Springfield Climate & Resilience Watch (SCRW), a grassroots collective founded by community organizer Devon Lawson, is calling on the Springfield Utility Board (SUB) to implement a utility credit policy for extended service outages. The campaign, titled “No Service, No Charge”, demands that residents not be billed for electricity or water they never received.
The campaign was born in the aftermath of the devastating January 2024 ice storm, which left thousands across Springfield without power and water for days. In response, SCRW launched a citywide petition to hold the utility accountable and ensure that future billing reflects basic fairness.
“People shouldn’t have to pay for services they didn’t get. That’s just fair,” said Lawson. “We believe public power should be accountable to the people. When something breaks, the people should have a say in how it gets fixed.”
At the heart of the campaign is a proposed Storm-Outage Bill Credit Policy, which would:
- Provide automatic, pro-rated credits for outages lasting over 24 hours;
- Guarantee full-day credits for every additional day of disruption;
- Eliminate unnecessary paperwork for affected households;
- Require SUB to publicly report the number of credits issued after every major outage.
For Springfield Climate & Resilience Watch (SCRW), the “No Service, No Charge” petition is more than a call for fair billing. It’s a stepping stone toward a more participatory, accountable, and democratic local government. The campaign is rooted in the belief that public systems should serve the people transparently, and that residents deserve a say in how essential services are delivered and governed.
“This campaign is about fairness and creating more accountability in the systems that serve us all,” said SCRW founder Devon Lawson. “Our goal is to ensure that Springfield’s utility systems work for the people who rely on them.”
SCRW’s push for a Storm-Outage Bill Credit Policy has already caught the attention of local leaders and community members. In July 2025, Resolution 2025.10, authored by Lawson, will go before the Democratic Party of Lane County. If adopted, it would establish “No Service, No Charge” as a recognized policy stance and set the stage for broader advocacy across Oregon.
While the petition is still gathering signatures and the resolution awaits a vote, the campaign’s grassroots momentum is undeniable. “We’re not just asking for a change,” Lawson said. “We’re building a model for communities across the state. We’re already in talks with organizers in other cities, and we’re just getting started.”
Springfield Climate & Resilience Watch is a volunteer-led movement rooted in the everyday experiences of Lane Community College students, working-class residents, and local community members. With no professional fundraising apparatus or outside institutional support, SCRW relies on grassroots organizing from petitions, public meetings, and direct engagement with neighbors to drive change.
In a landscape often dominated by large nonprofits and corporate voices, SCRW is building something different. A platform where local people speak for themselves. The group focuses on practical, community-first solutions to the urgent issues residents face, like utility accountability and climate resilience, all grounded in collective action.
The “No Service, No Charge” campaign is not just a one-off effort. It’s a proof of concept. SCRW organizers are already laying the groundwork for future campaigns on public transportation, local food systems, and other vital services. Their mission is simple but profound: to ensure that the people most impacted by public policy also have the power to shape it.
“Even small groups of people can make a big difference when they work together,” said founder Devon Lawson. “We’re not just fighting for fairness, we’re building a system that’s accountable, transparent, and community-controlled.”
With growing momentum and deep roots in Springfield’s working class, SCRW is demonstrating that real change doesn’t have to start at the top. It can, and should, start at home.
In a major acknowledgment of grassroots power and progressive vision, Devon Lawson, Founder and Chair of Springfield Climate & Resilience Watch, was recently named Best Emerging Democratic Leader in Springfield of 2025. The honor highlights Lawson’s bold leadership at the intersection of climate justice and democratic reform, and celebrates his success in mobilizing everyday people to demand more just and accountable public systems.
Lawson’s leadership is rooted in a simple but powerful belief. The people who rely on essential services should have real control over them. From utilities to education to climate response, Lawson has consistently worked to shift power into the hands of the community, especially students, renters, and working-class residents too often left out of the conversation.
