COINversations with Progressive Leaders

Past COINversations

Tuesday October 7, 2025

Guest speakers Sandy Chung & Cyrus Javadi joined us for the COINversation!

Sandy Chung has been the executive director at ACLU of Oregon since 2021. She updated us on the latest developments around Trump's unconstitutional attempts to deploy the National Guard in Portland.

Cyrus Javadi serves as a member of the Oregon House of Representatives for the 32nd district. He spoke with us about why he recently changed his affiliation from Republican to Democrat.

Tuesday October 15, 2024

A COINversation with Democratic candidate for
Secretary of State, Tobias Read, followed by a panel discussion with COIN Legislative Team members about the five ballot measures on our November ballots. Need help deciding on those ballot measures so you can turn in your ballot? That portion of the program begins at the 24 minute mark.

Tuesday April 30 Part 1

A COINversation with Dan Ruby, Democratic candidate for Oregon's 2nd Congressional District

Tuesday April 30 Part 2

A COINversation with Democratic candidates for
Secretary of State, James Manning and Tobias Read

Tuesday April 16
A COINversation with Oregon's
Democratic Candidates for Treasurer

COIN hosted Oregon State Senator Elizabeth Steiner and Jeff Gudman, Democratic candidates for Oregon Treasurer in what turned out to be a rather spirited COINversation. Our moderator, Laura Allen, asked them both some tough questions. Hear their responses and do some research into both before you vote in the May Primary Election!

Tuesday April 7, 2024
A COINversation with
OR-3 Democratic Candidates

With Earl Blumenauer's retirement, his safe Democratic seat is up for grabs in the May primary, and there are three great candidates! If you live in District 3, and you haven't yet decided, we encourage you to watch the recording of our recent COINversation with all three. We think you'll agree, it's a very capable field. You can also learn more about each at their websites:

Tuesday March 19, 2024
Middle East Conflict with
Andrew O'Neill

COIN hosted Andrew O'Neill, Indivisible's Legislative Director, to talk with us about our government's current response to the crisis in the Middle East, what Indivisible has done so far, and what Indivisible plans to do going forward. This is a very difficult and controversial topic. But we also know that we MUST re-elect President Biden, and this is one of COIN's top priorities for 2024. The alternative is just too terrifying.

Tuesday February 20, 2024
A COINversation with
Rep. Andrea Salinas

Taking back the House is a top priority for COIN in 2024, and that means not only winning back CD-5 but also holding our other Democratic seats in Congress. CD-6 looks to be close again in 2024, so please support our incumbent Democratic representative. She's doing a great job for all Oregonians, even amidst the chaos created by the GOP majority. Visit her website to volunteer and donate!

andreasalinasfororegon.com

Wednesday January 24, 2024
OR-3 Candidates

COIN and the DRAT team joined forces to host this COINversation with the three Dem candidates in the all-important OR-5 race. Unfortunately, we didn't record it. Since then, Lynn Peterson has dropped out. But Indivisible Clackamas and Clackamas County Democrats did hold a candidate forum with the two remaining candidates, Janelle Bynum and Jamie McLeod-Skinner on Wednesday April 17, and they shared their recording with us. If you're still undecided about this race, we encourage you to view the recording and read up on the candidates!

November 7, 2023
A COINversation with
Jessica Craven

Jessica is the author of the Chop Wood, Carry Water newsletter (on Substack) and describes herself as an organizer, activist, climate hawk and mom, based in California. Her newsletters are hopeful, filled with examples of successes and simple things we can all do to make a big difference. Check out two recent examples: Monday October 23 and Wednesday October 25.

September 26, 2023
A COINversation with
Robert Hubbell

Mr Hubbell is the author of Today’s Edition Newsletter, which he started in February 2017 to provide hope and perspective to his family after Donald Trump was elected to the presidency. Over time, his family email was shared with friends who shared it with their friends, and today it is a daily reading for more than 50,000 subscribers, all part of a community of like-minded citizens devoted to preserving American democracy.

