Reflections on Election 2014
Posted on November 7, 2014 by Jeff Bissonnette
Tags, CUB Anniversary: 30 Years and Counting, Legislative & Political
Well, that was interesting. Election 2014 has officially come and gone.
I’m going to admit something that won’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s known me for any length of time: I love Election Day.
For me, Election Day is Christmas, the Super Bowl, the seventh game of the World Series and Graduation Day all wrapped up into one. I love watching the campaigns leading up to the election and I love watching the returns from across the country and closer to home. No matter the particular winners and losers on any given Election Day, elections do matter and they have all kinds of implications for issues big and small.
The 2014 election will be no exception. Republicans now completely control Congress, while Democrats have increased their numbers in both the Oregon House and Senate. Some initiative measures passed, while others failed. All of that will impact the outcome of any number of national and state legislative initiatives next year.
CUB is a non-partisan organization and is always prepared to work with legislators and their leadership, no matter what their party. From CUB’s viewpoint, there are some constants in the aftermath of this election. Climate change is still a major phenomenon and we need to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that lead to climate change. Utility investments need to be scrutinized and shaped to ensure value for ratepayers. Consumer protections need to be strong and vigorous.
Keep utilities accountable, protect consumers, ensure ratepayer money is well-spent – that has been CUB’s principled agenda for 30 years. 2014 marks the sixteenth general election since the 1984 election that created CUB. In all of those elections, important candidate campaigns were waged, important issues debated. But rather than be guided by the issues at stake in any one election, CUB focuses on the founding principles provided by Oregon voters on that Election Day in 1984.
Thirty years, and sixteen elections down the road, CUB remains a strong ratepayer organization because of the very ratepayers who created us and continue to support us – financially, by responding to action alerts, by telling us when we do a good job, and when we miss the mark. In the coming years – and coming elections – CUB will continue to evaluate all issues from our ratepayer-centered perspective. Our hope is that this approach will continue to serve us and ratepayers well.
Only 732 days until Election Day 2016!
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04/24/17 | 0 Comments | Reflections on Election 2014