A GREAT TIME WAS HAD BY 40 SOJWJ PARTICIPANTS WHO REPRESENTED MANY MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS OF THE SOUTHERN OREGON JOBS WITH JUSTICE COALITION!

*HERE IS MORE INFORMATION ON THE REQUIREMENT TO PAY FOR FREE SPEECH FOR THE PARADE...

Per the Ashland Chamber of Commerce 4th of July 2007 parade application Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice paid the $30 entry fee as required for a Not-For-Profit Organization. Everything was set to go until the official parade packet arrived in the mail only a couple days before the 4th. That's when we were told we could not be political. We were forced with with a tough decision, either cough up more money for free speech or exclude two of our member organizations.

Here are the words of James S. Kidd, titled "Head Chair" on the letter as part of the parade packet received in the mail, The letterhead: Ashland Chamber of Commerce Old Fashioned 4th of July. It starts, "Dear Parade Entry..." and goes on telling us we are #823 this year and how to display the number on our entry plus more... Handwritten on this letter is the following note from Head Chair James S. Kidd:

"Not-for-profit entries are _NOT_ permitted to display political or political party (i.e. Green Party, etc.) banners. Thank you!"--James K.

Another item in the parade packet is the double-sided "Parade Rules & Regulations", and I noticed the very last rule, #32 is bolded with all words capitalized:

THE ASHLAND FOURTH OF JULY COMMITTEE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REFUSE AN ENTRY FROM STARTING THE PARADE, OR TO REMOVE AN ENTRY AFTER IT HAS STARTED DOWN THE PARADE ROUTE, IF ANY OF THESE RULES AND REGULATIONS ARE VIOLATED.

This seemed so very strange because SOJwJ is a COALITION of 14 various "member organizations" two of which can be tagged "political", Southern Oregon Socialist Action and the Jackson County Pacific Green Party - yet certainly "our collective" is more accurately described as "not-for-profit" than as a "political candidate or organization". This was frustrating and certainly not patriotic, especially on Independence Day, and we can all just contemplate what Thomas Jefferson would think, or do...

Faced with this mandate SOJwJ paid the extra $70. for Free Speech and were able to invite ALL of its member organizations.

WE HAD GREAT FUN! and were not deterred by the City of Ashland's Chamber of Commerce and its unpatriotic way of handling this year's Fourth of July parade.

Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice
14 Member Organizations
217 Pledge Card Signers
Douglas, Josephine, Jackson and Klamath counties