew up in like the uh 60s and 70s in New York City. So they were pretty cool. Um and my sister was bi and she's seven years older than me, so like they had also kind of started to like notice that she was queer. Um and I just was always obsessed with women as a child. I was all of my friends I was a little too hands-on with uh the signs were there. Um, and so my parents always joked that uh me and the my girl best friend at the time were destined to be together. So very cool with me being gay. Very much assumed it before I even knew what the words were. Um and then pre-K, obviously. I blew my cover, my see-through cover.

SPEAKER_03 8:28

So you you came out pre-K?

SPEAKER_00 8:30

I never came out.

SPEAKER_03 8:32

It's actually uh It's just sort of a fact of who you are.

SPEAKER_00 8:34

Yeah. So after I moved to Oregon, I was like, I'm gonna learn how to crochet. Um and I crocheted the worst uh little rainbow scarf for my kitten. So that's about how far it got, about eight inches. Um, and I sent a photo to my family group chat, and my aunt and uncle call me and they were like, Hey, so we have a question. And I was like, Yeah, what's up? And they were like, So are you we don't know how to say this? Um, are you gay? And I was like, Yeah, of course. Like, who doesn't know that? And they were like, Oh, well, we just like we saw the rainbow scarf and like we just wanted to check in. And also we saw something in your email signature, and I was like, Oh, did I like am I hacked? Like, what happened? And they were like, It says they them. And I was like, Oh yeah, I'm also non-binary.

SPEAKER_03 9:27

You're one of them they thems, aren't you?

SPEAKER_00 9:30

I am.

SPEAKER_03 9:31

That's awesome. Um that's very cool. That is. I I think we get a lot of people coming in and saying that they came out like later on in life. That to me is such a like idyllic situation to be in. It's just I mean, it's not, you know, uh not to undermine any of the your experiences, uh, but it just in in a in a in a world where we can just be ourselves, that's exactly what would happen. We would just grow up and be like, I'm not interested in this, or I am interested in this. And then people are just kind of like, okay, cool. And that's just what happens.

SPEAKER_00 10:01

Definitely. I mean, my family was so cool with me being gay. They're very confused about being trans. They're very much like, so you're a man? And I'm like, no. And they're like, but what else could you be? Um, so we haven't gone with the pronouns down right. Um, and then also like my family was cool. Every other family was very much not cool. Like, I started taking MMA classes because I was getting beat up so often at school.

SPEAKER_04 10:26

Oh no.

SPEAKER_00 10:27

And like the school had to um like tell me to stop right in the bus because I was their liability, so I had to walk to school, and so then I was just getting chased to school. Uh so I was in really great health in high school.

SPEAKER_03 10:41

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01 10:42

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 10:43

Yeah, that's Georgia for you.

SPEAKER_01 10:45

So not a loving family, not a positive community, though. Right.

SPEAKER_00 10:51

For sure. There are Oregon's been like such a game changer because I'm like, I've met so many people who are just themselves, and I feel like I can be myself and have like the freedom to explore that. So it's been I feel like I've found myself so much quicker in like the past five years than I did in the 19 years leading up to it.

SPEAKER_03 11:10

Yeah, definitely. And you so you moved here, uh, Lewis and Clark. What do you study?

SPEAKER_00 11:16

Environmental studies. I had an environmental engineering degree uh from Georgia, and so I did environmental studies at Lewis and Clark focused on uh bioremediation, so using nature to fix human-made issues. Um, and then I have promptly done nothing with either of those degrees.

SPEAKER_03 11:35

As we all do with our undergrads. Because you did what?

SPEAKER_00 11:42

Oh, so I uh my plan like when I moved here was I'm going to become an environmental lawyer, then I'm gonna become a judge. Um, and I had worked at a couple law firms as a paralegal and realized that I didn't really mesh with any of the other legal professionals I had met. Um, and then one of my colleagues was like, Well, what about being a lobbyist? And I was like, I don't want to be a bad guy, like supporting big oil and stuff. And they were like, You can lobby for anything. Uh so I applied for a lobbyist job, I got it. I was enrolled in law school, and within two months of the job, I de-enrolled from law school and was like, this is what I'll be doing the rest of my life.

