The Liftoff: Kotek's power play pays off; plus, the great congressional scramble
PLUS: Mike Pence comes to Oregon, Healthcare rationing, Newberg School District, and Phil Knight's new company.
Welcome back to The Liftoff! Lots of exciting news this week and some great additions and sourcing from our own Alex Titus and guest writer Reagan Knopp. If you’re interesting in writing guest content for the newsletter, let us know!
Also, you can expect some big visual changes from The Lift Off, Oregon Way, and Oregon Bridge next week—so be on the lookout!
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1. Legislative meltdown yields high emotions and (strangely) an outcome most people can live with
Paging Political Nerds: if you’re like us, the last few days have been like watching the Super Bowl of Oregon politics. But if you aren’t a junky yet, here’s what you might have missed:
House Speaker and gubernatorial candidate Tina Kotek changed her mind about giving Republicans an equal number of votes the House Redistricting Committee.
Reminder: Kotek made this deal with Republicans to stop them from walking out of the Chamber and significantly slowing the Democrats’ legislative agenda.
Republicans were livid, said there were “cheated,” and even put forward a censure attempt against Kotek penned by Minority Leader Christine Drazan.
Kotek saw it differently, saying: “As far as I’m concerned, we held up our end of the bargain as long as we could.”
She went on to offer a biting criticism of Drazan to OPB: “I’ve had my challenges with Republican leaders, but not to the level that I’ve had with Leader Drazan. I think you should ask her why she has such a difficult time succeeding for her caucus... I have a track record working across the aisle with everybody. My problem lies with her.”
Power Play: Kotek’s maneuver worked. An amended version of the Democrats’ maps easily moved through both chambers.
Not all Democrats were happy though. Rep. Brian Clem, who announced on the floor that he wouldn’t run for re-election and voted against the maps, offered this criticism of House leadership: “It was supposed to be bipartisan or nothing. The change in the process is more than I can stomach,” he said. “This is not okay and I just can’t dignify it with my vote.”
Reality Check: While Kotek may have reneged on her agreement and angered Republicans, it’s a big win for Democrats, and particularly for Congressman Peter Defazio (who previously lambasted Kotek for the initial agreement with Republicans). It’s also not the absolute doomsday outcome for Republicans who retained one safe congressional seat and still have two relatively competitive districts to play in. It could have been much worse for the GOP.
Dive deeper into what happened with Dirk VanderHart at OPB with this great in-depth piece. Kudos to Dirk for a great live stream of the events on Twitter!
2. New congressional maps cause an all-out scramble on both sides
Alex Titus and Political Consultant Reagan Knopp contributed to this section.
First, a caveat: you do not have to live in a congressional district to run in one. Weird, but true. Second, it’s bound to get messy (and fast!) in the 5th and 6th Congressional Districts.
Oregon’s revised 5th Congressional District (D+1) and new 6th Congressional District (D+5) are attractive targets for Republicans and Democrats alike. This brings tough decisions ahead for Rep. Kurt Schrader, who lives in the 5th but could declare for the 6th, which includes more of his old district than the new map.
But, but, but: Rep. Paul Evans, Rep. Brian Clem, Rep. Teresa Alonso, and NYT writer Nicholas Kristof all live in the new 6th Congressional District. Other nearby electeds, including Rep. Andrea Salinas in Lake Oswego, could jump in as well. Either route Schrader decides has the potential to lead to a difficult primary and general election. The NRCC and DCCC, the campaign arms for the House caucuses, are virtually guaranteed to get involved in both races.
Top-tier Republican candidates are also weighing their options when it comes to the 5th and 6th. Alek Skarlatos is unlikely to take a rematch against Rep. Peter DeFazio in the new 4th Congressional District, which was heavily shored up with more Democratic voters in redistricting.
Two sources tell our own Alex Titus that Skarlatos is seriously considering running in either the new 5th or 6th Congressional District. Skarlatos told The Liftoff in a statement that he hasn’t “decided where we’re running yet.” Skarlatos running in the 5th Congressional District would make for a hyper-competitive primary against former Happy Valley Mayor Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
DeRemer, who confirmed she’s running in the 5th, has been campaigning hard over the past few months and has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to date. Sources tell us that other candidates are considering jumping in but are frozen until maps are finalized.
Mandatory Self-Promotion: Want to learn more about Skarlatos or DeRemer? Check out their interviews on the Oregon Bridge Podcast. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Audible, or YouTube.
3. Newberg school board formally bans pride & BLM flags
The Newberg School Board has officially banned all so-called “political” symbols, including Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ+ pride flags, which initially sparked the vote. School board members passed the policy on a close 4-3 vote in favor. Meerah Powell of OPB has the full story including reactions from students and local organizations.
The Bigger Picture: Newberg has garnered significant national attention over the policy and for recent racist incidents including:
A student Snapchat “slave trade” auction directed at Black students.
A special education assistant showing up in Blackface to protest vaccine mandates. She was later fired.
