The Liftoff: Kotek's inaugural address and new hires
PLUS: Drama at Portland city hall; Kafoury's parting shot; "new leadership era" in Oregon leg.; newspaper shuts down; DeFazio comes home; McLane gets promoted; and more!
Welcome back to The Liftoff! And happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!
Before we get to the news, a note on the passing of a legendary Oregonian. Judge Ted Goodwin, the oldest and longest serving federal judge in America, has passed away at 99-years-old. Goodwin was appointed by Governor Mark Hatfield to the Oregon Supreme Court and President Richard Nixon to the federal bench. A World War II veteran, Goodwin was involved in a number of high-profile, impactful cases at the state and federal level. For Oregonians, however, his greatest legacy may be his decision in 1969 as an Oregon Supreme Court Justice that Oregon’s beaches are, indeed, public. You can read his full obit in the New York Times. May he rest in peace.
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1. Tina Kotek’s inaugural address—and her new team
Tina Kotek is officially the Governor of Oregon. In her inaugural address, she set a goal of building 36,000 new units per year, a roughly 80% increase over production in recent years. She also declared a homelessness state of emergency and announced that she will be asking the legislature for $130 million early in the session to address homelessness.
Here are some new high-profile additions to her team, according to the Oregon Capital Insider:
Lindsey O’Brien - Deputy Chief of Staff for Public Engagement. Kotek’s Chief of Staff in the legislature.
Chris Warner - Deputy Chief of Staff for Public Administration. Previously with the Portland Bureau of Transportation.
An Do - Director of Public Affairs and Communications. Previously at Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon.
Richard Lane - General Counsel.
Becca Uherbelau - Equity and Racial Justice Director. Previously with the Multnomah County Chair.
Bob Livingston - Legislator Director and Labor Liaison. Previously with the Oregon State Fire Fighters Council.
Vince Porter - Economic Development and Workforce Advisor. An alum of Govs. John Kitzhaber and Kate Brown.
Karin Power - Natural Resources and Climate Advisor. Former State Rep.
Amelia Porterfield - Regional Solutions Director. Former Chief of Staff for then-Speaker Kotek.
2. Drama unfolds inside Portland City Hall as key staffers depart
Former Portland Mayor Sam Adams abruptly resigned this week from his high-level city hall position supporting current Mayor Ted Wheeler.
First, Adams said that he resigned over exhaustion related to his chronic anemia.
Then, Wheeler went to the press to counter that claim. He says he asked Adams to resign because of a documented pattern of “bullying and intimidation” toward women working in the office.
Adams called it a “knife in the back” and denied Wheeler’s claims; he insisted he resigned only due to health reasons.
Willamette Week’s investigative reporting, including obtaining HR records, indicated that seven employees filed complaints complained against Adams—and that the Human Resources Office provided the mayor’s office with suggested language to terminate Adams.
Adams is not the only one leaving City Hall.
From WW: “Carmen Merlo, deputy chief administrative officer at the Office of Management and Finance, will leave her job at the city of Portland on Feb. 1, just as that office undertakes the enormous task of remaking Portland’s government.”
More from WW: “Just one week ahead of the start of the legislative session in Salem, the city is soon to be down three of its five state lobbyists.”
WW also spoke to some lawmakers who are concerned that Portland may struggle to advance its legislative agenda.
Must read: the Oregonian retrospective on former Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury, including this quote from her:
“Wheeler’s inability to get things done shouldn’t be blamed on my personal relationship with him because nothing is further from the truth. I am not going to take responsibility for the current mayor’s inability to get things done.”
3. Former State Senator Rick Metsger joins The Bridge to tell the wild story of when Kate Brown and Peter Courtney ran against each other
Rick Metsger served for a decade in the Oregon State Senate before being nominated by President Barack Obama to serve on the board of the National Credit Union Administration. In this episode, we talk briefly about Rick's tenure as a State Senator and about the vetting process he went through before being appointed to his post in the Obama Administration. The bulk of the episode is Rick telling the wild story of the time when Kate Brown, then-Senate Democratic Leader, competed with then-Senator Peter Courtney for the position of Senate President.
The caucus election had a significant, long-lasting impact on Oregon's political landscape—including setting Brown on the path to the governorship. Rick was a member of the Senate Democratic Caucus at the time of this election. He interviewed 15 former colleagues in the Senate (Democrats and Republicans) before writing an essay that reveals the behind-the-scenes dynamics that ultimately led to Peter Courtney's ascension to the Senate Presidency—a role he held for two decades. We also ask him about why he chose to reveal this story publicly today (including private conversations in caucus meetings, which were considered confidential).
4. Quick hits from the Oregon State Legislature
The Capitol Chronicle described the election of Dan Rayfield as Speaker and Rob Wagner as Senate President as “a new leadership era” in the Oregon Legislature.
Legislators have submitted nearly 2,000 bills for consideration in the upcoming legislative session.
Read about the bills from Bend’s legislative delegation: Sen. Tim Knopp, Rep. Jason Kropf, and Rep. Emerson Levy
Secretary of State Shemia Fagan has released her own legislative agenda called the “2023 Protect Our Democracy” agenda. It includes increased staffing at the Elections Division, expanding automatic voter registration, replacing ORESTAR, and more.
A letter addressed to Oregon House leadership is calling for Rep. Brian Stout to be investigated by the legislative branch for sexual assault allegations. The letter was signed by Rep. Khanh Pham, Rep. Hoa Nguyen, former senator Akasha Lawrence-Spence, and the ACLU of Oregon, among others.
Representative David Brock Smith has been appointed to fill the remainder of former senator Dallas Heard’s term.
5. The Way: Novick on alcohol taxes; Conkling on Knopp; Hester on Wagner
This week, three opinion pieces in The Oregon Way: first, former Portland City Commissioner Steve Novick on why he thinks raising alcohol taxes is a crime-fighting technique, then Gary Conkling and Mark Hester take a look at two key leaders in the Oregon Senate: Senate President Rob Wagner and GOP Leader Tim Knopp.
6. Big stories to follow
The Medford Mail Tribune, one of the oldest newspapers in Oregon, will abruptly close. The closure is part of a larger national trend of local news outlets dying. The Agora Journalism Center at the University of Oregon has a report detailing the state of local news in Oregon.
While much of the state is experiencing a better water year than average, conditions are severe in Central Oregon, with Crook County experiencing an “exceptional drought”—the worst rating.
Recommended reading: check out this long-form profile of former Gov. Kate Brown’s legacy on clemency—including quotes from her most vocal supporters and critics.
Oregon’s largest office building, known as “Big Pink”, is losing two large tenants, which will leave 100,000 in vacant office space.
7. News Roundup: DeFazio back in Oregon, McLane promoted, and unhappy Trailblazers
NWEA, an international school assessment nonprofit based in Portland, has been acquired by HMH, a major textbook publishing corporation.
Former House GOP Leader Mike McLane has been promoted to the rank of colonel in the Oregon Air National Guard.
From the Oregonian: “U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici briefly hospitalized after being struck by car in Portland”
Those changes coming to I-5? Even the Trailblazers aren’t happy.
From Roll Call: “‘Addicted’ to infrastructure, DeFazio returns to Oregon for good”
Thank you for reading.
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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.
Representative Ben Bowman's bio needs an update: "Ben Bowman is the chair of the Tigard-Tualatin School Board and state representative-elect for Oregon House District 25."