SPEAKER_03 12:22

Yeah. Wait, okay, so so I remember meeting you and asking you the same question. So if I'm a person who is trying to figure out what a lobbyist is, what is a lobbyist?

SPEAKER_00 12:32

You know, I still struggle to describe it because each lobbyist is a little different. Um, but the most general way I can say it is they are someone who represents uh either if they're in-house or contract, I'm contract, so I represent a lot of different interests. Uh, but they represent the interests of their client and advocate for policies that will help them and their mission. Um, and then also is like a general PR person, so public relations, we do like newsletters, uh ghost write-in for clients. Uh so like anything political face in is something that we cover.

SPEAKER_01 13:11

Okay, cool. So are you part of a lobbying firm or are you completely independent?

SPEAKER_00 13:16

Yeah, I work at Focus Point Communications. Uh, so essentially if a client wants to work with us, they reach out, we draft up a contract based on what they want. Um so you can tear it out. You can be like top level where I'm practically one of your employees. Um, or you can be like surface level where like you call me when you need advice, um and I like help make connections for you.

SPEAKER_03 13:40

Yeah, yeah. So you you're in the Capitol building here in Oregon, Salem, Oregon specifically.

SPEAKER_00 13:46

Yeah, anytime session, so anytime the legislators are meeting in the building, I'm there too. Uh usually bugging them about something.

SPEAKER_03 13:54

Yeah. Can I so without putting you in a compromising situation, can we ask, like, what's it like?

SPEAKER_00 14:02

In which regard? Such a big question.

SPEAKER_03 14:05

I guess I guess we can do it multiple. The first one is what is it like as uh like an individual with your identity in the Capitol? And the second one is like what like if I was a person who was hired as a lobbyist for first time, what kind of things would you tell me, like, hey, you know, this is what you should do, don't do this. Like, you know.

SPEAKER_00 14:25

So I was so nervous entering the building. I knew that there weren't gonna be a lot of people like me. Um, and also that there's a decent amount of Republicans there, because of course there is. Um, and I was so afraid that like people were just gonna come up to me immediately and be like, You're trans, get out of here. Um, but it was actually like the worst you get is like snide remarks or like purposeful misgendering, but no one's ever said anything like super adversarial to me or to the point where I felt like I had to like go get security. There are uh like capital cops that uh do a pretty good job of making sure that anyone who's trying to stir up uh drama is removed from the building. Um as far as like you know, I would send an email to offices and I'd be like, should I include my pronouns or will they just refuse to meet with me if I do? Um and I feel like that's a personal choice that each lobbyist has to make. There's I think five transgender lobbyists right now. Oh wow. And I'm the only contract one. All of the other ones are in-house for like progressive organizations, mostly LGBTQ organizations. Um so yeah, there's a lot of like considerations you have to make and like what do you want to sacrifice to be able to get the job done? Or do you want to make no sacrifices and make your job harder but like embrace yourself?

SPEAKER_04 15:55

Right.

SPEAKER_00 15:56

And so I've kind of found a middle ground of if I email a Republican office, I don't put my pronouns in my email because I'm just like they're not gonna get them right anyways. Um and it doesn't need to be a fight because I'm not going there to talk about myself, I'm going there to talk about my clients' needs. Um, but I also present super masculine and unapologetically have a very short uh oh gosh, what's it called? Uh my haircut, like a faux hawk.

SPEAKER_04 16:25

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:25

Um, so I'm very obviously queer and trans and I don't really ever take shit for it.

SPEAKER_01 16:33

Awesome. So you had to invest in some very nice suits when you got this job.

