Last week, it was reported that one Sonny Mehta of Eugene had been called upon to helm the “grassroots” organizing for Hillary Clinton’s local presidential aspirations. Mehta is a legislative aid and field director with the Democratic Party of Oregon whose previously worked for Measure 92, the failed state-wide campaign to require labeling of GMO food products.
Despite Oregon’s progressive reputation, GMO labeling lost – but by only 837 votes out of total of 1.5 million total votes cast. That’s a margin of just 0.056%.
Activists and volunteers on the Measure 92 ‘Oregon Right to Know‘ campaign were crushed, especially after winning the fight against fluoridation in Portland in a decisive landslide victory. These folks know how to run a real grassroots machine. They know how an army of volunteers armed with endless buttons, t-shirts, stickers, lawn signs, and well-attended community rallies are assured victory – regardless of how much the underdogs are outspent.
Curiously and frustratingly, Oregon Right to Know blanketed the state with more than enough volunteers to get the referendum in the first place, but then seemed to disappear in the months leading up to November 2014’s vote.