Like many of you, we at Safety and Justice Oregon are experiencing a wide range of feelings following this week’s election. This is a challenging and emotional time for people who are engaged in social justice movements, and we wanted to reach out with some thoughts on what we believe Tuesday’s election results mean for Oregon’s criminal justice reform work.
After Donald Trump’s last term, we’re aware of the potential threats to the criminal justice reform movement, both in his calls for harsher punishments and in racially divisive threats that hurt us and our communities.
Over the course of our history, we’ve never wavered from our commitment to building true community safety that ensures accountability, racial justice, and restoration, regardless of who’s elected to serve at the federal, state, county, or city level.
No matter what, we have always been clear on one thing: Safety, accountability, and healing are built from within our communities.
Our work is guided by the values and experiences of people who are impacted by harm, violence, and the criminal justice system — and we’re eager to continue our work together with you.
This election season, Safety and Justice Oregon endorsed several candidates, but we strongly supported one candidate in particular: Virginia Stapleton for House District 21 in Salem and Keizer. Unfortunately Virginia’s campaign fell short, and Kevin Mannix will continue to serve in that seat.
As many of you know, Kevin Mannix is one of the most vocal advocates for prison expansion and excessive sentences. He devised Measure 11: Oregon’s 1990s-era, one-strike, mandatory minimum sentencing law that has devastated families across the state, especially families of color.
Since returning to Salem in 2023, he’s doubled down on his punishment-only policies. He has opposed bipartisan reforms and defended mass incarceration, claiming that extreme responses to crime somehow benefit people and communities of color.
The good news is that criminal justice reform advocates will have a meaningful presence in Salem in the 2025 legislative session. And at the local level, there are reform-minded city and county commissioners who agree that people who suffer from addiction or homelessness need services, not criminal records.
In fact, of the 10 candidates endorsed by Safety and Justice Oregon, we’re excited to share that 9 won their campaigns!
Most importantly, we’re grateful to be in partnership with you. The work we do is impactful, and it can only happen with your support — through your advocacy, your time, and your generous donations.
That’s why we’re especially grateful that our incredible community will be coming together in person next month. We hope to see you on at Partnership for Safety and Justice’s 25th anniversary gathering in Portland. There, we will celebrate our movement, the great work we’ve accomplished together, and the impact that’s yet to come. We hope to see you there.
Andy,
Executive Director
Safety and Justice Oregon is transforming the public safety and criminal justice systems through civic engagement. Our movement builds power through education, policy advocacy, and developing leaders who seek responses to violence rooted in accountability, racial equity, and healing.
503-335-8449
info@sjoregon.org
media@sjoregon.org