SPEAKER_00 16:39

No, you know, Oregon fancy is like so bottom tier level of fancy. Like if I see someone in a suit jacket, I'm like, oh, you're visiting, probably from an agency. Um, most people just wear like dress slacks, button-ups, and like a tie. I wear bolos. I'm trying to bring bolos back.

SPEAKER_01 16:58

Um my spouse is doing bolos. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:01

It's a good look. I also feel like it's a very queer look. Like most people who come up to me and like are like, oh my gosh, where'd you get that? Also very visibly queer. Yeah. Or occasionally a Republican man.

SPEAKER_03 17:14

Yeah. Uh we have a mutual friend, Dahlia, and um, Dahlia, if you're listening, um Dahlia gave me the tour of the uh I think it was the representative side wing of the Democrats, and uh it was like queer person after queer person after queer person after queer person. Mo I think most of them or a lot of them being interns. Uh some of them that you know were like kind of flying under the radar, but I'm like, I I see I see you. Um and it's just been a really cool experience. But I I never been into the Capitol, and then I when I walked in there, I was like, Whoa, this is a complete different environment, and this is not as scary as I thought it was gonna be.

SPEAKER_00 17:52

Yeah, a lot of the times you'll see like a gaggle of children, people doing like field trips there. I always try to remind people it's the people's building, it's meant for you guys, the general public, to come be there. Um, the people being paid to be there have to be, but it's not for us, it's for you. Um, and yeah, you'll see all types of people at the Capitol, uh, because anyone can come in. Uh my favorite is dairy day. The uh the cattle farmers come in and they bring cheese and ice cream and they just walk around passing it out.

SPEAKER_03 18:25

Awesome. That sounds awesome. I know one of the things that I always look forward to when it comes to uh like work stuff is like small little culture things that like cheat like dairy day or like casual Fridays or something. It's always a really fun thing to do.

SPEAKER_00 18:41

Yeah, we also do Hawaiian shirts on Signy Die. So Signy Die is when session ends. Uh so we all wear Hawaiian shirts or other funny attire, and then we uh when session ends, the two chambers they open up and they can look at each other, and then you flood into a big round room together. And so it's kind of like a you know, when you graduate and like throw your hats, instead of doing that, you just charge at each other. Um, and this was the first year they've been able to do it because of construction. So it's my first time experiencing it. I was like, oh wow, this is a culture.

SPEAKER_04 19:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 19:14

Yeah, I know like that that was what you you asked me. I was like, that's that that's so different. I think one of the things like you know, if you're listening to this podcast, you're probably not really involved in politics. And so it's like you you're talking about sessions, and as a as a lay folk, like we I can I can understand that that like Congress doesn't work all the time. Um, what does that look like?

SPEAKER_00 19:36

So Oregon actually has a somewhat annoying system, in my opinion. So on even numbered years like 2026, we have what's called a short session, which means that the legislators all meet together for 35 days. And in those 35 days, they have to pass whatever laws they want to pass, they have to balance the state budget. Um, and then they also have to just actually show up and not start arguments and walkouts and meet with lobbyists and members like uh members of the public. And then during odd numbered years, we have long session, which is six months, which is much easier to do policy in. Um, because as a lobbyist or as someone who's working on policy, you usually start it about a year in advance. And you find the legislator you want to champion, you find the groups who are gonna organize it, and you finalize the language that you're gonna have, and then you pass it off to the Capitol's lawyers to draft up, and then you edit that and you send it back, and then you edit that and you send it back. Um, and it's a vicious cycle. So all of that happens leading up to session. And then once we get to session, there's hundreds of bills introduced. Like in this 35-day session, we had over 300 bills introduced.

