Call it the Gunderson Principle.
Thelma “Teddy” Gunderson chaired the Woodburn School Board in the late 1980s, when a particularly packed agenda sent the meeting into the wee hours of the following morning.
As people dragged themselves from their seats amid groans of fatigue around 3 a.m., Gunderson offered a bit of political wisdom: “The fruits of democracy belong to those who can sit through long, boring meetings.”
Few people embody the Gunderson Principle more than Jane Titchenal of Keizer.
Titchenal, 32, was born well after that marathon Woodburn School Board meeting. Yet she continues the democratic tradition of sitting through long, boring meetings.
She exhorts others to do the same through her social media posts and “Girlypop Politics,” her regular program on KMUZ (88.5 FM), a public radio station in Salem.
Titchenal told Street Roots she wants people to invest in local government and tries to make the process more relevant and less intimidating — especially for young people.
‘Reaching young people is important to me’
“Reaching young people is important to me,” she said. “It’s where the name ‘Girlypop Politics’ comes from. ‘Girlypop’ is an endearing term with some people in the Gen Z and millennial generations. It just kind of flowed. It’s a bit tongue-in-cheek.”
“Girlypop Politics” is a regular segment of “Willamette Wake Up,” a public affairs program that runs on KMUZ weekdays from 8 to 9 a.m. Titchenal interviews a variety of guests in an attempt to demystify local government and give listeners the information they need to get involved.
She became involved in local government herself through the Salem-Keizer School District three years ago.
“I started off on social media with an Instagram account where I shared information when the district was facing $23 million in budget reductions,” she said. “I wanted to make sure parents and community members were informed.”
Although Instagram, Facebook and other social media platforms are often vilified, Titchenal said they’re invaluable political tools.
“I firmly believe that social media, whether we love it or hate it, is a catalyst for reaching people,” she said. “I don’t know if politicians and activists recognize how much of a priority they should make social media. It’s where you’re going to reach younger people.”
Her social media posts, particularly their focus on local issues, eventually drew the interest of KMUZ and led to the radio form of “Girlypop Politics.”
‘You can make an impact if you’re loud enough’
Melanie Zermer, KMUZ executive producer, was following a story about the Keizer City Council when she met Titchenal.
The Trump administration wanted to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs and was threatening cities that refused to bend the knee. Several councilors worried about losing federal funds.
“I was looking for someone in the know that I could talk with to learn more,” Zermer said. “Someone told me about Jane.”
Titchenal had already been a guest host of “Demobrats,” a local podcast.
“I was looking for someone who had a bead on Keizer, and her engagement with civic issues was a perfect fit,” Zermer said.
Titchenal said she started by showing up at school board meetings.
“I was never plugged in or engaged with politics, but I just started going,” she said. “One of the things I want to convey to people is that you have to start somewhere. I started just by going. I didn’t understand a lot of the language. I didn’t understand the process. However, by choosing to be around it, you absorb it. Eventually, everything will start to make sense, and you’ll connect the dots.”
Titchenal expanded her passion for local government to the Salem and Keizer city councils. She eventually provided testimony on Salem’s liveability levy last year and championed the Salem Public Library.
“Local government is where you can see immediate action,” she said. “It’s where you can talk with your city councilors and mayor. You can make changes that affect you, your family, your neighbors in a direct way. You can get sidewalks fixed. You can help decide where funding goes for special projects. You can have a say on the police department or if a new fire district is going to be formed.”
Civic involvement is particularly effective in smaller urban areas like Salem and Keizer, she added.
“You can make an impact if you’re loud enough, you’re persistent enough, and you have the passion to follow through,” she said. “I encourage everyone. If they want to get involved with local government and neighborhood associations, those are great places to start.”
‘It all starts at the ground level’
Keizer City Council discussed establishing the classification of the city’s code compliance coordinator at its March 16 meeting and recognized the winners of the “If I Were Mayor” contest.
The March 10 meeting of the Salem-Keizer School Board included such agenda items as the first reading of the district’s long-range facilities plan report and the sale of the Lake Labish Elementary School building.
Discussing code compliance coordinators and school facilities when the United States is in a war that left an Iranian school destroyed and more than 100 little girls dead may make local meetings seem more than long and boring. They may seem trivial to the point of being irrelevant.
“I’ve had to struggle with that personally,” Titchenal said. “National and international news is overwhelming. It’s in your face all the time. There is so much happening. It’s complex and scary. As human beings, it’s hard for us to look away. However, when we consume so much of the national news, it ultimately takes away our energy and intellectual bandwidth for local issues.”
Strike a balance, she advised.
“It’s important to stay informed on national events, but 75% of the news you consume should be local — should be the things that are going to affect you directly, the things that are going to be on your ballot,” she said. “The other 25% can be national, but to understand events on the national level, you have to start locally. It all starts at the ground level.”
So much of what happens in the world seems to be beyond the average person’s control. However, Titchenal said informed and involved citizens can have a direct effect on the outcome of local decisions. That can be a panacea for despair when facing the larger world, she said.
“I want people to understand local government is accessible,” Titchenal said. “The microphone is there. You have five minutes at a city council meeting to say whatever you need to say. To me, that’s power. To be able to stand and say what you need to say in front of people who make decisions about our quality of life — that’s power. If you’re brave enough, if you really believe in what you’re saying, if you keep showing up, change will happen.”
‘There’s action you need to take’
Although Titchenal believes in the political power of social media, she added too many people’s activism stops at their keyboards.
