Capitol renovation spending reveals “termites of distrust”

Withholding information about cost overruns, no matter the reason, reduces trust in the legislative process

Trust in government plunged below 50 percent in the early 1970s as the Watergate scandal mounted, ultimately leading to President Richard Nixon’s resignation. According to Pew Research’s compilation of poll averages, it hasn’t topped 50 percent, since then. It hasn’t topped 30 percent in almost 17 years.

Why? There are a lot of answers to that question. Hyper-partisanship has locked in distrust, but partisanship is more a symptom than a cause. A recent revelation in Salem, I believe, sheds light on one of the key root causes of distrust: lack of transparency.

News reports revealed that the last-minute budget approved by the 2023 Oregon Legislature with minimum discussion included a $90 million cost overrun for the Capitol renovation project – that’s about a 25 percent increase in a year.

There are a number of reasons for the increase. Some of them (inflation and necessary additions to the project) are understandable. Here’s what’s not understandable: the response of legislative leaders when the increased spending became public knowledge.

According to multiple media reports, House Speaker Dan Rayfield and, to a lesser extent, Senate President Rob Wagner, downplayed the cost overrun as “normal” and defended the lack of discussion, saying the project went through the “regular review procedure” for capital projects.

Nothing that happened here, neither the increased costs nor the inadequate communication, is scandalous. And given the number of scandals and large-scale problems facing Oregon it’s tempting to move on and hope the leaders do better next time. But that would be a mistake.

For sure, scandalous behavior, whether it be agency heads using their positions to acquire rare bourbon or a Secretary of State cashing in on her position through a lucrative side gig, gouges a hole in credibility. But the long-term damage comes when even routine business is conducted without transparency and accountability. Under those circumstances, trust erodes slowly but surely. Eventually, lawmakers don’t even recognize unacceptable behavior.

To use a metaphor, scandals are like natural disasters. They do damage that captures attention and therefor is corrected, at least temporarily. Lack of transparency and accountability is like termites: you don’t realize something is wrong until significant damage is done. And even then, everything looks normal from a distance. Gofundme campaigns work for natural disasters. They usually don’t for termites.

So, what is the solution?

The first step must come from the Legislature itself. Lawmakers must handle the money they receive from taxpayers more transparently.

Discussion of the cost overruns would not have changed the final outcome. Legislators would have approved the expenditures, probably with bipartisan support despite some Republicans’ comments after the increased costs became public. Leaving the project unfinished really isn’t an option. But by not discussing the costs, legislators looked like they were hiding something. That allowed the termites of distrust to nibble away.

Lack of time at the end of the session isn’t an excuse. That was a self-inflicted wound. Blame Republican senators who walked out if you wish, but a possible walkout loomed from Day 1 of the session. Legislators could have worked on the budget before anything else. In fact, that would be a good practice even without walkout threat.

Second, voters and the media need to do a better job of holding lawmakers accountable. Voters in Rayfield’s and Wagner’s districts should let them know their explanations were at best inadequate and at worst insulting. That doesn’t mean they should be voted out of office over this one incident, but they should be put on notice that they need to do better.

As to the media, I’m tempted to say news outlets just don’t have the staff necessary to dissect every line of the state budget. That probably is true. But so long as a single hour of staff time is used producing click bait they can do better. And if the state budget isn’t No. 1 on their accountability list, it should be near the top.

Rebuilding a 50-year decline in trust of government will be a years-long, probably decades-long, process. There’s no single solution. But improved transparency is the best place to start. And with the sharp decline in reporters covering state government, improvement will come only if legislators commit to operating transparently even when no one appears to be watching.

Mark Hester is a retired journalist who worked for 20 years at The Oregonian in positions including, business editor, sports editor and editorial writer.