SPEAKER_04 20:54

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 20:55

Some of those will never see the light of day. Um, like we there's always a couple of Republican senators and representatives that introduce anti-trans uh legislation, like banning uh trans kids from being in sports and such, and those never see the light of day. Uh we have a uh Democratic majority right now, and so they are the ones who control what bills actually progress. Um, and so we don't get to see all of the terrible bills, but I still read them to just make sure that they don't move. And if there's something I need to do about them, I can do it. Um, so yeah, long session, six months long, a much more reasonable amount of time. And then in the interim, which is when the legislators aren't meeting in the building, we have these things called legislative days, where every other month the legislators come back for about three days. And this is to hear reports from agencies or to hear from the public on what's called an informational meeting. Um, so that's your if you have a complex policy, you can uh start like airing it out during the Legislative days.

SPEAKER_03 22:02

So most of the time when there's like an election, is it does it kind of alternate between like short or long sessions? Because I I've noticed that sometimes you'll elect a representative or a senator and they don't seem to do anything. And that's probably because of that.

SPEAKER_00 22:16

Yeah. So um the way that elections go is our primaries are in May and our uh general election is in November. The Republicans, or not the Republicans, the senators are on four-year terms. So every four years, half of the senators are up for re-election. The rep the representatives are on two-year cycles. Oh. And every two years, every single representative is up for re-election. So that's 60 representatives up every two years, and then 15 senators up every four years, but they alternate, so it also becomes like an every two years.

SPEAKER_04 22:54

Oh.

SPEAKER_00 22:54

Yeah. So this is an election year. And so what you saw this session was a lot of things not get done because they wouldn't look good on a re-election cycle. So for example, that tran or the transportation tax that everyone's been talking about that got referred to the voters. The Democrats had opportunities to try to fix that, but it wouldn't have looked good for them. It would have been bad publicity and they don't want their names attached to bad things on an election year. So that's also why in 2024 Measure 110 was repealed, was because Democrats thought that they would lose their re-election if they voted to support Measure 110.

SPEAKER_03 23:38

Yeah, there was a there was a the last time that I was there with Dahlia, it was the day that the Republicans walked out. And I remember just seeing people running across the hall and I was like, what's happening? It's like the Republicans walked out. And it was like, what does that mean? Uh and now we put in perspective, it's a limited amount of time that you have to make those decisions. If you walk out, you can't make decisions for the rest of the time that's there.

SPEAKER_01 24:00

But it was a weird walkout. They only stayed out for that one day, right?

SPEAKER_00 24:06

Yeah. So we have had a bad history of Republican walkouts in Oregon. So back in, I think it was 2023, but fact check me, please. Uh, we passed uh measure 113, which says that if you walked out for more than 10 days, you could not run for re-election in that seat. And so that was to try to limit Republicans just walking out for a month. Uh, we had a 26-day walkout. Um, and so they were like, we can't do that anymore, guys. So the people of Oregon voted to put this limit on. So if the uh the Republicans could have walked out for about 26% of session, which would have meant that hundreds of bills would have died, budgets wouldn't have been balanced. Um it's essentially a way to completely halt the process, and it's especially effective in a short session. Um, this year they walked out over a gun bill that would have uh made it harder to receive a I I didn't follow this one. It was a gun within a certain amount of time. Um and then there was also move in the transportation tax, and then I know there's more. Um yeah, disconnecting from the federal tax structure. Oh um, basically Trump's uh big beautiful bill, if that's what you want to call it, uh, would have cut about$600 million from state funding that we were expected to get. And so the Democrats were able to push through a bill that will disconnect us from some of those, some of the tax cuts that were gonna go to billionaires and major businesses. And so the state was able to retain 311,000 million this year and then 300 million next year, which is really important because we're in a budget deficit, which means that agencies are gonna start seeing budget cuts, which means that the services that Oregonians need are going to be cut back as well.

SPEAKER_03 26:08

That's amazing. We have done a weird veer in a different direction with this conversation just because I mean I I think that a lot of us in our community don't know. We don't know how to get involved. It's over it's overwhelming. Like for me, I walked into the Capitol and I thought it was inaccessible and you walk in there and there's people walking around with t-shirts. But, you know, a lot of us as queer individuals are shy to go out in public and even more so to go into like a government building. Um, and so you know, it's it's cool to hear one that there's an individual, multiple individuals, multiple lobbyists, also doing the same thing with their own identities. And so I I kind of like asked a little bit more of these details because if we don't ask you, probably a lot of people will never get that information, at least not right away.

