The Liftoff: New competitive races across Oregon
The Liftoff: New competitive races across Oregon
PLUS: Bernie backs the teachers; Hoyle draws an opponent; Kotek addresses Portland parents; a new Biden appointee from Oregon; "No Labels" qualifies in 12 states (including Oregon); and more!
Welcome back to The Liftoff! It’s Thanksgiving week, and we are thankful for you—our readers. Thank you for supporting this newsletter and reading each week—we are grateful.
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1. “No School November” for Portland Public Schools—everything you need to know about the strike
Week #3 of the Portland Public Schools (PPS) strike, and things are not looking good. There was more back-and-forth this week, with the teachers association making some concessions as the week rolled on. On Thursday, the Portland Association of Teachers removed class size caps from their bargaining proposal.
Two big questions on everybody’s mind: 1) When will kids by back in school? 2) How will PPS make up for lost school days? The Oregonian was out with an editorial calling on the two sides to agree to lost schools days as soon as possible.
The Oregonian’s new politics reporter wrote a story on Governor Kotek’s involvement in the PPS strike. Some excerpts: “Gov. Tina Kotek has made small steps to nudge the negotiations towards the finish line, leaving some parents wondering when the governor will take a larger role.”
“The governor has long supported labor unions, walking the picket lines with union members during some strikes. And she took in almost $400,000 from the state teachers union to support her run for governor last year.”
Kotek’s spokesperson declined to say at what point the governor would take a hard line on the strike.
By Thursday evening, Governor Kotek posted this video on social media, mainly addressing PPS parents.
Analysis from OPB: Thursday, was the day PPS officials said teachers needed to return to the classroom to be eligible for health care in December. But the teachers’ union argues that, because of their work in October, they shouldn’t lose these benefits.
From the piece: “The union also says they were told before the strike began on Nov. 1 that they would be covered through December, and that it’s been a long-standing practice. They point to an email exchange with the district’s benefits director and confirmation from the state union’s lawyers as evidence that their coverage shouldn’t be ending.”
“However, the district also has confirmation from its human resources and legal staff that the union’s interpretation is wrong. They also say the district told the union as much before the strike began.”
The Oregonian’s Hillary Borrud took a deep-dive look at the role of the Oregon Education Association in the PPS strike.
From the article: “Portland teachers are now looking to the statewide union to cover their health insurance premiums to the tune of $5.1 million for December, by paying for educators to enroll in COBRA, the federal program that allows workers to pay to remain on their employer’s health care plan for up to 18 months after leaving a job. The state union has also likely paid out approximately $3 million in stipends to striking teachers, at a rate of $120 per day.”
PPS strike headlines:
Bernie backs the teachers: On Tuesday, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders tweeted his support for the Portland teachers union.
From The Oregonian: “Teacher salaries: Here are the highest and lowest paying big districts in the Portland area”
Willamette Week reports that big yellow school busses (with no kids) are still operating, with some practicing driving and others transporting sports teams.
One nugget from The Oregonian: Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler both send their children to private schools.
From the Capital Chronicle: “Oregon Republicans plan legislation to ban teacher walkouts as Portland strike continues”
And finally, from OPB, a warning to brace yourselves for more high-stakes negotiations: “Salem-Keizer school district announces upcoming layoffs, budget cuts”
2. Economic forecast is out—and other state news
Oregon's latest revenue forecast came out last week, and while the news is stable, state economists said Oregon is entering a period of economic stagnation.
Meanwhile, our friends at the Oregon Values and Belief Center were out with a look at who in Oregon is most likely to be a foster parent (see graphic above).
State economists on Wednesday delivered the latest revenue forecast, which predicts an additional $335 million to the state’s current budget. The forecast helps state lawmakers prepare for the 2024 legislative session in February and plan future funding.
“For the current two-year budget cycle, the Legislature is now expecting $335.4 million in newly spendable money — cash that will be hotly pursued in the February legislative session,” reports OPB’s political reporter Dirk Vanderhart.
Attorney General Rosenblum was on OPB’s Think Out Loud talking about Oregon’s growing fentanyl crisis.
From the interview: “We need the funding that comes from Measure 110 to ensure that we have SUD, substance use disorder treatment. We need more of it. We need more workforce to provide it … So I think you need to look at Measure 110 in that context.”
More headlines from across the state:
Attorney General candidate Speaker Dan Rayfield was profiled by Eugene Weekly. He says in addition to consumer protection, he is ready to use “a different set of tools” as attorney general to continue fighting for tighter gun control.
Monique DeSpain, a 30-year veteran of the Air Force and Oregon Air National Guard, launched her campaign for the 4th Congressional District this week against Democratic U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle, reports The Oregon Capital Chronicle.