News Flash: in addition to fostering a divide in the community, many (including the ACLU of Oregon and Newberg Education Association) believe the policy violates the First Amendment. It will almost certainly spark a legal challenge.
4. Black leaders unsatisfied with progress; Rep. Bynum announces historic run for Speaker
A coalition of prominent Black leaders is expressing dissatisfaction with the speed of progress that’s been made on a key set of priorities released by the group nearly a year ago. The group, known as Reimagine Oregon, has been calling for action both on the legislative and city level on a number of issues including policing, housing, public health, and more.
Reimagine Oregon also provided grades to cities and local counties on the progress that’s been made on their key issues and the results aren’t great: Portland received a “C” and Clackamas County an “F.” The state as a whole received a “C.”
Members of the coalition include influential organizations like the Urban League of Portland, JOINPDX, and Coalition of Communities of Color. Sam Stites from OPB has more on the group’s recent press conference, priorities, and efforts.
Reimagine Oregon may also be getting a new powerful ally in Salem after Rep. Janelle Bynum announced a potentially history-setting bid for speaker. If successful, Bynum would become the first Black woman to hold the speakership in Oregon history. She has been a leader on racial justice issues in the legislature. When she briefly challenged Speaker Kotek last year, she told WW: “When they say representation matters, it does—it really, really does—to see what's possible and to know that your voice can be included.”
5. Pence visits Oregon; rallies GOP
This section was written by Alex Titus and Political Consultant Reagan Knopp
Former Vice President Mike Pence made a stop at the Washington County GOP Annual Reagan Day Dinner in Hillsboro on Saturday night. Pence hit on a number of topics including critical race theory, President Biden’s policies, and vaccine mandates. Jennifer Dowling has a write-up for the event for KOIN 6. Minority Leader Rep. Christine Drazan and Congressman Cliff Bentz spoke at the event as well.
Notable Shout Out: A video played during the evening from Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy name-dropped Alek Skarlatos as a key player in the GOP’s hopes to take back congress.
Notable Attendees: Bridget Barton, Dr. Bud Pierce, Mayor Stan Pulliam, Alek Skarlatos, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Sen. Fred Girod, and Rep. Daniel Bonham.
6. Rep. Dexter reiterates call for healthcare rationing rules; hospitals struggle with COVID
Oregon’s hospitals are still underwater from a surge in COVID patients and one state legislator is calling for rules around rationing healthcare. Rep. Maxine Dexter, who is also a physician, says that doctors and hospitals are being forced to “make [rationing] decisions without any clear guidelines.”
Reality Check: Oregon has been rationing healthcare for months according to hospital executives and physicians. Nick Budnick over at the Portland Tribune has a troubling round-up of recent episodes of rationing, ranging from urban to rural Oregon.
Our strained healthcare system has also meant that some Oregonians are being denied immediate care even for cancer treatment and major surgeries. Erick Neumann at NPR has a harrowing profile of a man who had his bone marrow transplant canceled the morning of his procedure due to capacity constraints.
7. News Round-Up: Phil Knight’s new company, Google wants Oregon’s water, and lots of political drama
The University of Oregon welcomes the largest-ever freshman class. Editors Note: Yes, we are proudly very biased towards the Ducks.
Oregon Sports Making National Headlines: Phil Knight and a band of all-star University of Oregon athletes are starting a new company focused on helping student-athletes monetize their names, images, and likenesses (NIL). The company, Division Street, Inc., will be lead by former Nike Executive, Rosemary St. Clair. Go deeper with Kristi Dosh over at Forbes.
Some Palace Intrigue from The O: Prominent public affairs consultant Dan Lavey is under fire for leaving one of his former clients for a rival
What’s New?: Rep. Kurt Schrader is facing immense backlash for being one of a handful of Democrats to vote against a proposal aimed at lowering prescription drug prices. Oregon progressive groups are now pressuring him to support President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better agenda.
From OPB: “Google forbids city officials from disclosing how much water the tech giant plans to use for a new data center. This shroud of secrecy is not sitting well with area residents.”
Adding insult to injury: The Phoenix-Talent, Santiam Canyon, and McKenzie School Districts are in trouble. Here’s an excerpt from OSBA: “The three districts passed budgets based on their pre-fire enrollments, but then the funding bill died in committee…Now all three are tearing through reserve funds, anxiously awaiting the Legislature to meet again in February…”
8. Buddy Terry joins the pod
This week, Oregon Bridge Producer & Co-Founder Buddy Terry joined the pod for a wide-ranging conversation, including an “under the hood” look at the show, the future of media and journalism, how big tech is dividing us, and more. He also talks about documenting the Black Lives Matter protests in Portland, growing up as a progressive in St. Helens, and his most memorable episode.
Buddy is not only an audio and visual extraordinaire but also a thought leader behind each episode. Looking to start your own local podcast or create content? You definitely won’t want to miss this. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Audible, or YouTube.
Correction: Last week, we mentioned a Newberg School District employee who was fired for wearing blackface. The employee was a special education assistant, not a teacher.
Thank you for reading.
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