September 12, 2023
A Quorum COINversation

COIN members and guests were joined by a panel of experts to discuss the need for and the complexity of changing Oregon's antiquated 2/3 Quorum Rule that has led to 7 GOP walkouts in the last 5 years. State Representatives Khanh Pham and David Gomberg, State Senator Michael Dembrow, public interest attorney Dan Meek, and Our Oregon's executive director, Michele Ruffin, shared their knowledge and experience with us and answered our questions. Jeff Hammarlund was our guest moderator. For a full description of the event and bios for our panelists, click here.

May 2, 2023 - Save Our Schools

Great discussion with Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (OR-1), Sonja McKenzie, Oregon School Board Association; Dr. Sami Al-Abdrabbuh, Corvallis School Board; Katrina Doughty, Multnomah ESD; and Frank Armendariz, Siuslaw School Board about how we can support our schools in the upcoming May elections with school boards that will protect inclusivity, democracy, civil rights, and a well-rounded education. A centerpiece of the discussion was Rep. Bonamici's Bill of Rights for Students and Parents.

April 25, 2023
Electrify Everything

Act for Democracy hosted this great COINversation with the directors of Electrify NOW and ElectrifyPDX to Electrify Everything & Everyone! Oregonians of all income levels are making the transition to enjoy healthier indoor air quality, year-round comfort, lower utility bills and carbon-free living.

April 4, 2023
COINversation with Simon Rosenberg

COIN was honored to host Democratic Powerhouse, Simon Rosenberg. As a leader and believer in the power of grassroots activism, Simon shared his reasons for optimism, offered suggestions for growing our successes, and he responded to our many questions.

View the recording and find out more about Simon by folllowing him on his Hopium Chronicles.

October 18, 2022
Panel Discussion of Oregon's
2022 Ballot Measures

Check out this great information about all four ballot measures (111, 112, 113, 114) that are on our ballots this November. COIN has endorsed all four, and if you want to learn more about them, this is a really informative presentation. The panelists also answered participants' questions after their presentations.

August 23, 2022
Tina Kotek
Christina Stepenson

COIN is honored to host these two very special guests at our next meeting. Register Here to join us for some Q&A with Democratic candidate for Governor, Tina Kotek, and Democratic candidate for Commissioner of Labor and Industry, Christina Stephenson. You can submit questions for the candidates when you register. Join the meeting, show your support, and find out how you can help these candidates win in November!

August 2, 2022
Val Hoyle
Andrea Salinas

Meet OR-4 candidate Val Hoyle and OR-6 candidate Andrea Salinas. COIN has proudly endorsed both of these experienced women for Congress. I you're already registered for our regular COIN meetings, you can use the same link as always. If not, please click here to register.

July 19, 2022
Response to Roe

Check out our informative panel discussion about the Dobbs decision and what we as activists can do to protect abortion rights. Our three fabulous panelists were:

Christel Allen, Executive Director of ProChoice Oregon,
Megan Kovacs, Northwest Abortion Access Fund
Cassie Purdy, Political Director for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon and Planned Parenthood PAC of Oregon.

June 14, 2022

After viewing the documentary, Dammed To Extinction, about the plight of the Snake River salmon and the orcas that depend on them, we had an outstanding panel discussion with some regional experts.

Click here for a brief bio of each of our panelists, Steven Hawley (film writer and co-producer), Heather Nicholson, Scott Levy, James Waddell and Tony Jones.

Our recording is just the panel discussion. To view the film, Dammed to Extinction, click here. Share this link with friends. Everyone who lives in and loves the Pacific Northwest should see this documentary and understand what's at stake. Many thanks to Steven Hawley for donating the viewing of this film for our event.

And be sure to click here for our Call To Action!

April 27, 2022

COIN had the pleasure of hosting two progressive candidates for BOLI (Bureau of Labor and Industry) Commissioner - Casey Kulla and Christina Stephenson. If you missed the live program, check out this video, The BOLI Commissioner is a non-partisan position, so all voters will see all candidates on their ballots. The top two will advance to the General Election in November.

You can also find out more about these candidates on their websites:

https://www.christinastephenson.com/

https://www.kullafororegon.com/

April 20, 2022

The Bentz Accountability Team (BAT) and ORD2 Indivisible hosted the two Democratic Candidates running for US Representative in District 2. Joe Yetter and Adam Prine answered our questions and talked with us about their vision for this rural district. The winner of the primary will take on Cliff Bentz in November. Check it out folks. We can do better than Bentz!