Sarah Finger McDonald, a Corvallis School Board Member, has filed to run for the state representative seat currently held by Speaker Dan Rayfield. She joins a field that includes her colleague on the school board, Sami Al-Abdrabbuh, and former Corvallis city councilor Andrew Struthers.
Oregon House Republicans (all but one!) signed a letter to legislative leaders and Gov. Kotek urging changes to Measure 110.
From OPB: “Oregon State walks away from Elliott Forest plan, but backers say forest in good hands”
3. Sponsored Message from Harrang Long P.C.: Harrang Long’s Political Law Practice
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4. Phil Keisling on Tom McCall, Vera Katz, and vote-by-mail
Former Secretary of State Phil Keisling has had a truly remarkable career in Oregon politics. Prior to his tenure in elected office, he worked on the campaign of Gov. Tom McCall (McCall's third and only unsuccessful attempt) and for then-Speaker Vera Katz. Elected to the legislature in 1988 after a career in journalism, Gov. Barbara Roberts appointed him as a freshman legislator to assume the office of Secretary of State (it is an incredible story, involving Phil arriving an hour and a half late for his interview with the Governor).
He was subsequently elected to two full terms. In this episode, we talk about Phil's career, the changing nature of Oregon politics (with an emphasis on policy over administration), the true story of how Oregon launched vote-by-mail (and the strange bedfellows who made it happen), and why attempts to open Oregon's primaries have failed.
5. Vasquez has big cash lead, sobering shelters, slow ambulance responses, and more Portland news
Multnomah County issued a $513,650 fine to American Medical Response, the company contracted for ambulance rides, for slow 911 call response times, reports The Oregonian. This follows a warning in August that they would fine the company if conditions didn’t improve.
Prosecutor Nathan Vasquez is outraising incumbent DA Mike Schmidt in the race for Multnomah County district attorney, reports Willamette Week.
From the article: “Although Schmidt has attracted more donors, Vasquez has raised more than double the dollars—thanks to big checks from local business interests. Notably, Vasquez is raking in cash from deep-pocketed property investors who are interested in the condition of Multnomah County but in many cases do not live here.”
The Oregonian’s Maxine Bernstein looked at why Portland hasn’t opened a sobering center, after the only one in the city closed in 2019. Even as fentanyl and other drug abuse skyrockets in Portland, she reports there is no clear path forward. The county government is now pursuing a sobering center but has yet to find funding for it. A few alarming stats from the article:
Enormous efforts to open one collapsed because of conflicting city and county interests. A sobering center now appears at least another year away, if ever.
Bernstein reports: “The broad coalition fell victim to competition for money, the lack of a single, strong champion and a schism between public safety and behavioral health priorities, according to interviews with more than two dozen people directly involved.”
More stories worth noting:
From Willamette Week, a story about the head of Central City Concern, Andy Mendenhall, and what he sees in Portland: “The CEO of Portland’s Largest Social Services Nonprofit Says Things Are Really Bad. Now He Has the Data to Prove It.”
Multnomah County Commissioner Jesse Beason, who replaced Susheela Jayapal when she stepped down to run for Congress, will not run for reelection, according to Axios Portland.
6. Competitive races shaping up around the state
For our paid subscribers, we’ve been keeping our Candidate Tracker updated regularly. Competitive races are emerging across the state—including some unexpected primary challenges.
7. The Way: The teachers strike and combatting addiction
We have two great pieces for you this week from Gary Conkling and Mark Hester. Conkling argues that to combat addiction, we have to focus on prevention rather than penalizing addicts, while Hester argues that the teachers strike is hurting the wrong stakeholders.
8. News Roundup: New lawyers can skip the bar exam, and more!
Oregon is the first state to allow lawyers to skip the bar exam, reports The Oregonian. But, the alternative to the two-day exam requires hundreds of hours logged at a law firm apprenticeship.
From OPB: “Climate change caused $11B drop in value of West Coast private forests, new study shows”
President Joe Biden has nominated an Oregon judge for the federal bench, according to the Capital Chronicle: Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Amy M. Baggio.
The “No Labels” party is planning to recruit a third-party candidate to run for president in 2024, and they’ve already qualified for the ballot in 12 states—including Oregon.
A judge granted Oregon State and Washington State a preliminary injunction, giving them control of the Pac-12 conference and millions of dollars in assets.
Oregon State Police and Grants Pass police arrested two dozen people and seizing 37 guns, $33,000, 4.4 pounds of methamphetamine, 1.4 pounds of fentanyl pills and 250 pounds of marijuana last week, reports The Oregonian.
From the Northwest Labor Press: “Carpenters union dissolves NW regional council”
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.