What do Tuesday’s election results mean for criminal justice reform in Oregon?

Like many of you, we at Partnership for Safety and Justice 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 PSJ’s 25-year 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.

Throughout the election season, we also closely watched state and local races in Oregon that could impact community safety reforms. The legislative policies we advance can only become law when they’re supported by elected officials who advocate for crime victims’ healing, second chances, and treatment over shackles and prison cells.

Fortunately, criminal justice reform advocates will have a meaningful presence in Salem in the 2025 session, including legislators who voted against recriminalizing Oregonians suffering from addiction. The same is true at the local level: Oregonians elected many reform-minded city and county commissioners who agree that people who suffer from addiction or homelessness need services, not criminal records.

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 at our 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