The Liftoff: What's the plan to save Portland?
PLUS: PPS superintendent to resign; BIPOC caucus announces leadership team; Kitzhaber opposes CareOregon merger; unions balk over the kicker; Feds zero in on Shemia Fagan's taxes; and more!
Welcome back to The Liftoff! We are your go-to place each week for all of the political news (good and bad) around Oregon.
In the spirit of the holiday season, we’ll start this newsletter by sharing a beautifully written story by the great Oregonian columnist Tom Hallman Jr.: “A principal’s ‘gift of grace’ changed a student’s life; 60 years later, a belated thank you in Pendleton changed more lives”. It’s about how small acts of grace can dramatically alter the course of a person’s life—and the power of saying “thank you.”
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1. The plan to save Portland: More police, less trash, and lower taxes
As the Portland Business Journal’s Jonathan Bach put it, it was hard to find any other place in Oregon with as many business and political interests as the Oregon Business Plan's annual leadership summit on Monday, held at the Moda Center in Portland. The biggest draw was the release of Governor Kotek’s Portland Central City Task Force recommendations.
Even The New York Times sent a reporter to Portland to cover the much-anticipated report:
“Under the plan brokered by Gov. Kotek, a Democrat, state lawmakers would be asked to consider a ban on public drug use and police would be given greater resources to deter the distribution of drugs. Ms. Kotek said officials hoped to restore a sense of safety for both visitors and workers in the city’s beleaguered urban core, which has seen an exodus of key retail outlets,” writes Mike Baker.
OPB reports that the main recommendations by Gov. Kotek include increasing police presence in downtown Portland, outlawing public drug consumption, offering tax relief, and removing plywood from downtown buildings.
Kotek also wants to pour millions into graffiti and trash cleanup on state-managed highways and wants to declare a 90-day state, city and county state of emergency focused on the fentanyl crisis.
Meanwhile, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler told OPB on Monday that he supports the recommendations, but he doesn’t agree with the downtown Portland billboards funded by the advocacy group People for Portland. These billboards call out Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt and County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson.
“We’re making it really, really easy for our competition when we have billboards that say, ‘We suck really badly here,’” Wheeler told OPB.
In response, People for Portland tweeted: “At the Business Summit today, apparently Mayor ‘Tear Gas’ Ted Wheeler is trying to blame our billboard for Portland’s problems. Only a desperate politician would blame a billboard for the reality that exists right underneath it. Failed politicians, leadership and policies created Portland’s problems, not a billboard.”
2. Continued fallout from Portland Public strike, and more Portland news
Portland Public Schools Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero will resign after 6 ½ years. The first Latino superintendent in district history, Guerrero informed the school board of his decision Monday morning. He gave school board members two months to tap a new leader or appoint an interim superintendent, reports The Oregonian.
On Wednesday the PPS school board held a special meeting to discuss the process of hiring an interim superintendent. The board said their goal is to have an official superintendent hired by June 30th of next year, reports KATU.
Meanwhile, Salem-Keizer schools Superintendent Andrea Castañeda outlined specific spending cuts last week. Specifically, the district outlined about $31 million in proposed savings, split into three categories: salary concessions, reducing district purchasing and reduce the budget for updates to smaller investments, such as playground equipment and school furniture, reports OPB.
Christmas came early to the City of Portland! Portland’s “Clean Energy Fund” could see $540 million in unexpected revenue in the next five years. From The Oregonian: Commissioner Carmen Rubio, who oversees the fund, said Wednesday that she will seek to pump $282 million — or just over half the new money — directly into climate-friendly efforts managed across six agencies:
Portland Bureau of Transportation ($112 million)
Bureau of Environmental Services ($77.5 million)
Portland Housing Bureau ($40 million)
Office of Management and Finance ($26 million)
Portland Water Bureau ($17.8 million)
Portland Parks & Recreation ($8.9 million)
More PDX stories:
Portland Parks & Recreation has only spent about half the nearly $93 million it has raised from a voter approved property tax levy to support parks and natural areas, reports The Oregonian.
A poll of 500 Portland registered voters—paid for by Portland's police union and conducted by an independent pollster DHM Research—found about two-thirds are pessimistic about the city's future and 71% want more police officers, reports The Oregonian.
Former Portland City Commissioner Steve Novick, who served on the City Council from 2013 to 2017, announced Friday he is running for Portland City Council next year.