SPEAKER_01 26:52

Um I had a brief job in a policy depart department, and that's where I learned all this stuff. But um, yeah, it's not obvious how it works.

SPEAKER_00 27:08

Not at all. And my best piece of advice for anyone who wants to visit the Capitol is if you're afraid, just avoid the third floors. Essentially, every Republican's office is on the third floor. So if you go to the second, fourth, or first, you will be with all Democrats, and a lot of them do have queer staff, like you said. I run a queer caucus, which just means we go out and get drinks after work. Uh but there's like 60 people on the invite. Like the building's very queer.

SPEAKER_01 27:35

Yeah. Cool. Very cool. Yeah, that's amazing. I think the uh I mean, I think that's part of the second question we want to we always ask. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:48

Right? Yeah, we can easily transition into that next question. It's uh what resources would you like to share with our community?

SPEAKER_00 27:56

Yeah, so I have a few that I also uh have shared links with to put in the description of this afterwards. Um, but some of the resources I wanted to share is a link on how to testify. So anyone is allowed to testify, and this is in city council, county commission, uh, the legislature. I highly recommend everyone check those agendas. It's really easy. You just Google meetings today, Oregon Legislature, meet ins, Salem City Council, and you can see what they're going to be discussing. And they will always have a time for public comment, and that's when any person can get involved. And I think that's really important to follow what's going on in your local government so that that way you are able to respond to it and ensure that your community stays what you want it to be. A lot of the times we see only the angriest people showing up or only the people pushing for a policy. And that might be a policy that disenfranchises most of your neighbors, but you're not the ones showing up. Um, so I I think that it's, you know, you're talking to big fancy people is the perception. I want to remind everyone that elected officials are just normal people with a big enough ego to run for office. Um, so like these are these are your neighbors. These are not any big fancy people. Um and you can also go and share public comment on anything. If you've identified an issue in your community, if you want to highlight something great in your community, you can go to these places and you can share those. Um and you don't have to be fancy, you don't have to be formal. It is it's meant for you.

SPEAKER_04 29:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:44

So I I see that you're gonna point to another one, but I I have a question for you right here. Um I think uh I'm gonna ask a question that a lot of people might be thinking is you know, you you say test like testify or testimony, um, talking to the the and I've seen you've seen a lot of videos on on of people making really good quick points. Um but the question is, does it matter?

SPEAKER_00 30:06

It does matter. I have seen people's opinions be changed by public comments, especially when you're sharing from a place of like your own experience, it's hard to refute that. It's hard to stand up and say, I have experienced this thing, and someone say, No, you haven't. Um, and also the people in these meetings aren't going to become extremely adversarial with you. And if they do, there's usually a chair who will rein them in. Um, but I do think it makes a difference. I think that especially if you are a constituent of one of these people, which means you live within their district, that it is even more impactful in like the messed up political way because you're their voter and they want your vote and they want to do what will keep them in that seat because it is about ego sometimes.

SPEAKER_03 30:55

Yeah. I can only imagine, you know, like uh they say that what is it, one in every hundred person leaves a review on like on something. So it's like if somebody show takes the time to show up to test like to testify, they were really passionate about it, which means they're like like the they're top of the crop right there of people who are willing to actually show up and make this statement. I've never I've actually never done testified testimony.

SPEAKER_01 31:19

I've I've never done that. I mean I've called senators once or twice, but never done like just show up. But like um I remember in that job where I had for just two months or two, three months, is like you go over, like I was looking through some legislative, and there's some people that show up every single time. No matter what the issue was, sometimes there's some personalities who just do this all the time.

SPEAKER_03 31:53

Are they paid for that or are they just kind of hanging out? Usually not.

