The Liftoff: Biden appoints an Oregonian and state lawmakers head to Portugal
PLUS: An attack on a Democratic county office; Knopp draws a challenger; gun and abortion laws are headed to court; People for Portland's new billboard; a Beverly Cleary mystery; and more!
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1. Portland City Council votes to ban public use of hard drugs (and a string of bad news for PDX)
In an unanimous vote, the Portland City Counsel on Wednesday voted to ban the use of hard drugs like fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine on public property. The only issue? The measure will require a change in state law to enact and enforce.
From The Oregonian: "The emergency ordinance, approved 5-0 by the City Council on Wednesday, adds controlled substances to Portland’s preexisting prohibition on public alcohol use that carries a penalty of up to six months in jail or a $500 fine.”
Governor Kotek’s office told KGW on Thursday: "The Governor believes public consumption of controlled substances is a problem that needs to be addressed. She intends to work with legislators to fix the issue and expects a bill on her desk in next year’s session.”
Portland was hit with a string of (mostly) bad news this week; here’s a sampling of stories:
Heartbreak city. The headline says it all: “Woman struggling to survive along I-5 in Portland: A firsthand look at finding help with homelessness”. Portland’s KATU aired a heartbreaking story this week, highlighting the difficulty of moving through city, county, and state bureaucracies.
From the Oregonian: “Andy and Bax, Portland military surplus and outdoor store, to close after nearly 80 years”
From the Portland Mercury: “Missing the Forest and the Trees: How City Politics Are Getting in the Way of Portland’s Tree Canopy”
An airplane-hangar-type door that can be lowered is being installed at the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse in downtown Portland, reports The Oregonian. A fence, concrete barriers and plywood boards still cover and surround a lot of the courthouse.
From the Oregonian: “Portland’s Artists Repertory Theatre announces layoffs amid ongoing financial crisis”
From KOIN: “As downtown Portland continues to be the source of national controversy, Mayor Ted Wheeler is hoping to contract a California-based nonprofit for outreach patrols in the city center.”
An excerpt from the article: “Wheeler’s plan comes as Portland police has struggled to maintain patrols at its central precinct: The bureau should have 15 to 17 officers for the early evening hours and between 12 and 16 from night until morning, but the bureau currently reports there are times with as few as 2 officers for the entire area.”
2. Lawmakers head to Portugal, Knopp draws a challenger, and more
An Oregonian scoop: Oregon lawmakers, Multnomah County district attorney, police officials, and addiction treatment leaders will travel on a “fact-finding mission” to Portugal this fall to learn about the country’s pioneering drug-decriminalization policy.
Max Williams, who is working to amend Measure 110, blasted the trip, telling the Oregonian: “Comparing Oregon to Portugal is like comparing a motorcycle to a couch…There are always things to be learned, but maybe we need to spend more time in downtown Portland. I bet we could learn a lot there too.”
The trip is being organized and partially paid for by the Oregon Health Justice Recovery Alliance, a coalition of state and national groups that supported Measure 110.
Who’s who: Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson; Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt; Rep. Rob Nosse (D-Portland); Rep. Lily Morgan (R-Grants Pass); Sen. Floyd Prozanski (D-Eugene); and Sen. Kate Lieber (D-Beaverton) are all reported to be going on the trip.
Bend City Councilor Anthony Broadman is challenging Republican Senate Minority Leader Tim Knopp in Senate District 27, which encompasses Bend, Redmond, Sisters, and Tumalo. This may be the most expensive legislative race in 2024.
From The Bend Bulletin: “Broadman, a Democrat who was elected in 2020 with the highest vote total in the history of the City Council, expressed his commitment to affordability, the environment, public safety and reproductive freedom Monday.”
Major question: Will Knopp, who had more than 10 unexcused absences from the Senate walkout, be eligible to run for reelection? That will likely be up to the Oregon Supreme Court.
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum led a 50-state request for Congress to study how artificial intelligence can exploit children. The Capital Chronicle reports that in the letter the Attorneys General asked Congress to appoint a commission to identify how artificial intelligence can harm children through the creation of AI-generated child sexual abuse materials.
From WW’s Sophie Peel: “A year before a nonprofit co-founded La Mota CEO Rosa Cazares received a half-million dollar grant from the Oregon Bureau of Labor & Industries, records show the agency tried to create an apprenticeship program specifically for Cazares’ company.”
3. Charles Lehman on Portland’s drug crisis
Charles Lehamn is a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a prominent center-right think tank that focuses on urban and city-related issues. The organization gained prominence in the 1980s and 1990s for brainstorming the "broken windows" theory and creating the policy blueprint for Republican New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Charles recently took a trip to Portland to examine the impact of Measure 110 and detailed his thoughts in a City Journal piece that we discuss in the episode.
