The Liftoff: Big endorsements for governor and congress; more legislators retire
PLUS: Ted Wheeler takes control; highlights from the short legislative session; who's running for the house and senate; why Ukraine matters to Oregon
Welcome back to The Liftoff!
The short session is over—which means that primary campaign season has begun. There were several unexpected developments last week (including three big retirements in the legislature) that will impact Oregon’s future; read on for more.
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1. Tobias Read’s big week, and other gubernatorial and congressional campaign news
Governor’s Race
State Treasurer Tobias Read secured the coveted endorsement of former Oregon governor Barbara Roberts, a “surprise choice” according to WW.
Read also made headlines on another issue: First, he asked his team to evaluate potential divestment of Russian investments. He then made the call and divested $137 million of Oregon assets from the Russian government and Russian companies.
Tina Kotek was in the news for criticizing Portland Public Schools’ proposed budget cuts, which would eliminate some staff. Legislative BIPOC caucus members expressed similar concerns.
In a potential preview of the general election, Christine Drazan is drawing a distinction with Betsy Johnson on tolling. Additionally, a Republican Party leader released a statement slamming Johnson on tolling to WW, saying: “This is exactly the kind of flip-flopping and gaslighting you’d expect to see from a career politician like Betsy Johnson.”
In other news, Betsy Johnson is raising money from donors who traditionally support Republicans.
After spending over $300,000 on attorney fees, Nick Kristof still has about $1.3 million in his PAC.
On the GOP side, Bob Tiernan was interviewed on KOIN to explain why he’s running.
Every single major candidate for governor, including the top Republicans, has been vaccinated, according to a WW survey of the candidates.
CD6
Big spending continues in CD6: A billionaire-funded Super PAC supporting Carrick Flynn has already spent over $1.3 million on advertising; one of Flynn’s primary competitors, Matt West, believes there may be illegal coordination between Flynn’s campaign and the Super PAC (Flynn’s campaign called the allegation “frivolous”).
Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, who currently represents about 40% of the new CD6, has endorsed Rep. Andrea Salinas.
On the GOP side, a new and notable late entrant: one-term former Congressman Jim Bunn has filed to run. Bunn, who served in Congress from 1995-1997, sought appointment to the state house last year after Mike Nearman’s expulsion; the county commissioners chose Rep. Anna Scharf instead.
CD5
Senator Elizabeth Warren has endorsed Jamie McLeod Skinner.
On the Republican side, both Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Jimmy Crumpacker have been identified for the “Young Guns” program of the National Republican Congressional Committee. This means that, regardless of who wins the primary, you can expect a big influx of funding in the general election.
CD4
Alek Skarlatos received an endorsement from U.S. Senator Tom Cotton who is seen by many as a potential candidate for President in 2024.
On the Democratic side, Labor Commissioner Val Hoyle was in the spotlight last week with a critical piece from DeSmog about LNG and fossil fuels that highlights one of her opponents, Doyle Canning. In the article, Rep. Peter DeFazio takes aim at Canning (his former opponent) and defends Hoyle. She was also featured in a glowing piece from NW Labor Press, a labor union publication.
2. Ted Wheeler takes control; Dan Ryan’s evolution
In a series of unusual moves, Mayor Ted Wheeler will be using emergency declarations to exercise executive authority to address Portland’s homelessness crisis; his latest action will centralize and streamline the work of various departments to create a new “homeless services hub”.
Check out this fascinating article from WW on Commissioner Dan Ryan’s political evolution—and his reelection strategy—and why it seems to be working:
Perhaps that’s because Ryan has shifted away from his progressive agenda and instead taken up positions that more closely resemble those of a law-and-order candidate. His flexibility appears to be paying dividends in what many observers expect to be a brutal year for incumbents: He faces only light opposition for reelection.
In the other Portland City Council race, Vadim Mozyrsky (who is challenging Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty) was the subject of this headline from WW: “Responding to Allegations of Racism, City Council Candidate Files Complaint Against Two Fellow Members of Citizen Review Committee”.
A new deep-dive report from OPB on People for Portland indicates that the organization’s strategy and tactics are probably working.
From WW: “Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler has fired Officer Brian Hunzeker after an internal affairs investigation found that the former police union president violated bureau directives last March, when he leaked a report that mistakenly identified Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty as the suspect in a hit-and-run crash.” Read the full story.
Shannon Singleton, an advisor to Gov. Kate Brown, will drop out of the race for Multnomah County Chair to lead Multnomah County’s Joint Office of Homeless Services.
3. Legislative turnover accelerates as filing deadline approaches
Massive Development: Three veteran Democratic state representatives, all committee chairs, have announced their retirement. Rep. Rachel Prusak, Rep. Karin Power, and Rep. Anna Williams will not run for reelection, citing the demands of the job and the low pay (remember the legislative pay raise bill? R.I.P.).
