Citizens in Charge

Every word officially spoken by and to Oregon legislators since 1859 has been recorded, itemized and stored within the marble walls of the State Archives Building.

But what about the paper trail left behind by Oregon’s other lawmakers — the ones who have since 1904 passed statutes and amended the state constitution through the initiative system?

For decades, they’ve been boxed up in basements and storage units, or worse, destroyed by floodwaters and set on the curbside for the garbage truck to haul away.