We also dive into more technical issues such as defining what certain drugs like Fentanyl actually are, the hard statistics around Measure 110 and its outcomes, the differences between legalization and decriminalization, and a host of other issues. This episode is also meant to give listeners the opposing view of the folks over at the Drug Policy Alliance who helped to pass Measure 110 (you can listen to that episode by clicking here).
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5. Gun and abortion laws go to court (and other statewide news)
Oregon Right to Life sues state over Oregon’s birth control, abortion insurance mandate.
The heart of this lawsuit is over the Reproductive Health Equity Act, passed in 2017, which requires every private insurer to cover reproductive health services, including contraceptives, at no cost to patients. All but one insurer, Providence Health Plan, must also cover abortion services, writes The Capital Chronicle.
Gov. Kotek’s advisory panel on Coffee Creek Correctional Facility had its first closed door meeting Thursday, reports The Capital Chronicle. The panel is tasked with recommending ways to prevent abuse, trauma, and retaliation among staff and inmates at Oregon’s only women’s prison.
Oregon’s voter-approved gun laws has its day in court. The trial over Measure 114 starts Thursday in Harney County’s Circuit Judge Robert S. Raschio courtroom. Voters approved M 114 last November, but Raschio put it on hold days before before it was set to take effect Dec. 8.
“Raschio has set aside six days for trial but said Thursday it might last fewer days based on his rulings limiting testimony. The judge also decided he won’t allow testimony from the state on the lethality of large-capacity firearms, physicians’ testimony on the severity of treating multiple gunshot wounds, victims’ testimony on the traumatic loss of loved ones from gun violence or whether other states’ permit-to-purchase gun programs are effective in reducing shootings,” reports Oregonian reporter Maxine Bernstein.
Two tough headlines from the Capital Chronicle:
6. One fun thing: A Beverly Cleary mystery
Here’s a fun, non-political story about an Oregon legend, courtesy of Julia Silverman at the Oregonian. The story includes a time capsule, a signature, and a son’s memory of his mom’s handwriting:
Part 1: “A Beverly Cleary mystery unfolds at a Portland middle school”
Part 2: “Beverly Cleary’s son provides clue to 100-year-old mystery at Portland middle school”
7. News Roundup: Biden appoints an Oregonian, Oregon State sues the PAC-12, and more
People for Portland has launched a new billboard in Portland, this one attacking both DA Mike Schmidt and Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson
Former Portland police chief Danielle Outlaw resigned her job as Philadelphia police captain after 3 turbulent years on the job, writes the AP.
Police are investigating an attack on the Clackamas County Democrats headquarters; according to Pamplin, a brick was thrown through their front window.
From Willamette Week: “Legislature Agrees With IBEW on Union Contract for Legislative Aides, a First in the Nation”
The Skanner newspaper, Portland’s pioneering newspaper for the Black community, sold its building reports The Oregonian.
A report from the state library’s Oregon Intellectual Freedom Clearinghouse found 85 book titles were “challenged” from July 2022-June 2023—more than double any year in the past two decades. The Portland Tribune has the details.
President Biden named Oregon Magistrate Judge Mustafa Kasubhai to the U.S. District Court. Kasubhai, who is from Eugene, in 2018 became the first Muslim American judge to serve on the federal bench. He must still must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Drama over the dissolution of the PAC-12 is still spilling out and isn’t close to over, via CBS: “Oregon State, Washington State file for emergency restraining order against Pac-12”
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About the Authors
Ben Bowman is the state representative for Oregon House District 25 (Tigard, Metzger, and South Beaverton) and a member of the Tigard-Tualatin School Board. In his day job, he works as an administrator for a public school district. Previously, he worked as a legislative aide for former Reps. Margaret Doherty and Val Hoyle. He also co-hosts The Oregon Bridge podcast. In the newsletter and podcast, he speaks only for himself.
Alex Titus is a small business owner and consultant to businesses, nonprofits, and associations. Previously, he served as an Advisor in the Trump Administration and as a Policy Advisor to President Trump’s Super PAC. His writing has appeared in National Review, Fox News, The Hill, RealClearPolitics, and other publications.
Kristina Edmunson has been everything from press assistant for Governor Kulongoski, media advance associate for Vice President Biden, and communications director for Attorney General Rosenblum. Born and raised in Eugene, she has been involved in some of the biggest policy and legal decisions in Oregon over the last decade. Today, she runs her own communications practice. She speaks only for herself in her contributions to The Liftoff.