The Liftoff: National Dems spending big in Oregon; McCarthy visits to boost GOP candidates
The Liftoff: National Dems spending big in Oregon; McCarthy visits to boost GOP candidates
PLUS: Body cam footage from Rep. Hieb's arrest; two dark horse candidates to be next UO president; Betsy in Rolling Stone mag; what Oregon can learn from Josephine County; and more!
Welcome back to The Liftoff!
1. Johnson in the national media after qualifying for ballot; all three candidates describe their visions
As expected, Betsy Johnson has officially qualified for a spot on the general election ballot—and her record is being scrutinized by both left-leaning and right-leaning national publications.
Rolling Stone just published a harsh profile of Betsy Johnson called: “Oregon’s Next Governor Could Be a Machine-Gun Toting Darling of GOP Megadonors”. Here’s a quote from Johnson in the piece: “The race is in play here, because I’m in it. If this was a two-way race, Tina would already be measuring the drapes at our governor’s residence.” The Washington Free Beacon also published a piece with the opposite premise, that Johnson is more aligned with Kotek’s record, called: “Oregon’s Independent Gubernatorial Candidate Swears She’s A Centrist. Her Voting Record Says Otherwise.”
The Oregonian published op-eds from all three of the major candidates on their rationale for running and their vision for Oregon. Willamette Week asked them (and other prominent Oregonians) about their favorite teachers.
Betsy Johnson announced that she has won several major law enforcement endorsements in the race, including: the Oregon State Sheriffs’ Association, Oregon Chiefs of Police Association, Fraternal Order of Police Oregon Lodge, Oregon Coalition of Police and Sheriffs, Eugene Police Employees’ Association, and Crime Victims United of Oregon.
2. Body cam footage from the arrest of Rep. Hieb has been released (and other legislative news)
The body cam footage from the arrest of Rep. James Hieb has been released. The video shows Hieb, who was carrying a firearm and who the police describe as “heavily intoxicated”, cursing at police officers, refusing to cooperate, falling to the floor, and ultimately being arrested.
Senate GOP Leader Tim Knopp blasted Oregon’s policy of paying for the travel expenses of employees who work remotely from out-of-state, saying: “In 2023, I will introduce legislation to end this wasteful practice. If employees of the state of Oregon want to live out of state, that is their business. That doesn’t mean taxpayers should be on the hook for the plane ticket.”
Following the passage of a 2021 bill sponsored by Sen. Deb Patterson, OHA released a report revealing that 207 people died in the first six months of this year without a fixed address. Patterson is calling for more action.
3. McCarthy comes to Oregon; Democrats get ready to spend big in Portland TV market
Congressman Kevin McCarthy, currently the House GOP Leader and potentially the next Speaker of the House, visited Oregon last week to support Republican candidates for congress: Alek Skarlatos in CD4, Lori Chavez-DeRemer in CD5, and Mike Erickson in CD6. They were joined by Congressman Cliff Bentz and several local officials. “I think what you should take from me being here is that we’re serious these races can be won,” McCarthy said. The panel focused their comments on crime and law enforcement, criticizing the city of Portland and Democratic leaders.
Meanwhile, national Democrats reserved $3.5 million in TV time in the Portland media market—the largest ad buy among the 22 markets announced last week. This is a big boost to Rep. Andrea Salinas in CD6 and Jamie McLeod Skinner in CD5. Labor Commissioner Val Hoyle was boosted by a $360,000 ad buy in Eugene.
4. Stanford Professor Michelle Wilde Anderson discusses her new book and challenges and opportunities in Josephine County
Michelle Wilde Anderson is an award-winning professor at Stanford Law School and an expert on poverty, inequality, and local government. Her new book The Fight to Save the Town (published by Simon and Schuster in June 2022) prominently features Josephine County as she describes signs of progress in places in America with high poverty and broke governments (the book also looks at Stockton, CA, Lawrence, MA, and Detroit, MI).
