Merkley, Kotek rally Democrats at convention

PHILADELPHIA — Two prominent Oregon Democrats — Sen. Jeff Merkley and State House Speaker Tina Kotek — spoke Monday on the first night of the Democratic National Convention, highlighting both the division that remains within the party and the efforts to heal that rift.

Merkley was the only senator to support Sen. Bernie Sanders in his campaign for the Democratic nomination, while Kotek backed presumed presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

Merkley attempted in his six-minute speech to meld his support for Sanders with backing for Clinton.

At the same time, Merkley emphasized his working class background – he was the first in his family to go to college – to argue that Clinton not Republican nominee Donald Trump would look out for people like those he grew up with.

“Here is the truth: Donald Trump got rich by taking advantage of the hard-working Americans,” Merkley said.

Merkley credited Sanders with pushing the party toward bold solutions and “galvanizing a grassroots movement.”

“We need that movement to continue long after November,” he said.

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He cited free college tuition as the type of policy proposal needed to help average Americans.

“Together we must fight for government of, by and for the people and not a government for the privileged,” Merkley said.

Kotek was among those chosen to highlight the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee.

The committee’s goal is to help Democrats win control of state legislatures. Kotek is the committee’s vice chairwoman. The party that controls the state legislature and governor’s mansion will generally control the process of drawing the boundaries for legislative districts after the next Census in 2020.

Republicans now control 31 governorships and 30 state legislatures, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

She said the changes that Clinton proposes for the country need to happen at the state level as well.

She cited actions by the Oregon legislature to raise the minimum wage, guarantee paid family leave and ban racial profiling.

“I have her back because I know she stands for all of us,” Kotek said.