City
City government handles things such as local services, ordinances, planning and many issues close to home.
Oregon civic navigation
Government is complicated. Getting involved doesn't have to be.
You don't have to know who you're supposed to call, what an agency does, or what the right government word is.
Start with what you're trying to do. Oregonizers helps you figure out who, what, where and what's next.
What are you trying to do?
You can start here without knowing what the thing is called.
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Find my representatives
Find the people who represent your address.
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Get help with a problem
Start with what happened. Figure out who may be able to help.
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Contact an official
Work out who to contact and what kind of contact makes sense.
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Find somewhere to show up
Town halls, hearings, meetings and other ways to participate.
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Figure out what's happening
Follow the story back to the people, offices and records involved.
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Get election information
Registration, ballots, candidates and voting resources.
One problem, different doors
Knowing who handles something isn't always obvious.
A problem at school isn't handled the same way as a problem with your federal representative. A state agency isn't the same thing as the Oregon Legislature. We can help sort that out.
County
Counties handle a different set of services and responsibilities, including some courts, elections and public services.
Oregon
State government includes the Legislature, statewide elected officials and agencies that administer state programs.
Federal
The federal government includes Congress, federal agencies, courts and other institutions with national responsibilities.
Keep an eye on it
What's happening?
Short, stable snapshots of things worth knowing.
Oregon legislation
What's moving, what's coming up and what happened recently.
Recent happenings
A place for timely government developments without making visitors dig through a news archive.
Session recap
What passed, what didn't and what remains unfinished.
You are not supposed to already know how all this works.
Government has its own vocabulary, layers, procedures and acronyms. Learning them can be useful. Needing to know them before you can get help is a different thing.
Start where you are. We'll work from there.