New candidates have already filed in each seat, including (but not limited to): West Linn Mayor Jules Walters (Dem.) and Aeric Estep (Rep.) in Prusak’s seat, Portland Public Schools Board Member Eilidh Lowery and Milwaukie Mayor Mark Gamba in Power’s (both Dems), and former Rep. Jeff Helfrich (Rep.) in Williams’. Expect more filings in the final days before the deadline (March 8!).
Why does turnover matter? Consider this: Of the ten current members of the House Health Care Committee, only one is running for re-election: first-term legislator Rep. Maxine Dexter.
State Rep. Marty Wilde was featured in an OPB piece about his “lonely crusade—against his own party”. It includes this nugget: Wilde has now registered to vote as his parents’ house in the new district of Rep. Paul Holvey, though Wilde says he won’t challenge an incumbent.
Business and labor organizations are teaming up to challenge a campaign finance ballot measure proposal.
BONUS: Which legislator said this?: "I had a pet raccoon as a kid. It was the best pet I ever had. And people are laughing, but it truly was. I would go fishing with it. It slept in my bed." Click here to find out, courtesy of Boise State Public Radio.
4. Treasurer Tobias Read joins The Bridge to talk homelessness, ESG investing, and his vision for Oregon
Treasurer Tobias Read returns to the Bridge, this time as a candidate for Governor. With Nick Kristof officially out of the running, Read and Speaker Tina Kotek are the two frontrunners to be the Democratic nominee. Read is a seasoned veteran in Oregon politics and on this episode he discloses some of the ideas he has for Oregon's future. We talk about Oregon’s homelessness crisis, conservation and natural resource controversies, campaign finance reform, and the governor’s role is addressing the challenges facing Portland. We also may have made a little history with what may be one of the first questions about cryptocurrency in an Oregon gubernatorial campaign.
You can watch this week’s interview here, and check out our interview from last May here (both episodes are also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, Google, and more).
5. Historic short session wraps up as campaign season launches
The 2022 Legislative Session has officially adjourned.
OPB’s has a full run-down of what passed, what didn’t, and other major developments (like Senators saying goodbye to Sen. President Peter Courtney).
The Oregonian has its own deep-dive (which includes a picture of Rep. Wlnsvey Campos sliding down the capitol stairs).
Here are some other highlights:
Key education investments were announced by legislative leaders: $100 million to bolster Oregon’s education workforce, $150 million for summer learning, and $25 million for districts impacted by wildfires.
The legislature also decided to spend $1 million on studying the state’s response to COVID-19 on a party-line vote.
A bipartisan bill loosening the restrictions on the use of tear gas is heading to the Governor’s desk.
The high-profile farmworker overtime bill will become law.
The Legislature also voted to set up a statewide mattress recycling program.
6. Why Putin’s war in Ukraine matters to Oregon
A not-so-friendly reminder that Russia’s war on Ukraine could impact us here in Oregon, particularly if the conflict escalates, from OPB: “Oregon Emergency Management officials say they’re prepping for a range of potential impacts” including cyber terrorism and “radiological events” like the use of nuclear weapons.
Following similar developments in other states, Oregon liquor stores have removed Russian vodka from their shelves after the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission ordered the change.
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger was a guest at last week’s State of the Union, seated near First Lady Jill Biden and Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova, and he was prominently recognized by President Joe Biden during his speech, who cited Intel’s plans in Ohio as an example of bringing manufacturing back to the United States.
7. News Roundup: Newsom, Inslee, and Brown roll back public health protocols
In a join announcement with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Gov. Kate Brown announced that all three states will left their respective mask mandates on March 12. Contact tracing and quarantining practices will generally end as well.
There have already been 22 gun homicides in Portland this year, outpacing last year’s total as of the same date.
It worked: Following the backlash from elected leaders in Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska, one of the architects of the Washington State fuel tax targeting exports dropped his support for that provision. The proposal then died.
The former mayor of Beaverton Denny Doyle has been arrested on child pornography charges. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
Four dams on the Klamath River are getting closer to being demolished. This is great news for salmon.
Two members of the Oregon Investment Council will be stepping down.
From The Oregonian: “The University of Oregon intends to purchase the former Concordia University campus in Northeast Portland to house an ambitious new children’s behavioral health institute funded by a $425 million gift from Oregon alum Connie Ballmer and her husband, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.” Read the full story.
The Oregon Nurses Association has named Anne Tan Piazza as their new Executive Director.
Wow: The largest public defender firm in Washington County will not take any more cases for a month because of capacity limitations.
Federal agents seized 150,000 counterfeit pills with fentanyl and 20 pounds of the drug in powder form, a record-breaking seizure.
Thank you for reading.
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Great issue! Thanks!