In 2015 EMSWCD staff began working on awareness building, training and program development around diversity, equity and inclusion. Our communities and workplaces are strengthened by diversity, and more inclusive conservation efforts are necessary to ensure lasting and equitable outcomes. We acknowledge the historical and ongoing disparities in income, education and health in our communities. We also understand that these disparities can impact who has access to healthy land and water. For these reasons, our staff and board are committed to making meaningful changes in the work we do so that all communities can benefit from our programs.

We have recently developed a draft Equity Statement and are seeking input. We hope you will visit our new Equity page, read the draft Equity statement, and let us know if you have any comments, concerns or questions.

Join us for a screening of the documentary Farmers for America.

• When: Wednesday, November 28th. 6:30 – 8:30 pm.
• Where:
  Columbia Grange #267
  37493 NE Grange Hall Rd.
  Corbett, OR 97019

FREE! Snacks provided.

Let your friends know you can make it on Facebook.

Learn more
about the film

For questions or special accommodations, please contact Chelsea at (503) 935-5376 or by email at chelsea@emswcd.org.

We’ve received a number of questions about the elections this year and wish to provide some helpful information.

• Oregon Revised Statutes determine soil and water conservation district board director eligibility criteria and election process. ORS 568.560 (3) details zone director qualifications. ORS 568.530 (2) – (4) details the write-in procedures.
• The Oregon Department of Agriculture processes candidate paperwork, determines eligibility, and forwards to the county elections office.
• The Multnomah County Elections Division counts votes for qualified candidates who filed the necessary paperwork by the identified deadlines.
• The East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District (EMSWCD), as a government agency, does not participate in the election process and does not lobby for any specific candidate or issue.

EMSWCD has three Board Director positions on the ballot. As identified below, there are two incumbents running for the Zone 3 and At-large 2 positions. . In addition, the Oregon Department of Agriculture has informed us that, as of November 7^th, 2018, two write-in candidates had been determined eligible and one candidate’s eligibility was under review for the Zone 1 position.

Zone 1 write-in candidates:

• Gabrielle Rossi
• Paula Gagnon
• Rachelle Dixon (under review)

Zone 3 candidate:

• Michael Guebert

At-large 2 candidate:

• Allison Hensey

If you would like more information about Board Director positions, qualifications, and elections, please see our Board page or the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s website.
 

This post was first published on October 26^th and edited on November 1^st, 2018 for clarification and to include updates on write-in candidates. The post was again edited on November 5^th and November 7^th, 2018 to include further updates from the Oregon Department of Agriculture on write-in candidates.