The Liftoff: Campaign season is here! Who's running for what?
PLUS: Oregon AG sues Fox News; a bipartisan Oregon delegation returns from Scandinavia; Kitzhaber speaks on education; Oregon mayor survives a recall; Portland's Ritz-Carlton makes news; and more!
Welcome back to The Liftoff! Thursday was the first day that candidates in Oregon could file for the 2024 primary. Which means, there was a lot of political news last week.
We hope you’ll continue to follow along with us as the 2024 election cycle heats up. As always, like what you see? Consider upgrading your subscription!
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1. Who is running? Election season in Oregon heats up!
So much election news this week.
As a primer: All 60 of Oregon state House seats, and 15 of the 30 Oregon Senate seats are up for grabs in 2024. Plus, there are at least two open statewide seats for Secretary of State and Treasurer—not to mention local elections. So, we are off to the races!
First, some bonus content for our subscribers: Reagan Knopp has written a piece looking in depth at where key races across the state stand on filing day.
Oregon Secretary of State: Two Democrats, State Senator James Manning (D-Eugene) and State Treasurer Tobias Read announced Wednesday that they are running in 2024.
According to KGW, Read broke the news in a post on X (Twitter), and Manning followed shortly with a news release and press conference live streamed on Facebook.
Manning was joined by Rep. Travis Nelson (D-Portland) and former Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith, among others.
Oregon Treasurer: State Senator Elizabeth Steiner (D-Portland) announced that she is running for Treasurer. Steiner has served in the Legislature since 2011, and has been a co-chair of the powerful Joint Ways and Means Committee since 2018.
Meanwhile in Portland, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said on Thursday he would not seek a third term in the 2024 election. This announcement comes amid a massive overhaul of Portland’s city government, and as candidates for the expanded City Council started flooding in.
As of now, only City Commissioner Mingus Mapps and Portlander Durrell Kinsey Bey have announced their candidacies for Portland Mayor.
Wheeler told OPB that he wants to use the next 15 months to “guide the city through its transition to a new form of government, along with seeing through a few of his office’s newer initiatives to address homelessness, trash and public safety.”
Willamette Week looks at the first dozen candidates to file to run for the new city council—half of which come from the new District 3.
Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt filed for reelection—and WW got its hand on a billboard that People for Portland decided not to buy, picturing Schmidt dancing with Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson with the caption: “They’re just dancing around our problems.”
Another big question: Can the Senate Republicans with more than 10 unexcused absences last legislative session run again?
We know that Senate Republican Leader Tim Knopp (R-Bend) officially filed for reelection Thursday (so did his would-be Democratic opponent, Anthony Broadman). Knopp filled out 2024 primary election candidate filing paperwork Thursday morning at the Secretary of State’s office in Salem, according to a statement he issued to the media. The Bend Bulletin has other details.
Sen. Dennis Linthicum’s wife Diane Linthicum, is running in the 28th district. What does this mean? Sen. Linthicum is one of the Republican senators suing for the right to run for re-election, so this would be a way to keep the seat in his family if Linthicum's court challenge fails.
In eastern Oregon, four Republicans filed to replace retiring Sen. Bill Hansell.
State Representative Lily Morgan (R-Grants Pass) drew a primary opponent: Grants Pass City Councilor Dwayne Yunker.
And, of course, we can’t forget about Oregon Congressional races. Oregon’s two Republican Congressional members may be split on the Biden impeachment inquiry—or not. According to the Oregon Capital Chronicle, Rep. Cliff Bentz supports the Biden impeachment inquiry, while Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer hasn’t said much. Highlights from the article:
Benz told the Chronicle: “I trust Kevin McCarthy, and if he’s saying that this is the next step, then I’m gonna be with him on it.”
A spokesman for Rep. Chavez-DeRemer didn’t answer specific questions about whether she supports the inquiry and whether there should be any limits on the inquiry’s scope.
2. Rosenblum sues Fox, Kitzhaber speaks on education, and other state agency news
Marion County sued the Oregon Health Authority and Oregon State Hospital on Tuesday, saying the state has “failed to fund, build and staff enough beds for individuals who need inpatient behavioral health restoration services,” reports The Statesman Journal.
Colette Peters, Oregon’s former corrections director, was taken to task by U.S. Senators over her job performance as director of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
From the Associated Press: “Senators complained that Colette Peters appears to have reneged on promises she made when she took the job last year that she’d be candid and open with lawmakers, and that ‘the buck stops’ with her for turning the troubled agency around.”
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum sued Fox Corporation last week, alleging that false claims about the 2020 election broadcast on Fox News caused losses to the state’s employee retirement funds. The Oregon Capital Chronicle has the details.
Former Gov. John Kitzhaber spoke to OPB about Oregon’s education budget and goals, critiquing the current lack of vision, saying: “The K-12 number drives the budget debate in Salem, it did in 1979, and it still does today. It is a number without a context. They take what we spent last year, and roll it up, and never asked, ‘Is the way we spent money last year getting us where we want to go?’”