SPEAKER_00 31:58

So there's like five people that I could easily identify who are gonna have an opinion on any policy that is introduced for any reason. I will say that they generally Yeah, Mr. Oregon was the first one I thought of.

SPEAKER_04 32:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:12

Um, they generally lean more conservative. Um, and sometimes their testimony is just bad bill. I don't like it. Like it's a single sentence. Because what you can also do is submit written testimony, which is what most of those people do, um, where you just you give your name, you don't have to, you can stay anonymous. Um, but you generally give your name the city you live in, and then you can submit whatever write-in you want to submit about that policy topic. And that's on all levels. You can do that to the legislature, the county, city. Um, it's another way to get involved without having to put your body in front of anyone.

SPEAKER_03 32:52

Yeah, I don't I don't I've never that that's a really cool point, and I think that people who are listening consider that as an opportunity because it is a way for you to get more engaged.

SPEAKER_00 33:01

Definitely. And if they're gonna be making laws and policies about you, you should be involved. Um my first session ever was when House Bill 2002 came up, which is uh what required insurance to cover gender affirming care and reproductive health care.

SPEAKER_04 33:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:17

Um, so being a queer trans baby in the building, I was like, oh my gosh, this is so cool. Um, and also so scary. And so many awful things were said, but it was outweighed by all of like the beautiful queer joy that was also said. Um, and so it's not always a comfortable place to be, and it's not always where I want to be, but at least I'm able to see the impact of it and weigh that against the bad situations that arise.

SPEAKER_03 33:46

Yeah. Awesome. You were gonna share more resources. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:50

Yeah. So I'm also going to include uh links to uh the City of Salem Human Rights Commission, which have you guys talked about that on the podcast?

SPEAKER_03 33:58

No, never, but we do know of it.

SPEAKER_00 34:00

Perfect. Um, so basically it's a group of people who volunteer to help make Salem more inclusive. I was a member uh for one term and it was really great. They go to a lot of the queer events and put up tables, but they're also a place where you can, there's an email and you can report any instances of hate or discrimination that you've experienced or witnessed. And they have a really amazing staff person who will actively work with you to try to resolve these issues. So, say you had an issue of racism with your landlord, the city of Salem has a staff person who will work with you and your landlord to resolve that issue.

SPEAKER_04 34:39

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 34:40

Um, and so if you're afraid of the police, which understandable, um, this is another resource that you can use. And then they also get reports from the police on any instances of biased crimes that happen so that that way it's being tracked at the city level as well. So really great resource. They love having people come in person, join online. Um, it's a very open space, it's a very accepted space. I'd say it's the easiest way to get involved in local politics on like a very safe level.

SPEAKER_03 35:13

Is that does anything that ever come of the HRC come in?

SPEAKER_00 35:18

Um so the HRC, for example, uh one of their most influential things was they got housing status to be a protected class within the city.

SPEAKER_04 35:28

Oh.

SPEAKER_00 35:28

Um, so that means for our unhoused individuals, um, it they become a protective class. Um, they also uh they're doing a series right now on immigration rights and making sure that you know your rights. And uh they're also having lawyers there to give legal advice on dealing with ICE agents and other issues that might arise from that. So they host lots of events. They always do transday of remembrance as well, um, usually at the public library because we need to save our library. Um so yeah, they do actionable items and the staff especially really want to work with the public. And they're it's a group that's fed by public input. And so if no one comes to them with issues, they don't know exactly what to work on. So highly recommend it.

SPEAKER_03 36:20

That's a good point. Thinking about that one. Um okay, uh, you look like you have more resources to share. Um how many do you have on the this is my last one.

SPEAKER_00 36:28

So it's just a link to find your legislator. Okay so most people don't know who represents them and also don't realize that you can email them, you can call them. I got laid off in July and I uh I was having issues with my unemployment benefits. And so I reached out to my senator and I was like, hey, can you help me? The department won't give me any answers. And she called the department for me. And the next week I have my benefits. Nice.

