CORVALLIS, Ore. - U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio will deliver the annual Gov. Tom McCall Memorial Lecture on Wednesday, June 1, at Oregon State University.

His lecture, "The Future of Our Representative Democracy," will discuss the challenges facing U.S. democracy from a variety of negative factors, including gerrymandering; special interest money; partisan polarization; voter apathy; and voter disenfranchisement. He will also discuss ways in which citizens can take action to safeguard the democracy and strengthen political institutions. 

The event begins at 7 p.m. in the Construction and Engineering Hall in the LaSells Stewart Center, 875 S.W. 26th St. It is free and open to the public, and presented by the OSU College of Liberal Arts and the School of Public Policy.

DeFazio, of Springfield, represents Oregon's 4th District in Congress. He was first elected in 1986 and is now the longest serving member of the U.S. House of Representatives in Oregon's history. 

The OSU lectureship in public affairs is named after Tom McCall, who was Oregon's governor from 1967-75. Past lecturers have included several Oregon governors; Washington Post columnists David Broder and William Raspberry; political analyst Floyd McKay; Dennis Dimick of National Geographic magazine; and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Source: 

David Bernell, 541-737-6281, [email protected]

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