The Liftoff: Biden urges states to "follow Oregon's lead"
PLUS: A campaign finance reform case study; pandemic crises that never went away; Wyden's agenda; Salinas' new caucus; the price tag for Portland's new form of government; and more!
Welcome back to The Liftoff! Because the authors of this newsletter graduated from the University of Oregon, there will be no mention of football in this week’s newsletter.
In other news, if you or a company you’re part of are interested in advertising in Oregon360 newsletters (like this one!) and The Oregon Bridge podcast, we’d love to chat. Our products reach thousands of highly engaged civic leaders each week. We’re seeking just one more sponsor for the next calendar year. Email alex@or360.org to start the conversation.
1. Biden to states: “Follow Oregon’s lead”—and legislative news
Governor Kate Brown pardoned 45,000 people for offenses related to marijuana in one of her final acts in office, a story that made national news and received a shout out from President Joe Biden asking others to “follow Oregon’s example.” Here’s what Governor Brown said:
“We are a state, and a nation, of second chances. Today, I am taking steps to right the wrongs of a flawed, inequitable, and outdated criminal justice system in Oregon when it comes to personal marijuana possession.”
On the legislative side, here are some leadership changes in the Democratic Caucuses reported by the Capital Insider (in addition to new Senate President-designate Rob Wagner and Majority Leader Kate Lieber):
Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward and Sen. Michael Dembrow, both from Portland, will no longer be members of leadership.
Senator Janeen Sollman of Hillsboro will be the new Deputy Majority Leader.
Freshman Sen. Wlnsvey Campos (Aloha) and Sen. Kayse Jama (Portland) will serve as Assistant Majority Leaders.
On the house side, two notable changes to leadership:
Rep. Rob Nosse will go from Majority Whip to Deputy Whip; he’s switching roles with Rep. Andrea Valderrama, who will be the new Majority Whip.
Rep. Zach Hudson and Rep. Ricki Ruiz will no longer serve in leadership. The Assistant Majority Leaders for House Democrats will be Rep. Dacia Grayber, Rep. Jason Kropf, and Rep. Pam Marsh.
More legislative news:
According to WW, in 2023, Oregon will have the largest caucus of Vietnamese American lawmakers in the country.
Rep. Janelle Bynum (D-Happy Valley) and Rep. Kim Wallan (R-Medford) wrote an op-ed calling for Oregon to pass targeted investments, policy changes, and regulatory reform in order to access the massive federal funding in the CHIPS Act.
The Senate Conduct Committee will meet today (11/28) to consider “Rescinding Interim Safety Measures recommended and supported by the Senate Special Committee on Conduct on July 8, 2019 related to Sen. Boquist”—meaning Boquist would no longer have to give 12-hour notice prior to entering the Capitol.
2. The pandemic-related crises that never really went away
“Crisis Standards of Care” return to Oregon hospitals
If you thought the days of limited hospital capacity were over—think again. The combination of a rise in COVID cases paired with another respiratory illness called RSV (primarily impacting children) has forced at least three Oregon hospitals (including Providence and OHSU) to shift to “crisis standards of care”. There are more COVID patients in Oregon hospitals than any time since August.
State Hospital Remains in Crisis
The long-running case on the Oregon State Hospital is back in court this week. The core issue, according to the Capital Chronicle, is “the festering problem of suspects languishing in jail for months or longer.” Hospitals and district attorneys are unhappy with Federal Judge Michael Mosman’s earlier order.
A relevant backstory from Willamette Week on the case: Initially, Governor Kate Brown issued a waiver allowing her former general counsel Misha Isaak, who now works for Perkins Coie, to represent a handful of major hospitals in the state. Then, on behalf of the hospitals, Isaak sued the state. Gov. Brown has now revoked the conflict waiver for Isaak. One prominent DOJ lawyer told WW that the saga is “pretty uncommon.”
Demand for assistance from food banks at an all-time high
From OPB: “Local and regional food managers said they see no signs of the demand abating in the coming months, and at least one said the food pantry she manages has been forced to shrink the amount of food they provide because of rising prices and soaring demand.”
3. Federal news: Wyden’s agenda—and Salinas joins the Hispanic Caucus
Emphasizing bipartisan cooperation, Senator Ron Wyden announced his agenda as Chair of the Senate Finance Committee. According to Oregon Capital Insider, Wyden said he will “continue to work on expanding access to mental health services, restraining health care costs, and modernizing assistance and retraining for workers whose jobs are affected by international trade.”
Wyden has also introduced a bill, with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, to crack down on catalytic converter thefts by requiring all converters to be imprinted with a VIN, making it easier for law enforcement to identify and trace the parts.