SPEAKER_04 36:55

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 36:56

Yeah. So like never hesitate to reach out to your representatives. That is literally what they are there for.

unknown 37:03

Huh.

SPEAKER_01 37:04

I think I I I've known I have a Republican representative. I don't know who my senator is, though.

SPEAKER_00 37:12

Is it probably Thatcher if you is Mannix your representative?

SPEAKER_01 37:18

Yeah, Mannix is.

SPEAKER_00 37:19

So you most likely have Thatcher just like I do. She is one of the people who walked out for more than 10 days, so she cannot run for re-election. And she actually has a really interesting race with former representative uh Tracy Kramer, who's a Republican in Kaiser, um, and Virginia Stapleton, who is a like Salem city council member, former member, um, and a very involved uh person in the public who's a Democrat, and then one other candidate. So we have a chance of turning that seat blue, and I'm gonna be voting for a blue seat.

SPEAKER_03 37:53

Yeah, definitely. That's amazing. I never I've never been so involved in politics and having this conversation is amazing. Um I I want to keep the conversation going, even though these are amazing resources. And I do love the idea of like being able to reach like to the HRC or talking to your legislator and getting your like uh unemployment benefits like approved because you know they're here to help us. And so especially as queer individuals, sometimes I think we are we're so repelled by what's happening, and we forget that there are so many people interested in maybe helping out helping us out in some way or another. It makes me want to think about what how we can get the LGBT youth center connected that way. Right, right, right. Speaking of things, um I the next question we'd like to ask is what resource do you think our community needs?

SPEAKER_00 38:44

Yeah, so I definitely think our community needs a queer center uh for youths and adults. I obviously adults have Southside Speakeasy, which is a bar and it's wonderful. Um, but we also have a lot of sober members in our community, and I feel like it's harder for uh queer, sober people to find a place to go, especially in the winter when it's all rainy, because obviously we all want to go to the parks, but that's not always an option.

SPEAKER_04 39:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:11

Um, and then I also feel like the city is lacking in culturally and linguistically responsive substance use disorder providers and mental health providers. Um I mean, the entire state is, but obviously I want to see it in my community.

SPEAKER_01 39:28

Is there a state that uh does that well?

SPEAKER_00 39:33

Virginia isn't awful. We uh Oregon had been seen as the like go-to spot when they passed Measure 110, which decriminalized the use of uh drugs, small personal use drugs. If you had enough to sell, it was still illegal. Um and that was a really revolutionary policy that was mimicked in Portugal. Um, Portugal's had that law in the books for many, many years and has almost eradicated substance use disorder in their communities. Um, but what Oregon failed to do was invest with treatment before the decriminalization.

SPEAKER_01 40:12

Yeah. Yeah. And so it was kind of a a mess, and the Republicans kind of jumped all over the problems and growing pains.

SPEAKER_00 40:20

Yeah, that was exactly what happened. Is uh when you look at the data now, so the latest data that came out before the repeal, it shows that the program was working.

SPEAKER_04 40:29

Right.

SPEAKER_00 40:29

Um, unfortunately, the legislatures in 2024, there was a threat of a ballot measure, and ballot measure threats are used so often to force legislators to take action. And that can be good, but usually it's not good because usually it's Republicans pushing a ballot measure to force Democrats' hands. And so what happened is the program looked like it wasn't working because there wasn't enough treatment options for the people who needed it. And they also couldn't go to jail, and so they were using on the streets and they were using where they could. And publicly, that is a bad image. Um, unfortunately, we are not always leading with compassion when we see those situations. And so the Democrats felt like they had to do something, or a ballot measure would have passed because the public perception was that Measure 110 was not working, and the ballot measure would have done way worse things. It would have increased the crime of possession and uh completely deinvested in treatment. So, right now, the only part of Measure 110 that's still alive is cannabis tax revenue is still funded in treatment. Unfortunately, cannabis tax revenues also declining. Um, Oregon grows a lot of weed and then makes it really cheap. And the cheaper weed gets, the less cannabis tax revenue we have. So great if you're a stoner, terrible if you're trying to invest in treatment.

