The Liftoff: The scramble for statewide office in 2024
The Liftoff: The scramble for statewide office in 2024
PLUS: Kotek's bad poll numbers; which bills will Kotek veto?; Portland's heartbreaking New York Times and Atlantic articles; housing and self-pump gas bills become law; and more!
Welcome back to The Liftoff! Happy first week of August. There are several wildfires burning throughout Oregon, so thank you to all of the firefighters working in hot conditions to keep our state and residents safe.
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1. Tobias Read is running for Sec. of State—who else might run statewide in 2024?
It’s still July of 2023—but the 2024 primary election is already beginning to take shape. So, for our paid subscribers only, we’ve put together a “Way-Too-Early Look at the Scramble for Statewide Offices”. At least two offices—Secretary of State and Treasurer—will be wide open. Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum is not term-limited, but has not announced her intentions yet. In the piece, we look at potential candidates for all three offices—and we examine the only Democratic candidate who has already filed for State Treasurer.
It may be the middle of summer, but Oregon elected officials were still in the news this week. On Monday, Sens. Knopp (R-Bend) and Linthicum (R-Klamath Falls) told Gary Warner with the Oregon Capital Bureau they are running for re-election, despite having 10 unexcused absences because of the Senate Republican walk-out, reiterating their previous position.
Will Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade issue a decision allowing them to run for re-election? Not matter what her decision is, it could also be appealed in court. So buckle up—this could take awhile.
In other news, State Treasurer Tobias Read is the first Democrat to announce they are running for the open Secretary of State position next year. On Monday, Willamette Week announced that he is updating the registration of his political action committee, “shifting the office he is seeking from governor (he finished second in the 2022 Democratic primary behind now-Gov. Tina Kotek) to secretary of state.” Read is prohibited by term limits from running again for Treasurer. And his current salary as State Treasurer is the same as Sec. of State—$77,000.
WW’s Nigel Jaquiss has a blistering story dissecting why Multnomah County and Metro can’t (or aren’t) spending money from the Metro supportive housing services measure, which voters approved in 2020 to alleviate chronic homelessness.
Must read from the article: “It’s not clear why Multnomah County officials have struggled to spend big money on the region’s most obvious crisis. In the past, county officials have cited the pandemic, a lack of capacity among service providers, and their own procurement system. But in recent weeks, pressed by Gov. Tina Kotek and 3rd District Congressman Earl Blumenauer to appoint a drug czar and address the sky-high rates of addiction on Portland streets, Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Peterson cried poor, saying local governments lack the money they need.”
2. Tina Kotek’s bad poll numbers and vetoes (and other state politics news)
Gov. Tina Kotek remains the least popular governor in the country, according to a new poll by Morning Consult. Only 45% of Oregonians polled approved of her performance, while 39% disapproved. This is up from their April survey when 42% of respondents approved.
Speaking of Gov. Kotek, she and the first lady finished up a swing through Eastern Oregon (her first since taking office), including stops in Grant and Harney counties for the “One Oregon Listening Tour”.
Kotek has made some people very happy—and some people very angry—by allowing the bill that will allow some self-pumping of gas to become law.
Gov. Kotek did announce the bills she is considering vetoing. That list includes a task force on creating an Oregon State Bank, championed by Rep. Mark Gamba.
The governor will also use her line-item veto to cut around $2 million in allocations, including a study on the legalization of prostitution and a feasibility study for a streetcar system in Salem.
OPB did a deep dive on Oregon’s strained housing market. While some of the piece are things you’ve heard before, here are two pieces from the piece worth reading:
“Across the state — from big and mid-size cities to small, rural towns — Oregonians are straining under the pressure of an increasingly unaffordable housing market. First-time homebuyers are looking outside expensive cities, causing suburbs and small towns to experience their own shrinking housing stock and increase in prices.
“Because the state’s housing inventory is so limited….there are limited rental vacancies, so landlords can raise rents with few repercussions. As a result, Oregon is among states with the lowest supply of rentals that are affordable to people at or below poverty levels.”
Governor Kotek signed several bills Thursday related to Oregon’s housing crisis. According to OPB, the bills Kotek signed were:
Senate Bill 611, which will cap rent increases. The measure limits annual rent increases to either 7% plus inflation or 10%, whichever is lower.
House Bill 3395 aims to remove bureaucratic hurdles and streamline the approval process for affordable housing construction. It puts $48.5 million from the general fund toward this effort and aims to reduce restrictions on housing types, such as duplexes and condominiums. It also helps low-income college students access affordable housing options.
House Bill 3042 would give Oregonians who rely on subsidized housing a safe-harbor period of three years as some federal protections start to expire. That extra time is designed to keep them in their existing homes and to preserve affordable housing.
Senate Bill 5511 funds the Housing and Community Services Department, including more than $2.5 billion and 441 new positions, and includes $55 million for rental assistance, $6 million for eviction prevention services and more than $7 million for down payment assistance.
More state agency news:
Central Oregon water wars: On Tuesday, OPB reported that the Oregon Water Resources Department rejected a permit to create new groundwater rights for a controversial resort under construction in Redmond. The state regulators said the proposed Thornburgh resort’s planned water use “will impair or adversely affect the public welfare, safety, and health,” and is not “within the capacity of the resource.”
