Devon Lawson Leads the Charge for Fair Utility Billing After Storm Outages: "No Service, No Charge" Campaign

Springfield, Oregon - JUNE 2025 - (USAnews.com) — In January 2024, a devastating ice storm swept through Springfield, knocking out power and water for thousands of residents. Yet despite days without essential services, customers still received full utility bills, as if nothing had happened.

That injustice sparked action. Devon Lawson, a local community advocate and organizer, stepped up to demand accountability. A former candidate for the Lane Community College Board of Education and a current Precinct Committee Person with the Democratic Party of Lane County, Lawson founded Springfield Climate & Resilience Watch (SCRW) to lead a grassroots response.

Their campaign, “No Service, No Charge”, quickly gained momentum. Backed by a dedicated team of volunteers, many of them students from Lane Community College, the group called on the Springfield Utility Board (SUB) to stop charging residents for services they never received.

“This is about basic fairness,” Lawson said. “No one should have to pay for what they didn’t get. That’s not radical, it’s just fair.”

A Transition From Political Candidate to Grassroots Advocate

Devon Lawson’s work has always been about empowering ordinary people. Not just at the ballot box, but in the everyday decisions that shape their lives. Before launching Springfield Climate & Resilience Watch (SCRW), Lawson ran for the Lane Community College Board of Education, driven by a belief in participatory democracy and local engagement.

As a Precinct Committee Person for Springfield’s Precinct 2340, he’s remained deeply involved in the political process. But his shift from candidate to community organizer reflects a broader vision: that real climate justice and accountability don’t come from the top down. They come from us.

“The systems we rely on are failing,” Lawson says, “and when they do, it’s the people closest to the problem who have the solutions.”

The No Service, No Charge campaign puts that philosophy into practice, demanding transparency, fairness, and real community input in how public utilities operate.

The “No Service, No Charge” Campaign: A Call for Utility Reform

The No Service, No Charge campaign demands a simple standard of fairness. If your power or water goes out for more than 24 hours, you shouldn’t have to pay for it. Period.

Devon Lawson and Springfield Climate & Resilience Watch are calling on the Springfield Utility Board to adopt a Storm-Outage Bill Credit Policy. Their proposal includes automatic, pro-rated credits for every day without service, no paperwork or red tape for customers, and public reports after every major outage so residents know who was impacted, and how they’re being made whole.

But for Lawson, this is about more than just billing reform. It’s a step toward something bigger. Democratic control over the services we all rely on.

“We believe public power should mean people power,” Lawson says. “If your lights go out, your voice should come on. That’s how we make this system work for everyone, especially the folks who are always left in the dark. Working families, students, and renters.”

A Grassroots Movement for Local Democracy

Springfield Climate & Resilience Watch isn’t backed by corporate donors or political insiders. It’s powered by students, renters, and working-class residents. People organizing for each other, not for profit.

Rooted in the values of community self-governance, the group believes real resilience doesn’t come from the top down, it comes from neighbors standing together, making decisions for themselves. They follow the principles of social ecology and libertarian municipalism, which prioritize direct democracy and collective stewardship of public resources.

For Devon Lawson, No Service, No Charge is just the beginning.

“This isn’t just about utility bills,” he said. “It’s about how we build a world where communities control what matters most, from power and housing to food and public safety. We’re done waiting for permission. We’re building it ourselves.”

From Petition to Policy: A Test Case for Local Democracy

The No Service, No Charge petition is no longer just a rallying cry, it’s on the verge of becoming official policy. Devon Lawson authored Resolution 2025.10, now under formal review by the Democratic Party of Lane County (DPLC). If adopted by the Central Committee this July, the resolution would make utility fairness a core priority for Lane County Democrats and lay the groundwork for legislative action across Oregon.

“This is a rare chance for a grassroots campaign to shape party policy from the bottom up,” Lawson said. “If we pass this resolution, we send a message that communities don’t have to wait for change. We can make it ourselves.”

The vote marks a critical turning point, showing that when everyday people organize around a shared need, they can reshape the political agenda, not just for one city, but for an entire state.

The Bigger Picture: A Model for Statewide Change

While the campaign began in Springfield, No Service, No Charge was never just about one city. Devon Lawson and the team at Springfield Climate & Resilience Watch are already in conversations with organizers across Oregon, laying the foundation for a statewide push to demand fair, disaster-conscious utility policies.

As climate change accelerates disruptions to essential services, communities from Portland to Pendleton are grappling with the same injustice. And that is being billed for outages they didn’t cause and couldn’t control. This campaign offers a replicable model. One rooted in fairness, transparency, and grassroots power.

“We’re not just fighting for one bill,” Lawson said. “We’re fighting for a new way of organizing. This is about building a system where communities decide what justice looks like, from utilities to climate response and beyond.”

Devon Lawson Named Best Emerging Democratic Leader in Springfield of 2025

Devon Lawson’s leadership hasn’t gone unnoticed. This year, he was named Best Emerging Democratic Leader in Springfield of 2025, recognizing his trailblazing advocacy, grassroots organizing, and unwavering commitment to community power.

At just 18, Lawson ran for the Lane Community College Board of Education as the progressive Democrat candidate against a deeply entrenched incumbent. A race that Oregon Education Association's PAC called the most competitive of Oregon’s 2025 elections. While he narrowly lost, receiving 44.97% of the vote and 22,570 votes, the campaign catalyzed a wave of youth-led political energy across Lane County.

Lawson’s public service began long before the campaign trail. He was appointed in high school to the Lane Community College Bond Oversight Committee. A multi-year commitment to ensuring transparent use of public funds. The appointment, championed by local progressive leader and LCC Board member Austin Fölnagy, recognized Devon’s emerging voice and sense of accountability in education policy and fiscal oversight.

Since middle school, Lawson has worked on over 40 Democratic campaigns, serving as Deputy Campaign Manager for former Lane County Commissioner Jerry Rust’s run for State Representative while still in high school. His impact also reaches the legislature. He co-authored HJR 20 in 2023 to lower the voting age to 16, and organized in 2025 with NextUp for HB 3012, which would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in school board elections. Both bills stalled in committee, but continue to gain traction each legislative cycle.

Now, as founder of Springfield Climate & Resilience Watch and lead organizer of the No Service, No Charge campaign, Lawson’s work shows how youth leadership, policy fluency, and grassroots strategy can shape the future of local democracy.

Conclusion: A New Era of Local Democracy

Devon Lawson’s leadership in the “No Service, No Charge” campaign highlights the growing power of grassroots activism to shape the future of public services. Through Springfield Climate & Resilience Watch, he’s proving that true climate resilience and environmental justice start from the bottom up, led by the very people impacted by system failures, not dictated from above.

As the 2025 Best Emerging Democratic Leader in Springfield, Lawson represents a new generation of organizers who are rewriting the rules of civic engagement. His commitment to local democracy and collective action offers a replicable model for communities everywhere seeking transparency, fairness, and public accountability in the face of climate disruptions.

Springfield isn’t just responding to a storm, it’s building a roadmap for the future. And it’s young leaders like Devon Lawson who are lighting the way.

To learn more or add your name to the growing call for utility justice, visit the petition: Change.org