The Liftoff: Lawsuit filed against prominent political consultant
PLUS: Kotek's top short session priority; Rep. Holvey keeps his job; former Portland Commissioner won't run; PERS has its worst performance in 10 years; what's on the Portugal itinerary; and more!
Welcome back to The Liftoff—Oregon’s premier source for all of the biggest headlines.
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We’d also like to welcome our newest sponsor: our friends at the Oregon Values and Beliefs Center—and they need your help! Please go to ovbc.info/2023 and take the 2023 Typology survey to help strengthen Oregon’s civic culture. See below to learn more about the survey.
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1. How Oregon’s Congressional delegation handled the McCarthy vote; and more political news
Big News From DC: Former U.S.House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was removed from his position in a historic vote that saw 8 far-right Republicans align with all Democrats to remove the speaker.
Speaker McCarthy Drama: As OPB reported, neither Republican lawmaker from Oregon voted to remove Rep. Kevin McCarthy from the leadership position.
All eyes were on GOP Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who represents Oregon’s 5th Congressional district, because she is expected to be in a tight re-election race. She posted on X (formerly Twitter) that she was “disappointed some members just voted to paralyze the House. They’ve put our politics & personal grudges over the integrity of the chamber & the good of our country.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Val Hoyle, a first-term Democrat from Lane County, called it “chaos from the beginning.”
Rep. Earl Blumenauer also gave an interesting interview with KOIN 6 on how he sees the future of the House of Representatives.
Eugene area voters decisively voted to keep Rep. Paul Holvey in office after Tuesday’s recall election. More than 90% of the 11,000 votes counted by 8 p.m. rejected the attempt to remove the veteran legislator.
Context from the Capital Chronicle: “It’s a decisive end to a recall campaign that pitted unions against each other and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in what would normally be a quiet off-year.”
More federal news, courtesy of OPB: “Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee grilled an Oregon judge Wednesday, though their questions dealt little with the nominee’s legal career and instead focused on culture war issues.”
2. DA Schmidt lobbies for laws against public drug use (and other Portland news)
Oregon State Police troopers will team up with Portland police’s bike squad to patrol the streets of downtown, authorities announced on Friday. According to KOIN, the pilot project aims to enhance public safety in downtown Portland.
The pilot project’s announcement on Friday comes just over a week after Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek announced OSP’s impending involvement in “new fentanyl strategic enforcement and disruption strategies” across the state during a meeting for the Portland Central City Task Force.
Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt wants the Oregon legislature to make it easier to prosecute drug dealers and public drug use. According to the Oregonian, “Schmidt said he’s met with lawmakers in recent weeks to lobby for a set of policy proposals targeting fentanyl addiction and overdoses, as well as the proliferation of open drug use in downtown Portland. But he made clear he does not support a new push to recriminalize possession of small amounts of drugs.”
Prominent political consultant and co-founder of People For Portland, Kevin Looper, has been sued by Portland for unpaid business taxes. According to The Portland Mercury, a lawsuit filed in Multnomah County alleges Looper's company owes more than $46,000 in unpaid business taxes. Looper runs the business and political consulting firm Wheelhouse Northwest.
Other Portland headlines:
First reported by WW, former city commissioner Chloe Eudaly will not run for the newly constituted Portland City Council — but she did have some surprising comments about potential candidates, writing:
On Steve Novick: “My former opponent would be my top pick for another run at City Council…a rare breed of politician who can put their ego aside for the greater good.”
On Sam Adams: “On the opposite end of the humility spectrum—a man who apparently has no shame and can’t take no for an answer…Take off your rose-colored glasses, Portland. Sam Adams is not your guy, and he never was.”
From Willamette Week: In a recent letter Multnomah County judges shared data showing that their courts’ dismissal rate is now at pre-pandemic levels. In fiscal year 2023, 52.3% of criminal cases in Multnomah County Court were dismissed. In fiscal year 2019, it was 51.6%.
Portland has hired Mercy Corps executive Brandy Westerman to oversee two of the city’s homeless shelter initiatives: the seven “safe rest villages” and the larger sanctioned encampments proposed by Mayor Ted Wheeler. According to Willamette Week, the mayor is dubbing Westerman the city’s “emergency humanitarian director.”
Willamette Week received a copy of lawmakers’ itinerary for their all-expenses-paid visit to Portugal to learn about how the country deals with addiction issues, courtesy of Rep. Rob Nosse.
Portland’s prominent arts organization, the Regional Arts and Culture Council, which receives millions of dollars annually from the city of Portland, has placed its top leader on paid leave pending an outside investigation. The Oregonian reports that the organization is on the verge of losing funding from the city entirely.
3. Sponsored Message from Harrang Long P.C.: Harrang Long’s Political Law Practice
This message is from our sponsor, Harrang Long P.C.
Now that the legislative session is over, Oregon’s activists, candidates, political committees, and ballot measure petitioners are turning their attention to the 2024 elections. Harrang Long P.C. has represented clients in the political arena for decades, handling matters that include the legal requirements of ballot measure petitions, campaign finance disclosures and regulation, political committee organization, ballot access, and election challenges.
Government regulation of political activities becomes more complicated nearly every year, and political actors increasingly initiate regulatory complaints and litigation to achieve political goals. More and more, having experienced legal counsel is critical to success in the political arena.