Under his leadership, SCRW has grown into a model of what local, people-powered organizing can achieve. Through the “No Service, No Charge” campaign, the group has shown how to translate frustration into action, and action into policy.
“This isn’t a handout. It’s common sense,” Lawson said. “No one should have to pay for what they didn’t get. That’s not radical, it’s just fair.”
The “No Service, No Charge” campaign advocates for a straightforward policy: automatic, pro-rated bill credits during extended outages, no paperwork hoops for residents, and full transparency from the Springfield Utility Board. But for Devon Lawson and Springfield Climate & Resilience Watch (SCRW), this fight is about more than billing, it’s about who gets to shape the systems we all rely on.
What sets Lawson’s work apart is a commitment to building power from the ground up. Rather than relying on traditional, top-down advocacy models, Lawson has rooted SCRW in the principles of social ecology and municipalism. Philosophies that call for local, democratic control of public resources. The goal isn’t just to win a policy, but to shift who holds the power to decide what’s fair.
“We believe public power should mean people power,” Lawson says. “When something breaks, the people have a say in how it’s fixed.”
And that’s exactly what’s happening. At SCRW, it’s students, renters, and working-class residents, not consultants or lobbyists, who are writing policy proposals, organizing petitions, and driving local reform. It’s a campaign grounded in democratic action, with the community as both its architects and its voice.
Devon Lawson’s leadership is making an impact far beyond Springfield. The “No Service, No Charge” campaign is rapidly becoming a model for statewide reform. A formal resolution, Resolution 2025.10, authored by Lawson, is set to be presented to the Democratic Party of Lane County’s Central Committee this July. If adopted, it would mark the first official endorsement of utility outage credits as a standard of fairness, bringing urgent attention to the need for public accountability in essential services.
“This isn’t just a petition,” Lawson explains. “It’s a step toward local control over the systems that shape our lives.”
By advancing this resolution, Lawson is translating community organizing into legislative action. It’s a bold move that signals the campaign’s potential to shift policy not just in Springfield, but across Oregon, placing working people’s needs at the center of public utility decisions.
Springfield Climate & Resilience Watch (SCRW) is not just about winning the “No Service, No Charge” campaign, it’s about reimagining how power functions in our communities. Devon Lawson, SCRW’s founder and chair, envisions a future where local residents govern not just utilities, but also systems like transportation and food access through transparent, democratic means.
“We’re building long-term democratic infrastructure,” Lawson explains. “We don’t just want to win this fight. We want to change the way power works in our communities.”
SCRW is powered entirely by volunteers. Students, workers, and everyday residents, committed to bottom-up change. Under Lawson’s leadership, it has become a self-sustaining force for political transformation, rooted in equity, accountability, and collective action.
Lawson’s journey from high school organizer to one of Springfield’s most recognized democratic leaders demonstrates the profound impact of youth-led, grassroots movements. His bold vision for local control and climate justice is not just resonating in Springfield; it’s beginning to shift conversations statewide.
A former candidate for the Lane Community College Board of Education, Lawson has remained deeply engaged in public service, proving that young leaders can challenge entrenched systems and build durable, people-first alternatives. His work with SCRW exemplifies how civic leadership and climate action can intersect to redefine public power.
Devon Lawson’s leadership isn’t just timely, it’s transformational. As Springfield’s Best Emerging Democratic Leader of 2025, his is helping to set a new standard for participatory democracy, showing that fair utility policy is just the beginning. The “No Service, No Charge” campaign is not only a demand for accountability, it’s a model for the kind of democratic future communities across Oregon can begin building today.
To learn more or sign the petition, visit Change.org.
About Springfield Climate & Resilience Watch
Springfield Climate & Resilience Watch (SCRW) is a grassroots collective of students and working-class residents organizing for democratic control over local systems in Springfield, Oregon. Focused on climate resilience, utility fairness, and social justice, SCRW combines grassroots activism with a vision for empowering communities to take control of essential services.
