Oregon Rural/Urban Project Salem Town Hall

In a Braver Angels Deliberative Town Hall, the candidates participate as part of their campaign and the discussion is focused on key issues.

As part of Braver Angels’ effort to reduce political polarization among Oregonians, our Rural/Urban Project Town Hall brings Oregonians together to identify issues dividing rural and urban residents. This series of information-gathering Town Halls, to be conducted throughout the state will be followed by “common ground” moderated discussions where rural and urban folks can together explore the issues and seek out bridge-building policy recommendations. We will then collect those recommendations and present them to the Legislature.

We encourage community leaders to attend the Town Halls with an eye toward representing their communities in the (future) moderated discussions. We especially encourage young adults to attend the Town Halls and consider participating in the moderated discussions as they represent both the future of Oregon’s rural and urban communities and our citizens’ efforts to reduce the burdens of the rural/urban divide. We welcome all Oregonians of good will to join us in this project!

Event Format:

This event is an in-person meeting.

The event is preceded by a survey that uses POLIS software to identify areas of greatest agreement among the participants.

Participants will divide up in groups to discuss these issues, coming up with action items that everyone in the group agrees with. These will then be shared and discussed with the candidates.

Who can come? Anyone interested in finding common ground with fellow citizens.