Congresswoman-Elect Andrea Salinas is one of nine new members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, saying : “It’s only I feel like in America where my father can come to this country as someone who worked in the fields, and on January 3, watch his daughter get sworn in as a member of Congress.”
4. Pollster John Horvick explains why the “Red Wave” missed Oregon
John Horvick is one of the top pollsters in Oregon—and a friend of the podcast (check out our last interview with him). In this episode, John provides expert analysis to help explain the results of the election—and the implications for Oregon’s future. We talk about why the red wave didn’t hit Oregon, how national factors impacted Oregon’s results, the importance of candidate quality, and bright spots for both parties.
We also cover the governor’s race, congressional races, the legislature, and what the results from Portland mean about how voters are feeling. As always, we highly recommend following John on Twitter for poll results, political analysis, and interesting historical comparisons: @Horvick.
5. The public defender crisis escalates—again
More than 300 cases in Multnomah County have been dismissed this year due to Oregon’s public defender crisis, with 12% of those being violent crimes. Here’s what District Attorney Mike Schmidt said in a press release:
"This sends a message to crime victims in our community that justice is unavailable, and their harm will go unaddressed. It also sends a message to individuals who have committed a crime that there is no accountability while burning through scarce police and prosecutor resources. Every day that this crisis persists presents an urgent and continuing threat to public safety."
According to Pamplin, Schmidt “is going to publish every single suspect released due to a lack of defenders available until there are more attorneys.”
Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici has introduced a bill to address the crisis at the federal level with a $250 million investment in public defenders and new requirements to collect workload data and offer pay parity with prosecutors.
6. Portland’s new form of government will cost millions to implement—and other news from the city
According to the city’s budget office, it will cost between $12.3 and $17.7 million to implement the voter-approved charter change over the next three years.
Merritt Paulson is considering selling the Portland Thorns—but not the Timbers. According to WW: “Merritt Paulson is betting that a sale of the Thorns to a group of women would take the heat off him as owner and allow him to keep the Timbers, the stadium deal, and media rights.”
Read the latest on the ongoing lawsuit between outgoing Commissioner JoAnn Hardesty and the Portland Police Association. From WW: “Both sides demand that records be produced by the other as part of discovery. And they’re both going for the jugular.”
7. The messy reality of campaign finance reform: a case study in Southern Oregon
Here’s a campaign finance reform case study from The Oregonian that is worth your time.
This year, Sen. Jeff Golden, a major proponent of campaign finance reform, was in a competitive reelection against a well-funded Republican opponent. He refused to accept contributions from political action committees.
In response, a third-party organization independently spent more than Golden’s campaign ($266,000 compared to $233,000) to boost his efforts in the district—which is also what happened four years earlier in Golden’s last election.
According to Golden, he was powerless to stop the spending. Here’s a quote from him in The O: “I could not get, no matter what I did, the upstate folks to stop spending money on the race.”
Golden posted the article to his Facebook page with this caption:
“What this mostly accurate article leaves out is that the benefit of this extra outside money is outweighed by how it undermines a premise I've been trying to prove: that it's possible to win elections without the big PAC money. Because it is.”
All told, more than $70 million was spent on the 2022 campaign for Oregon governor. Where did the money come from? Hillary Borrud from The O has the details.
So, how much does money actually matter in campaigns? Peter Wong from Pamplin takes a look at the 2022 election with input from political analysts; his basic summary? “Money is important in politics — but it's not everything.”
8. Changing views on environmental regulation
Thanks to our friends at the Oregon Values and Beliefs Center for this week’s graphic showing Oregonians’ evolving views on environmental regulations over the last thirty years.
8. News Roundup: Lininger won’t oversee Oswego Lake case, Salt & Straw might move, and Clackamas GOP lurches rightward
Clackamas County Circuit Court Judge Ann Lininger, a former lawmaker, will not be reinstalled as the judge presiding over the Oswego Lake case after the Oregon Supreme Court denied a petition from plaintiffs.
Lawsuits are already flying over Measure 114 which introduced new gun regulations and restrictions. This lawsuit is being led by the Oregon Firearms Federation.
Salt & Straw is considering moving its HQ out of Portland due to safety concerns for its staff, according to one of the ice cream company’s co-founders.
According to Willamette Week, the Clackamas County Republican Party has elected a new chair affiliated with a group that denies the results of the 2020 election, and a new vice chair associated with the Proud Boys.
Thank you for reading.
Tips? Feedback? Ideas? Corrections? We want to hear from you! Email benjaminwbowman@gmail.com.
If you value this newsletter, please become a paying subscriber today. Your support will help us grow and offer more opportunities to this community. It’s just $10 a month!
Interested in advertising with us? Get in touch!
About the Authors
Ben Bowman is the chair of the Tigard-Tualatin School Board and state representative-elect for Oregon House District 25 (Tigard and Beaverton). 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.