The Way: The Calm Before the Storm
How the pandemic and the Blazers can help voters decide
This week, families across the state returned from spring break to their hectic schedules filled with school, work, and activities. I took my two boys, who are five and four, to Manzanita for a few days and found myself reflecting on the slow pace, and how all of that would soon change. Perhaps you sense it too. What will the next COVID wave look like in Oregon? What will happen in Ukraine? Will we be able to better serve our most vulnerable friends and neighbors with better housing? In the quiet, I found myself thinking of the looming chaos.
The pandemic has changed how I think about the future, and how I plan. Having navigated three ten-day quarantines with my boys in the past six months, everything feels tentative. I appreciate the time I have with friends and family in a deeper way, as getting the stars to align where everyone is healthy and comfortable getting together has been a real challenge. What used to be routine feels special.
Primary season is heating up with the calendar flipping to April. The first yard signs have gone up in my neighborhood, candidate voters’ pamphlet statements are submitted, and campaigns are canvassing. My advice to voters is to approach the election with a recognition that Oregon is in an unpredictable place. Wild fires, gas prices, the housing crisis and the pandemic are systemic issues that aren’t going away and we need leadership to help us navigate them better than we have in the past. But there will be new challenges and unexpected twists that will divert our attention.
The night of Governor Brown’s re-election back in 2018, the Portland Trailblazers beat the Milwaukee Bucks by 15 to go to 8-3 on the season, behind 40 points from a 26-year-old CJ McCollum. It felt like this team was on an upward trajectory and that Lillard and McCollum would dominate the league for years to come. Three and a half years later, Portland cheered on McCollum again, this time as he led the visiting Pelicans to a win behind his 25 points while Lillard watched from the sidelines. I was happy to watch CJ do his thing and Blazer fans give him the warm welcome he deserved. It was not what we planned, but we made the most of it.
I spend my days researching education and health policy, but I find myself more and more interested in the values candidates have than the specific policy proposals. Is this someone I can trust get us through the next crisis? Does this person have integrity to do what they say they will do, even when it is not popular or politically advantageous? Will they prioritize their career or the public good? What commitment have they made to their major donors or interest groups that helped them get elected? How does their current and former staff talk about what it is like to work with them? How do they lead?
Oregon is on a precipice right now, and needs a leader to unite, to inspire, and to adjust to the many unpredictable challenges of the future. I encourage voters to focus on values and character when evaluating candidates. Our world is in flux, and I hope voters recognize the lessons from the pandemic, and the Blazers, when thinking about the future.
Andy Saultz
Professor of Educational Policy and proud Washington County resident.
To look forward to:
· Mark Hester shares what serving on a murder jury taught him about civic service and the justice system.
· The second edition of Thebeerchaser’s advice for gubernatorial candidates.
From Jenn Schuberth and John Urang
To Read:
· Bennett Minton explores how the Mortgage Interest Deduction benefits certain Oregonians more than others here.
· Don Williams gives Thebeerchaser’s advice for gubernatorial candidates here.
· Patrick Starnes, candidate for governor, discusses excessive and undemocratic barriers to participation in debates here.
Photo credit: "CJ McCollum Bradley Beal" by All-Pro Reels is marked with CC BY-SA 2.0.