Our Story

We started this nonprofit social welfare organization in February of 2025, but our story dates back to 2018…

Back then, a dozen grassroots community organizers got together in Eugene to start an ambitious social and economic justice ballot initiative campaign that eventually became IP 2024-017 and Measure 118.

While that campaign was not ultimately able to prevail against an onslaught of corporate money, we got further than even our opponents thought we would — and we are extremely proud of that.

Most importantly, we learned a lot. And all those learnings are the foundation of the Direct Democracy Factory and hopefully useful stepping stones for your own ballot initiative campaign!

Why reinvent the wheel? Let’s build upon each other’s work for Justice!

Our Values

Our work is centered on our values, among them:

  • We believe that there’s no hierarchy of justice — only when all work is done we’ll be able to rest (ok, realistically, that’ll unfortunately be never)

  • A conviction that the purpose of power is to empower,

  • The courage to work outside the political mainstream when its necessary for making the change we seek, and

  • The flexibility to work within the system for the greater long-term good when appropriate

Our Work

We are currently actively working on campaigns addressing the following needs, if you’d like to know more please reach out to us!

  • Social and economic justice (corporate tax justice and direct cash transfers)

  • Policing justice

  • Housing justice

  • Climate justice

Our Team

As of the last update to this website, our team is composed of:

  • Anne Emig, Director

    • VP of Business & People Operations @ Gridstor

  • David Hess, Treasurer

    • Treasurer @ Oregon Rebate & Measure 118 (former)

    • Treasurer @ Oregon Progressive Party

    • Treasurer @ Community Budgeting for All

    • Paralegal @ Kafoury & McDougal, Lawyers for the People

  • Antonio Gisbert, Founder

    • Chief Petitioner @ Oregon Rebate & Measure 118 (former)

Also, we’d be lost without our fearless advisor, Dan Meek, and countless other courageous friends and donors!

Our Organizational Friends (orgs we/we’ve work/ed with)

Contact Us

If you’d like to talk about direct democracy in general, exploring the possibility of starting your own direct democracy campaign, or how we might support your ongoing direct democracy campaign, please reach out!