The Steffensen Family

Betsy Steffensen was recently named chairperson of the Lane County Democrats' Peace Caucus. Her record of political activism dates back to Girl Scout years in Saint Louis, when she was part of an integrated troop during the era of school segregation. She organized the Lane County Million Mom March in 2000 to coincide with the national event opposing gun violence. "Five thousand people showed up for our march," she notes. Later that year, voter passage of Measure 5 halted gun show sales in Oregon. Betsy's daughter Kara Steffensen co-founded Friendly Neighbors for Peace in December of 2002, as pressure for the Iraq War was building. Neighbors got together to paint signs for an MLK Day march in January of 2003. A design by Kara's son Esteban Camacho Steffensen, chosen for mass production, has become a familiar sight on local lawns. Esteban displays the sign in front of a mural that he is painting as a baccalaureate-degree project in a South Eugene HS hallway. Join the Steffensens in this year's Million Mom March on Mothers' Day, assembling at 2:30 pm on the EWEB plaza.