In this episode, Michelle provides a portrait of Josephine County and the people who live there. We talk about the origin of poverty in southern Oregon, the caliber of people running for local office, and how communities provide "public safety" when the government fails to. Perhaps most importantly for our listeners, we talk about the lessons we can learn from Josephine County, a deeply conservative place with anti-government tendencies, where they finally passed a series of local levies after years of failed attempts. Michelle offers a more hopeful "counter-narrative" to what's happening in Josephine County than what you'll read in most reporting.
5. Dark horse candidates to be the next president of the University of Oregon
An op-ed by Don Kahle in the Register-Guard highlighted an interesting potential candidate to be UO’s next president: a former UO president. Richard Lariviere was president of the University from 2009 to 2011, succeeding Dave Frohnmayer, until being fired by the now-defunct State Board of Higher Education (which has been replaced by independent governing boards and the Higher Education Coordinating Commission).
The reason for his firing in 2011 is exactly why he could make a comeback: essentially, he did what he thought was best for the U of O, even if wasn’t best for the state. Now it’s up to UO’s local board, not the state, to hire and fire its president. Lariviere, who is 72-years-old, could have a powerful booster in Phil Knight, who blasted the state leaders responsible for Lariviere’s firing.
Would Lariviere, who retired in 2020 from the Field Museum in Chicago, take the job? Who knows—but he shared the RG op-ed on Facebook, writing: “Thank you, Don Kahle, for these nice words. Your analysis touched me. I am grateful for the experience and the friendships in Eugene.”
Here’s another dark horse candidate: State Treasurer Tobias Read. While Read lacks a terminal degree (he has an MBA), he is a skilled fundraiser and has relationships with Oregon’s political and business communities (and he’ll be looking for a job in two years, as he’s term-limited out of his current role). Dave Frohnmayer, a beloved former president, was a statewide elected official prior to becoming UO’s president—though he had two years as Dean of the UO Law School prior to becoming president. Recent research indicates that over 40% of university presidents never held a tenured faculty position in academia.
6. Big-ticket items to watch
Here’s the lede of a Capital Chronicle story on groundwater pollution in Morrow and Umatilla Counties: “For 25 years, a volunteer committee of crop and livestock farmers, state and university scientists, local elected officials and business leaders has met to solve an intractable problem of nitrate pollution in the drinking water of hundreds of residents in Morrow and Umatilla counties. And for 25 years, the problem has grown worse.” But—the group just elected a new leader and is optimistic.
According to OPB, many local jurisdictions could ban psilocybin centers before any have opened: “…more than 40 cities and counties will likely have some kind of psilocybin ban before voters in the general election, with more expected by Sept. 8.”
From The Oregon Way: The Co-Chair of the Portland Charter Commission explains why her commission's proposals, which are facing organized political opposition, are right for Portland
This week’s housing update, from OPB: “Oregon exceeds permanent supportive housing funding goal, still faces a ‘monumental task’”
7. How the abortion debate could impact voter behavior in the election
Thanks to our friends at the Oregon Values and Beliefs Center for this week’s graphic on how the abortion debate is impacting voter behavior.
8. News Roundup: Pacific University, Swastika Mountain, and bonuses for teachers
A fascinating story from WW: “A Pacific University Dean’s Past Life Growing Weed is Coming Back to Haunt Her”
Swastika Mountain might be getting a new name—and it’s drawing some national attention.
After initialing threatening to refuse federal orders, the Klamath Irrigation District reversed course and will halt water delivery to farmers.
Clinics in central Oregon are preparing for a surge of abortion seekers as a new law goes into effect in Idaho banning the practice.
Polling from DMH Research shows that Portlanders are afraid to go downtown. Willamette Week has a full breakdown of the numbers.
From the Capital Chronicle: “Schools hope to overcome staff shortages with millions in wage, bonus incentives”
The Gresham Police Department is in a very open spat with the Multnomah County District Attorney.
Zusha Elinson of the Wall Street Journal profiled the struggles that Portland has faced in lowering its homicide rate after seeing a continuing rise in violent crime.
Some booze brands are trying hard to get their prices below those set by the OLCC—drawing the ire of advocates focused on preventing substance abuse.
Thank you for reading.
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About the Authors
Ben Bowman is the chair of the Tigard-Tualatin School Board and the Democratic nominee 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.