To learn more about how Harrang Long’s Political Law Practice, check out our website here.
4. A Once-in-a-Decade Opportunity to Share Your Voice! New Partnership with OVBC
Returning to the podcast is Amaury Vogel. Amaury is the Associate Executive Director of the the Oregon Values & Beliefs Center (OVBC). OVBC is an innovative organization that provides public opinion research for free to policymakers, news organizations, and the general public. In this episode we talk about how polling works (and why sometimes it doesn't work), and we discuss what makes OVBC unique.
Here are some links discussed in the episode:
OVBC 2023 Typology Survey: Online Survey Software | Qualtrics Survey Solutions
bitly: ovbc.info/2023
OVBC 2023 Typology informational landing page (also contains Pew and Policy Interactive Links): OVBC 2023 Typology Project - Oregon Values and Beliefs Center (oregonvbc.org)
Pew Typology: Political Typology - Research and data from Pew Research Center
bitly: ovbc.info/Pew_2021
Policy Interactive: Finding Common Ground in a Divided Political Culture – PolicyInteractive
5. Kotek’s top priority in 2024, mayor slams ODOT, PERS’ big deficit, and more state news
15 high tech Oregon companies will share up to $240 million in state semi-conductor grants aimed at creating jobs and capturing federal money, reports Peter Wong with the Oregon Capital Bureau. Grants went to businesses in the Metro area, Willamette Valley, Southern and Central Oregon.
Vince Porter, economic and workforce policy adviser to Gov. Kotek, told lawmakers the money is projected to create 6,300 high-paying jobs and generate $43.8 billion in economic activity.
On OPB’s Politics Now, political reporters Lauren Dake and Dirk VanderHart dissect the politics behind the sudden change of heart by Democrats to address system-wide changes to the state’s drug decriminalization law, aka Measure 110.
More stories from around the state:
The Oregon Health Authority wants to recoup more than $1 million in Measure 110 grant money from a Klamath Falls provider called Red is the Road to Wellness. OHA terminated the contract nearly five months ago over mismanagement of funds, reports Ben Botkin with the Oregon Capital Chronicle. This is the first time the state has cancelled a Measure 110 contract.
West Linn Mayor Rory Bialostosky has accused ODOT of manipulating public input and quashing dissent around tolling.
The Oregon Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) funding deficit grew by $8 billion last year due to its worst investment performance in more than a decade, reports Ted Sickinger with The Oregonian. PERS ended last year with a $28 billion unfunded liability to meet its projected pension obligations.
Gov. Tina Kotek’s top priority for the 2024 short legislative session is no surprise: housing. According to the Capital Chronicle, there is a bipartisan consensus around housing production.
From The Oregonian: “Oregon’s Pac-12 scramble raises questions about state oversight of higher education”
6. Sponsored Message from the Oregon Values & Beliefs Center: Take the 2023 Typology Survey!
This message is from our sponsor, the Oregon Values and Beliefs Center.
The Oregon Values and Beliefs Center provides independent, nonpartisan opinion research for Oregon. This fall, we’re conducting the OVBC 2023 Typology Project to help give Oregonians the tools to have better conversations about the challenges facing our state and our communities.
Building on past research from the Oregon Values and Beliefs Studies, Policy Interactive, and Pew Research, OVBC’s 2023 Typology Project clusters Oregonians into “neighborhoods” of shared values and beliefs. It gives us a clearer picture of what we agree is important and a better starting point for working together, even when we disagree.
Every Oregonian who takes the survey helps paint a clearer picture of what's going on in our state. So go to ovbc.info/2023, take the survey, tell your friends and family, and talk about it with one another. Make sure your voice is counted, and get the conversation started now, even before the data is ready.
7. The Oregon Way: How our politics defines the economy
We have two great pieces in the Oregon Way this week from frequent contributors and editors Mark Hester and Gary Conkling. Hester argues that economics isn’t as simple as campaign slogans and that politicians need to have honest discussions about complex issues and outcomes. Conkling argues that defining the “economy” is becoming more difficult as partisanship focuses on specific issues that don’t resonate across the aisle.
8. News Roundup: Is the WNBA coming back to Portland?
Portland could be the next city to get a WNBA team. Discussions about Portland have reached the WNBA Board of Directors level, reports the Portland Tribune. By Friday, the Oregonian’s sports columnist all but confirmed that a Portland team is coming to Moda Center.
Nicole Hayden over at The O has fascinating deep dive on why Oregon ranks so poorly when it comes to mental health issues.
The Harney County judge overseeing the case that effectively halted the implementation of Measure 114 said that a ruling is expected sometime in late November.
Check out Dick Hughes weekly wrap up over at Oregon Capital Insider for some major staff and elected official moves/changes—including a policy advisor to Gov. Kotek being named leader of a small state agency.
More than a dozen callers to a Beaverton City Council meeting spouted racist, bigoted and conspiratorial views during a virtual public comment session, and Mayor Lacey Beaty thinks it’s artificial intelligence reports The Oregonian.
Tips? Feedback? Ideas? Corrections? Email benjaminwbowman@gmail.com or kristinaedmunson@gmail.com.
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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 Gov. Kulongoski, media advance associate for VP Biden, and communications director for AG 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, and sits on Multnomah County’s Community Involvement Community. She speaks only for herself in The Liftoff.