The Liftoff: Fireworks in the first gubernatorial debate with Kotek, Drazan, and Johnson
PLUS: The Independent Party of Oregon makes its endorsements; top civic leaders leaving their jobs; signs of progress and hope; guest essays worth reading; and more!
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1. Fireworks in the first gov. debate; confederate flag becomes an issue; Drazan launches first TV ad
The biggest event of the week was the first official debate between the candidates for governor, hosted by the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association (watch the full debate above). The candidates went at each other aggressively, including one exchange between Betsy Johnson and Tina Kotek on the presence of confederate flags at Johnson’s rallies. Interestingly, Johnson brought the issue up, accusing Kotek of exacerbating the urban-rural divide with her press release (see below). When the moderator asked Christine Drazan if she’d like to “jump into this”, she silently shook her head.
Another sharp exchange occurred in the closing statements, where Drazan accused Johnson of “[talking] about uniting people, but doing it in a way that is perpetually divisive.” She went on to say of Johnson: “She’s been a Democrat for twenty years, with a gavel and in charge. And now, it’s expedient and convenient to shed that skin and take on a new one—and erase her own history and re-write her own vote record, re-write her own service, to pursue additional power. That is nothing to be proud of.”
In response, Johnson said: “Wow, talk about divisive.” She then described her friendly communication with Drazan during the 2021 session, when Johnson was “poking at the Democrats” (her words). She accused Drazan of changing her tune because of politics, looked at her and said: “apparently ambition overcame integrity.”
Now, here are some quick hits from the Governor’s race:
General election ads have started. See Christine Drazan’s here and Betsy Johnson’s here.
Tina Kotek won the support of AFSCME, a public-sector labor group that held out during the primary election.
Meanwhile, the Republican Governors Association (RGA) continues to pour money into Oregon with another $250,000 to Drazan. The head of the RGA recently called Oregon “the best open seat pickup opportunity this year”.
An OPB profile of Betsy Johnson and her pursuit of collecting enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot includes some colorful language—and a note that confederate flags “dot the crowd”—drew the attention of Johnson’s opponent. In response, Tina Kotek issued a press release called: “Will Betsy Johnson Speak Out Against Racist Symbols at Her Campaign Rallies?”
The Cook Political Report, a national political forecasting group, has moved their rating for the Governor’s race from “likely Democrat” to “lean Democrat”.
FiveThirtyEight gives Johnson a less than 1% chance of winning, with a projected popular vote share of 10.8%.
2. This week in signs of progress and hope
We often cover dispiriting stories in this newsletter. This week, there was some positive news that we are happy to share:
All 41 electric utilities companies have submitted plans to the state to prevent wildfires and manage shutoffs, as required by legislation passed in 2021.
After initial delays, federal emergency housing vouchers are making it to people who need them at a faster rate, with 40% being used to secure new apartments (up from just 16% in May).
In Eugene, St. Vincent de Paul and HOPE Community Corporation will be partnering to build mobile homes that are “energy efficient, fire resistant and easily repairable” using state dollars.
From OPB: “A decade-long court case ends with higher wages and greater job access to Oregonians with disabilities”
3. Big news in legislative and congressional races
The Independent Party of Oregon (IPO) has made its endorsements/nominations for the general election. The list includes mostly Democrats who have been cross-nominated (including Jamie McLeod Skinner and Andrea Salinas in their congressional races; though the IPO nominated their own candidate, Levi Leatherberry, in CD4). A couple of Republicans in competitive districts were cross-nominated: Sen. Bill Kennemer in SD20 (Clackamas County) and John Velez in SD13 (Tigard and Sherwood).
The “Coalition for Safe, Healthy and Prosperous Communities” is an organization that doesn’t exist in state campaign finance or business records—but they’re spending money to attack Democrats online and via mail. The Capitol Chronicle reports that the new organization may be “violating the spirit, if not the letter,” of state law.
Willamette Week took a closer look at the three top-tier Republican challengers for congress in Oregon, in CD4 (Alek Skarlatos), CD5 (Lori Chavez-DeRemer), and CD6 (Mike Erickson).