“People go to Facebook and say whatever they want to in the comments, but when it’s time to actually show up at city council meetings and say those things in person, nobody comes,” she said. “Sure, everyone’s lives are busy, but if you’re upset about something, there’s action you need to take.”
“If the younger generation doesn’t actively choose to step up in some way, decisions will be made for us instead of us making the decisions.”
Jane Titchenal,
host of ‘girlypop politics’
Young people, in particular, need to step up, she added.
She recalled attending a meeting this month of the Keizer City Club and looking out on what appeared to be a Q-Tip box of little white heads.
“I just look around the room, and it’s elderly people and mostly, if not all, white people,” Titchenal said. “We have a lot of voices that are not being heard. The people who are active in politics will age out. They have to stop at some point. If the younger generation doesn’t actively choose to step up in some way, decisions will be made for us instead of us making the decisions.”
‘I want to make sure I’m asking the right questions’
“Girlypop Politics” runs for 30 minutes on “Willamette Wake Up” on a varying schedule. The segment consists of prerecorded interviews with people like Salem-Keizer School District Superintendent Andrea Castaneda and less traditional guests like Becka Bonner, the founder of Radness Ensues.
Inspired by the late Rod Anders, the host of “The Ramblin’ Rod Show,” the beloved children’s variety and cartoon show on Portland television from 1964 to 1997, Bonner started a nonprofit that makes custom pinback buttons like the ones Anders used to festoon his trademark sweater. Through her organization Radness Ensues in Keizer, Bonner nurtures local artists, supports underserved youth and families and provides a space for self-expression and healing.
Zermer said her guidance for Titchenal and other KMUZ hosts is minimal.
“I tell them how to create an intro, a break in the middle for radio listeners and how to wrap up,” she said. “I ask them to think about the angle or point of the conversation, draft questions, but allow for a back-and-forth conversation.”
Titchenal’s first interview was with Keizer Mayor Cathy Clark. They talked about Keizer’s urban growth boundary.
“A week or two prior to that, I really didn’t know much about urban growth boundaries,” Titchenal said. “I did a lot of research so when I interviewed her, my questions were technically accurate.”
She sticks mostly to her scripted questions — at least for now.
“I’m still getting the hang of interviewing people,” she said. “I hope to eventually be able to get into more of a relaxed conversational mode. For now, however, I want to make sure I’m asking the right questions so people get the information they need.”
Titchenal’s first three segments were big hits, Zermer said. “All fabulous stories that gave a lot of solid information about the community.”
One of Titchenal’s upcoming guests is C.M. Hall, a Newport city councilor and the executive director of Emerge Oregon. The organization breaks down barriers and creates pathways for progressive women to become politically active. It recruits and trains progressive women to run for office.
“I pick my guests based on what I see happening in the community and what conversation I want to make sure community members hear and understand,” Titchenal said.
‘All the work I do melds together’
Women running for elected office is a topic important to her these days as she stumps for Democrat Virginia Stapleton’s campaign for Oregon Senate District 11 in Keizer that is currently held by Republican Kim Thatcher.
Titchenal also volunteers with Moms Demand Action to call for firearm regulations.
“All the work I do melds together,” she said. “All of it advocates for the things I value like education, family and community resources and support. I guess that’s why I say yes to so many things, because I get excited and passionate.”
Growing up in the Salem area, she was never shy about expressing her opinions. Whether she’s talking to people at a public meeting or over the airwaves or campaigning door-to-door, Titchenal said she enjoys connecting with people.
“I love interviewing people,” she said. “I love asking questions and getting to know about them and their specific areas of expertise — especially if it’s an interest of mine. It comes naturally for me.”
Working in education also prepared her for a life of talking with people, she added.
“You’re interviewing people all day long when you work with kids,” she said. “You’re constantly asking them questions and getting their thoughts and perspectives.”
Titchenal grew up in a conservative religious family and spent most of her childhood either being homeschooled or attending private school. She enrolled in public school in eighth grade but left school when she was a sophomore in high school after becoming a teen parent.
Being a parent at such a young age changed her life.
“It shifted my perspective of what it looks like to have power,” she said. “When people in positions of power are making decisions, do they understand the significant challenges that the everyday person faces? It’s shocking to hear the everyday struggles people go through just to pay their rent, pay their electricity, to get their kids to school, to get food for dinner.”
Titchenal received her bachelor’s degree in social work in 2020 from Portland State University and continues to work with children.
‘I’m learning as well’
She also continues to sit through those long, boring meetings. And they can be long and boring indeed, she acknowledges.
“It’s not always fun and exciting things or interesting conversations that people are having,” she said. “It’s automatically a turn off. I understand. I’m still new to all of this, and I’m learning as well. Still, these local decisions are what you will see tomorrow, and if you want to have a direct impact, that’s where you can start.”
And it truly is a learning process, she added.
“If people want to get involved, they should look at everything they do as a learning experience,” she said. “Every time I go door-to-door, every time I go to an event, every time I talk with someone, I’m learning. You don’t have to do this perfectly as long as you’re continually learning.”
Zermer said she likes Titchenal’s attitude.
“I appreciate her approach to learning along with the listener as she explores and shares what’s happening in our community in real time,” she said.
At the end of the day, no matter how long and tiring that day may be, Titchenal said there are people depending on her — depending on all of us — to get and stay involved.
This article appears in March 25, 2026.