SPEAKER_03 41:59

No kidding. I want to go like, oh never mind, am I gonna say anything? But yes, it does happen. Do not criminalize yourself on this point. I am not criminalizing myself, and I also want to be a good role model for our families.

SPEAKER_00 42:12

Yes. So I think that the state really needs to figure out what they're gonna do about mental health, um, especially with the current administration we have on the federal level. A lot of people's mental health has declined recently for obvious reasons. And the wait list to find a therapist, the poor reimbursement rates that makes therapists drop out of the profession. Um I mean, even our teachers are constantly saying that the biggest issue in education right now is the behavioral health of their children. Um, and it's something that we're largely trying to brush under the rug and prioritize investments in law enforcement over mental health. Um, so that's a change that I would like to see in resources I'd like to see delegated.

SPEAKER_03 42:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 42:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 42:58

How funny. I went to be a I have a license in teaching, and now I'm moving to be a mental health provider. And those are both horrible, like paying jobs.

SPEAKER_02 43:08

It's like, okay, fine. There's like, I just want to help somebody. I just can't help it.

SPEAKER_00 43:15

I mean, we need people like that. And in a perfect society, you would be paid top tier because you are impacting the future generations and our society as a whole. Our biggest issue as a society is truly mental health. Um, and if we had a healthy society where people had their needs met, we wouldn't have any of these issues.

SPEAKER_03 43:37

Unfortunately, we took the left turn into the wrong dimension.

SPEAKER_01 43:41

I mean, you could have just like uh made sweet treats like I do do and uh increase the uh queer community's diabetic index. I mean, it's helped me a lot.

SPEAKER_00 43:54

Those Ube mochis, I ate all three of them in one night. I didn't even leave the building before I had finished the first one.

SPEAKER_01 44:03

It's good for the soul. I'm healing through mochi. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:07

But also like seeing a queer professional is helping. You know, a lot of kids don't see that. And I mean, especially like when I grew up in Georgia, I didn't see anyone that was openly queer in any professional setting. So being a queer business owner is badass.

SPEAKER_03 44:24

I think this whole conversation I will point out uh in in highlighting this question as well began because I mentioned to you that we're working towards getting an LGBTQ center, and it's it's been a process. It's it's not easy, it takes a while, and as much as we want one now, like it's still gonna take some time. But you're saying it right now. Like, what would it look like for us to have an LGBTQ center? And like these are all these are all needs that we have. Our youth are struggling. And one of the biggest problems that we have in Salem is we Salem is queer AF. Like this is a really, really queer city, and yet we're all in our little silos, our own little bubbles of queers. Uh, and there's no way for us to communicate with each other. Um, so having a building would make it so that, like, hey, this is the landmark, this is where we meet, this is this is the rendezvous point.

SPEAKER_00 45:14

Yeah, designated safe space.

SPEAKER_03 45:16

Exactly. Exactly. Oh, there's a boson. Moss, your time here is up.

SPEAKER_01 45:23

Thank you so much, Moss. It was good to talk to you. Please tell us where in the sea we can find you.

SPEAKER_00 45:30

Yeah, so I'm going to include a link that has my contact information as well, but you can also find me at mossy.lad on Instagram, mossy.lad. Um, or you can email me at elana at focus.com dot com. Uh, and that will be in the bio because it's quite long to uh spell out.

SPEAKER_03 45:53

Yeah. Well, great. Um, please subscribe and leave a review if you like our podcasts, or you can support us on Patreon at Crafty Coyotes with no space in between words.

SPEAKER_01 46:02

Alright. On your way out, could you remind the captain we exist? We've been down here for a while now.

SPEAKER_00 46:08

Yeah, I'll make sure you get an extra servant of my mushroom special.

SPEAKER_03 46:12

Oh god. Uh oh. And remember, Salem, when this even when the seas are choppy, hoist your colours!