Upcoming Programs – Springfield City Club

October 3: Measure 118

One of the ballot initiatives which will appear on the November 5 ballot is a proposal which would impose a 3 percent tax on companies with over $25 million in Oregon sales and redistribute the money collected to all persons resident in the state for more than 200 days in a year. The measure has generated significant interest and controversy. On October 3 City Club has invited Antoni Gisbert, the Chief Petitioner for the proposal, and Preston Mann, director of political affairs for Oregon Business & Industry, which is leading an opposition effort to discuss the measure.

Antonio Gisbert is the Chief Petitioner of the Oregon Rebate (IP 2024-017), now Measure 118. In 2018-2019, Antonio organized a diverse group of community members to codify into a statewide ballot initiative a partial response to the widely held beliefs that (1) giant corporations are not paying their fair share in taxes and that (2) we are all finding it ever harder to make ends meet. After several years of movement building and signature gathering, this people-powered effort submitted over 170,000 signatures to qualify for the November election. Prior to working on the Oregon Rebate/Measure 118, Antonio was a Cognitive Neuroscientist and Union Organizer.

Preston Mann is the director of political affairs for Oregon Business & Industry, the state’s largest general business association. At OBI, Preston is responsible for guiding the organization’s political strategy and external affairs. Mann has many years of experience with policy advocacy, communications, public relations, and political strategy. Prior to joining OBI, Preston served as the vice president of a manufacturing trade association and worked as a senior advisor to statewide political candidates and causes, as well as dozens of legislative elections.

September 5: Crisis in Child Care

Child care is a critical component of the basic infrastructure supporting our economy. The economic toll of the US child care crisis costs employers up to $3 billion a year and has amounted to $122 billion in lost earnings for working parents. For many parents – working mothers especially – lack of affordable, quality child care has forced many out of education and the workforce, fueled gender gaps, and kept workers in low-paying jobs. It will take all of us to tackle such an urgent need. In this program, we’ll share local data and highlight efforts in our community to increase access to quality, affordable child care.

Holly Mar-Conte serves as the Lane County Child Care Sector Strategist, housed at Onward Eugene, the economic development arm to the Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce. In this role, she supports child care providers, community based organizations, K-12 and higher education, government and elected officials, employers, parents and families to identify solutions to improve access to quality, affordable child care. She has over fifteen years of experience working in local and statewide early learning systems and holds a Masters in Planning, Public Policy and Management with an emphasis in Nonprofit Management from the University of Oregon.