Meanwhile, according to Pamplin, the Oregon Department of Education says it “regrets” not consulting with school districts prior to withholding Advanced Placement scores and participation rates from US News and World Report, who released new rankings with declines for many Oregon schools because of the change.
Gov. Kotek announced Tuesday that 26 rural counties will receive $26 million to house people either temporarily in shelters or permanently in homes. This money comes from the more than $200 million allocated by the Legislature this session for homelessness in Oregon. The Oregon Capital Chronicle has the details.
Gov. Kotek’s Housing Production Advisory Council says Oregon needs to temporarily loosen its land-use laws in order to meet Kotek’s goal of building 36,000 homes per year. The Oregonian reports that the council recommended that the “Legislature allow all cities to expand their urban growth boundary one time in the next 10 years without going through the usual expansion process that can take years to complete.”
From The Oregonian: “The Oregon Department of Transportation is scrapping previously planned tolling on an Interstate 205 bridge, even as it moves ahead with tolling on a second span. It will also roll back plans to build a third lane on a seven-mile stretch of the road between Tualatin and Oregon City, agency staff members said Thursday.”
3. Freshmen legislators on being a mom and winning swing seats
Rep. Annessa Hartman (D-Gladstone) and Rep. Emerson Levy (D-Bend) are freshmen legislators first elected in 2022.
They represent two swing districts (sometimes called “purple” seats)—Hartman in Clackamas County and Levy in Central Oregon (you can listen to our interview with then-candidate Levy here). They are also both relatively young legislators—and moms of young children. In this episode, we discuss the impact of running for office and public service on family, what it’s like running in ultra-competitive districts, and the policy wins they are most proud of.
4. Sponsored Message from Harrang Long P.C.: Harrang Long’s Political Law Practice
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5. Portland’s Ritz Carlton makes Fast Company; and more Portland news!
Fast Company magazine profiled Portland’s new Ritz-Carlton, where rooms will start at $473 and residences cost up to $8.9 million. But, just walk a few blocks away and you will see people sleeping in tents and doorways.
From the article, “The opening of a lavish new hotel has the city divided. Boosters say it will help attract locals and tourists alike to downtown after the ravages of COVID-19 and the unrest during the 2020 street protests…Critics call it tone deaf—or worse.”
The Portland City Council is considering a credit against business license taxes to attract or keep businesses in downtown and other central-city districts that remain in a slump, reports The Oregonian. The ordinance was introduced by Mayor Ted Wheeler and Commissioner Carmen Rubio.
Businesses with 15 or more employees could qualify for the credit by signing or extending a lease in the downtown, Old Town, Lower Albina or Lloyd districts before the end of 2023. If approved, businesses would receive the credit over the next four years.
Lester Smith, who managed the Portland Marathon for nearly 35 years, pleaded guilty to one charge of federal tax fraud Tuesday. According to Axios Portland, “Smith faced seven felony counts, including embezzling more than $1 million from a nonprofit race organization and evading more than $400,000 in federal income taxes.”
From The Oregonian: “Dancers at Northwest Portland strip club vote to form city’s first strippers union, second in U.S.”
6. The Oregon Way
This op-ed was written by Xavier D. Stickler, chair of the Land-Use & Transportation Committee of the Downtown Neighborhood Association. It speaks for the Downtown and St. John’s Neighborhood Associations of Portland.
7. News Roundup: Oregon legislators return from Scandinavia, Oregon’s shrinking population, and PPB’s new spokesman
Measure 110 making the national news—again. This time, in The Nation: “In Defense of Drug Decriminalization—Yes, in Oregon”. Here’s the lede: “By passing Measure 110, Oregonians sought to begin undoing the harms caused by over 50 years of a failed War on Drugs. Those harms won’t be fixed overnight.”
A Washington state judge granted Washington State University and Oregon State University’s restraining order request, preventing a Pac-12 board meeting from taking place after 10 members departed the conference.
From the Bend Bulletin: “A group of Oregon and Washington lawmakers, including Rep. Emerson Levy, D-Bend, traveled to Scandinavia this past week to learn about sustainable energy solutions that can be applied in the Pacific Northwest. The trip was designed to provide local legislators with clear examples of best practices in green energy.” Other attendees included Rep. Mark Owens, Sen. Janeen Sollman, Rep. Bobby Levy, and Sen. Lynn Findley.
The Portland Police Bureau hired former KGW reporter Mike Benner to be its new head of communications, the first non-sworn member to serve in that role in at least 25 years, according to The Oregonian.
From The Oregonian: Oregon students around the state on Friday walked out of class and demanded that Gov. Kotek declare an emergency over climate change and put more resources into addressing climate change.
The Jantzen Beach Carousel is moving to the National Neon Sign Museum in The Dalles. Restore Oregon took ownership of the carousel several years ago and has been restoring the horses, writes The Portland Tribune.
The U.S. Census Bureau released new numbers showing that more people left Oregon than moved into the state in 2022, a reversal of growth trends that have endured since the 1980s.
From Jefferson Public Radio: “Sara Bristol will remain the mayor of Grant Pass. Voters chose to keep her with 5,455 votes out of 8,478 counted in Tuesday night's preliminary results.”
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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.