Oregon Citizens Alliance
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| Oregon Citizens Alliance | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Brooks, Ore. |
| Founder(s): | Lon Mabon |
| Year founded: | 1986 |
| Website: | Official website |
The Oregon Citizens Alliance was an organization that supported ballot measures aimed at constitutionally prohibiting same-sex marriage in the state of Oregon. The group was led by Lon Mabon, a conservative activist who proposed a number of ballot measures related to LGBT issues and abortion. The OCA ceased to operate by the early 2000s but did have a brief revival in 2007.[1]
Background
According to The Seattle Times, the Oregon Citizens Alliance was "built from the mailing-list remains of Baptist minister Joe Lutz's unsuccessful 1986 senatorial campaign against Republican Sen. Bob Packwood."[2] The group's initial work came in 1988, when the OCA "gained its first and only significant victory by overturning Governor Neal Goldschimidt’s Executive Order 87-20 which banned state agencies from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation."[3]
The majority of the OCA's work was on attempting to pass a ballot measure to amend the state's constitution and on attempting to influence Republican politics in the state. In a piece for Oregon Oracle, Bruce McCain, a former attorney for the OCA's director Lon Mabon, noted, "The OCA was comprised primarily of socially conservative Republicans, with a strong fundamentalist Christian background." McCain also claimed that, when Republican gubernatorial candidate Dave Frohnmayer refused to support an OCA proposed amendment in 1990, the OCA placed its vice-chairman Al Mobley on the ticket and took 13 percent of the votes away from Frohnmayer.[3]
The OCA sponsored two ballot measures that gained national attention. In 1992, the group gathered signatures to put Measure 9 on the ballot. The measure would have required all state and local governments to discourage homosexuality, other listed “behaviors” and to not facilitate or recognize them.[4] According to The Oregonian, during the 1992 campaign, "The group's harsh rhetoric turned the campaign into an international story and actually attracted more voters to the polls than the presidential election."[5] The measure was defeated.
In 2000, the group proposed another Measure 9. This measure would have prohibited public schools from encouraging, promoting, sanctioning or instructing on homosexual or bisexual behaviors.[6] It was also defeated. OCA also attempted to pass amendments related to abortion and the definition of marriage in 1998, 2004 and 2008.[7][8]
In a 2007 reunion, the group "encouraged the gathering to spend this year [2007] rebuilding."[1]
Top influencers by state
Influencers in American politics are power players who help get candidates elected, put through policy proposals, cause ideological changes, and affect popular perceptions. They can take on many forms: politicians, lobbyists, advisors, donors, corporations, industry groups, labor unions, single-issue organizations, nonprofits, to name a few.
In 2016, Ballotpedia identified Oregon Citizens Alliance as a top influencer by state. We identified top influencers across the country through several means, including the following:
- Local knowledge of our professional staff
- Surveys of activists, thought leaders and journalists from across the country and political spectrum
- Outreach to political journalists in each state who helped refine our lists
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Oregon Citizens Alliance'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Willamette Week, "God, Gays & Glasnost," February 6, 2007
- ↑ The Seattle Times, "Lon Mabon Sets 'Em Straight," October 3, 1993
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Oregon Oracle, "John Kuzmanich: the New Lon Mabon?" October 24, 2013
- ↑ Oregon State Library, "State of Oregon Official Voters' Pamphlet," accessed December 12, 2013
- ↑ The Oregonian, "The Photo Vault: Lon Mabon, Oregon's anti-gay warrior," July 1, 2010
- ↑ Oregon State Library, "State of Oregon Official Voters' Pamphlet," accessed December 14, 2013
- ↑ Willamette Week, "He's Back," February 11, 1998
- ↑ News With Views, "Chairman of Oregon Citizens Alliance mails petitions for November ballot," June 2, 2004
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