Oregon workers can apply for benefits through the state’s new paid leave program starting Aug. 14. Paid Leave Oregon, covers family leave, medical leave and safe leave for Oregon workers. The new program was delayed for one year due to technology concerns within the Oregon Employment Department.
The Oregon Department of Justice has three dozen open investigations into allegations that a state or local governmental agency violated Oregon’s sanctuary laws, which forbid police and other government officials from collecting information about a person’s immigration status, according to the Capital Chronicle.
The union for more than 600 Oregon state workers assigned to group homes for disabled people is asking Gov. Kotek to fire the Oregon Department of Human Services boss overseeing those employees, courtesy of Ben Botkin with the Capital Chronicle.
3. Portland City Commissioner Mingus Mapps is running for Mayor!
This week the Oregon Bridge is welcoming back Portland City Commissioner Mingus Mapps who has announced his candidacy for Mayor of Portland! In this episode Mapps lays out his optimistic outlook for the future of the city of Portland, as ell as shed some light on the current structure of the city council and the ways in which the city's governance is expected to change in the coming years.
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5. The Way: Tackling underage vaping
We have a great Oregon Way piece for you this week from Cheri Helt, a fomer Republican state representative and long-time Bend-LaPine School Board member. Helt argues that its time for the FDA to step up its efforts when it comes to vaping enforcement to combat the growing problem of youth vaping.
Want to write for The Way? Send us a pitch!
6. Portland in the NYT and Atlantic for drugs and homelessness—and the PDX mayor race heats up
The weekend headline (and top story) in the New York Times says it all: “Fighting for Anthony: The Struggle to Save Portland, Oregon”. The article chronicles Portland’s massive fentanyl problem, the city’s progressive identity, and the heart-wrenching story of a homeless man named Anthony Saldana.
From the article: “This city of 635,000, home to the world’s largest bookstore and majestic views of snowcapped Mount Hood, has long grappled with homelessness. But during the pandemic this perennial problem turned into an especially desperate and sometimes deadly crisis that is dividing Portland over how to fix it.”
The Atlantic profiled Oregon’s decriminalization of Ballot Measure 110 in a piece called, “What Happened When Oregon Decriminalized Hard Drugs”. Here’s an excerpt:
“Early results of this reform effort, the first of its kind in any state, are now coming into view, and so far, they are not encouraging. State leaders have acknowledged faults with the policy’s implementation and enforcement measures. And Oregon’s drug problems have not improved. Last year, the state experienced one of the sharpest rises in overdose deaths in the nation and had one of the highest percentages of adults with a substance-use disorder.”
Ground zero for Portland’s fentanyl crisis is the corner of Southwest 6th Avenue and Harvey Milk Street, writes Willamette Week.
“The market opens at 6 pm, after cops and commuters go home to their families.
The sellers are Honduran kids who wear black ski masks and look barely old enough to drive. On any given evening, this downtown intersection, ringed by some of Portland’s swankiest hotels, is manned by a half-dozen dealers peddling the most dangerous drug in America.”
Portland’s Mayor race is heating up. So far, just Commissioner Mingus Mapps is running (it’s still TBD if Mayor Ted Wheeler runs again). But, Willamette Week reports that, “according to two sources familiar with Portland politics, a former longtime City Hall politico, Marshall Runkel, and onetime Multnomah County Sheriff Mike Reese are each considering running for mayor next year.”
More news from the Portland area:
The City of Portland’s salary commission has spoken, and here’s where they landed, according to OPB: “The group approved a $133,207 annual base pay for all incoming City Council members, which is $7,513 more than the current rate. It also will give the mayor a $26,202 raise to $175,463, and spike the city auditor’s salary by $43,064 to $168,758.”
WW also reports that Mult. County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson knew more about the County Health Department’s decision to distribute tinfoil and pipes to fentanyl users as part of its harm reduction program than she originally shared. After reviewing public records and correspondence, reporter Lucas Manfield says “Vega Pederson had signed off on the purchase of the supplies in May.”
From WW: “A Turf War Between Two City Commissioners Has Political as Well as Policy Implications”
7. News Roundup: Salem’s new tax, Wyden and Merkley team up, and a new $1 billion semiconductor investment
The Oregon Capital Insider reports on a controversial new tax in the city of Salem—and where it might be headed: “Oregon Business & Industry is leading an aggressive campaign to refer the tax to voters. Kotek, like practically everyone else I’ve talked with, expects the signature drive to succeed.”
From OPB: “Turnover at the top: Nearly a third of Oregon school superintendents are in first or second year”
Federal regulators delayed a key vote that would allow more natural gas to flow through Oregon, Idaho, Washington and California following pressure from environmentalists and Oregon’s two U.S. senators, reports the Capital Chronicle.
From OPB: “Semiconductor company announces $1 billion to expand facility in Beaverton”
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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 Governor Kulongoski, media advance associate for Vice President Biden, and communications director for Attorney General 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. She speaks only for herself in her contributions to The Liftoff.