Success for Our Clients

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Columbia Public Affairs team members have a demonstrated history of getting difficult things done inside the Legislature as well as through lobbying from the outside.  We have leveraged our deep experience, strategic thinking, and tactical implementation to help clients achieve the following wins:

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Family Leave:  Prior efforts to pass paid family and medical leave insurance in Salem had failed over 12 years.  We designed an aggressive new bill, demonstrated broad public support, and ultimately brought opposing legislators and groups to the table for negotiations that resulted in the most progressive paid family and medical leave law in the U.S.

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State Police:  We achieved historically large increases in Oregon State Police funding.  After many years of budget cuts, we secured strong advocacy by the Governor and a bipartisan group of key legislators.  We deployed rank-and-file state troopers from across Oregon to provide powerful testimony in both the Judiciary and Ways and Means Committees.

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Higher Education:  We secured a 12% increase in the Community College Support Fund and a 10% increase in the Public University Support Fund.  Although K-12 schools were getting all the legislative attention, we developed a strong message, recruited members to contact legislators and come to Salem, and deployed an aggressive lobbying strategy to achieve big wins.

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Foster Kids:  We won a 20% increase in state funding for Court Appointed Special Advocates who serve foster children.  Although these kids have no power and the CASAs who serve them were dealt a major budget cut in the year before we were hired, we designed a strong message underscoring the benefits to foster children, the budget savings to the state, and the beneficial community impacts of these increased investments.

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Mortgage Foreclosures:  When small businesses and homeowners were hit by the recession and unable to make mortgage payments, we won passage of a new state law to defer commercial and residential mortgage payments until the end of those loans.

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Small Business Aid:  When federal help fell short of meeting the urgent needs of small businesses, we secured over $35 Million in small business emergency assistance to protect Oregon small businesses, the workers they employ, and the communities they serve.

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Why Columbia Public Affairs

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Our team brings decades of experience successfully working inside and outside the Oregon State Capitol.  With executive, legislative, and staff experience, we have the ultimate insider perspective to serve our clients.

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