4. Michael Sipe joins The Bridge to discuss guns, water issues, and how he plans to keep one of Oregon’s most competitive seats red
Michael Sipe is the Republican nominee for a new state house seat in central Oregon (House District 53), considered one of the most competitive in the state. He is running against Democratic nominee Emerson Levy, who we interviewed previously. Take one look at Michael's website and you'll see he's an unusual candidate: a Cold War Army Ranger, black belt martial artist, podcast host, owner of a private equity advisory firm, and organizer of one of the largest Christian men's gatherings in Oregon (with Mike Huckabee as the special guest).
In this episode, we talk about the major challenges facing Oregon (and central Oregon in particular): sky-high housing prices, water issues, and addiction. We also have a conversation about gun violence in which Michael, Alex, and Ben all disagree with each other on solutions—but also find some common ground.
5. Oregon leaders leaving their jobs (for new ones)
Lindsey Capps, Education Policy Adviser to Governor Kate Brown, is leaving his post to join the Oregon Health and Sciences University government affairs team, focusing on federal issues.
Jeremey Vandehey, a leader at the Oregon Health Authority, is leaving the agency. He’ll be joining PacificSource Health Plans.
Reporter Tess Riski is leaving Willamette Week for a new role at the Miami Herald covering local government.
Three of Oregon’s largest school districts will have new superintendents by the end next year: Salem-Keizer, Beaverton, and Eugene. Salem-Keizer Superintendent Christy Perry, pictured above, was Oregon Superintendent of the Year in 2021.
6. Guest essays that are worth reading
Brad Phelps served as summer editor for The Oregon Way—and he did an amazing job. To learn more about Brad, check out his interview on The Oregon Bridge. Here are some of the top essays he published, all of which gained substantial traction:
Vadim Mozyrsky on Portland charter reform
Sen. Sara Gelser on civil rights violations impacting Oregon students
Rep. Rachel Prusak on legislator pay
Tim Nesbitt on why PERS is coming for Oregon’s next governor
Commissioner Sharon Meieran on how Portland can solve homelessness
Mayor Mark Gamba on why he’s running for the legislature
On behalf of the team at Oregon360, a huge thank you to Brad for his stewardship of our digital op-ed page this summer!
7. How geography impacts voter beliefs on gun restrictions
Thanks to our friends at OVBC for this week’s graphic. This is a great example of the how the so-called “urban-rural divide” shows up in voter perceptions.
8. News Roundup: Air conditioning, microchips, and an abortion clinic in eastern Oregon
Not great: 1,000 air conditioners meant for low-income Oregonians are stuck in warehouses due to a lack of staffing.
Many residents in rural Josephine County have no public fire protection services, forcing them to “subscribe” to a private fire fighting service “with no regulation or oversight”. Residents are calling for change.
Yikes: a KGW journalist was chased and assaulted while reporting on a story in Southeast Portland.
Beaverton-based software company Exterro is rolling in the dough and planning for an IPO next year. Mike Rogoway for The O has the story.
Intel is one of the big winners of the recently passed bipartisan CHIPS Act which seeks to provide more funding for the semi-conductor industry as U.S.-China competition over tech heats up. Check out Intel’s press release here.
Some mixed news from Secretary of State’s audit of the Employment Department: first, the challenges of the state agency go deeper than antiquated computer systems, with some cases taking years to resolve. But, Oregon “didn’t perform much worse than other states” during the pandemic—and less money was lost to fraud, according to The O’s reporting. The head of the agency, David Gerstenfeld, said many of the audits recommendations have already been implemented, and other will be soon, saying: “At this point, the agency really is a very different agency than if you look back just prior to the pandemic.”
Conservative writer Christopher Rufo penned a piece in City Journal criticizing books and documents being taught in K-5 in Portland Public Schools.
A Planned Parenthood clinic is opening in Ontario, Oregon. OPB takes a look at how the local community is responding—including the perspective of the single publicly pro-choice elected official in town.
Thank you for reading.
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About the Authors
Ben Bowman is the chair of the Tigard-Tualatin School Board and a Democratic candidate for Oregon House District 25 (Tigard and Beaverton). In his day job, he works for the Oregon Department of Education. 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. He also co-hosts The Oregon Bridge podcast.