Multnomah County is considering changing its ambulance policy requiring two paramedics, a unique guideline that operator American Medical Response says is hurting response times. On Thursday Commissioner Sharon Meieran proposed allowing AMR to use one paramedic and one EMT per ambulance.
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4. The tables have turned: Ben & Reagan reflect on the Oregon Bridge with Ron Mock
In this special two-part episode, head of the Oregon Civility Project Ron Mock returns to the Oregon Bridge—but this time Ben and Reagan are the interviewees. In this first half of the conversation, the team unpacks the history, thesis, and origin of the Oregon Bridge Podcast, how that has evolved over time, and also the role that the podcast plays in both Ben and Reagan's lives. Thank you to George Fox University for inviting the Oregon Bridge to be on this panel and for helping provide this programming.
5. Elected officials in the headlines
Willamette Week broke more news on Aaron Mitchell and Rosa Cazares, the co-founders of the La Mota dispensary chain, who also helped fuel Sec. of State Shemia Fagan’s downfall.
First, WW reports that they have two unnamed sources who in recent weeks were “approached by special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Treasury, asking about the business practices and personal matters of the duo.”
As reporter Sophie Peel points out, “It’s unclear if the feds’ visits about La Mota in recent weeks are part of the investigation launched earlier this spring following Fagan’s resignation, though it’s likely they’re at least closely associated with one another.
Later in the week Sophie Peel also reported that “on Dec. 6, the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon subpoenaed the Oregon Department of Revenue, requiring the state agency to provide Shemia Fagan’s state income tax returns since 2020, as well as any “background, civil, and criminal investigative files” relating to Fagan.”
Politico headline: ‘Thank God they walked out’: Oregon’s partisan divide highlights heightened animosity in statehouses. The piece looks at how Washington’s toxic partisan culture is spilling over to statehouses across the country, and focuses on the ten Oregon Republican senators who “may face the end of their legislative careers for a six-week legislative walkout aimed at thwarting what they see as a radical Democratic agenda on guns, abortion and transgender health care.”
The political future of eight Republican state senators hinges on the Oregon Supreme Court, reports OPB.
At oral arguments on Thursday, lawyers grappled with "whether GOP senators who walked away from this year’s session will be blocked from running for re-election — as state elections officials have determined they must be — or whether the plain language of the law allows them to serve another term before penalties kick in.”
Separately, U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken declined to intervene at the request of Republican state senators, according to the Capital Chronicle.
More current and former electeds in the news:
Former Governor John Kitzhaber released a statement opposing the proposed merger between CareOregon and SCAN merger, writing that it “runs counter to the original vision for Oregon’s Coordinated Care Organizations (CCOs).”
The Hill newspaper profiled Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, calling her a “change maker”.
Two dozen advocacy groups, and current and former legislators are asking Oregon Attorney General Rosenblum to investigate the state’s largest natural gas utility, NW Natural, for spreading misinformation about the risks of gas-burning stoves, reports the Oregon Capital Chronicle.
From the Malheur Enterprise: “Greg Smith, former Malheur County economic development director, has agreed to pay the county $68,000 over its claims that he mishandled public records related to the Nyssa reload center.”
The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries this fall settled a $425,000 lawsuit from a former employee who alleged racial hostility under then-commissioner and current U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle, reports the Oregon Capital Chronicle.
The Oregon Legislative Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) Caucus re-elected Sen. Wlnsvey Campos (D-Aloha), and Rep. Ricki Ruiz (D-Gresham), as co-chairs for the 2024 session, reports Dick Hughes.
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden was the subject of two Capital Chronicle stories last week:
6. The Way: What to do about “learning loss”
7. News roundup: Massive chicken farms, growing concerns over the kicker, and more!
The FBI is investigating several bomb threats sent by email this week to synagogues, airports, and schools in Oregon reports OPB.
From The Oregonian: “Feds award $600M for new Interstate Bridge connecting Oregon and Washington”
From Willamette Week: “The Independent Party of Oregon sent out a survey to members this week and, judging by a copy WW obtained, it would appear the IPO is unhappy with Democrats, many of whom sought and accepted endorsements from the Independent Party in 2022.”
Linn County is the first county in Oregon to establish new rules restricting where large confined animal feeding operations can be located under a new state law. Community members are trying to stop an 11-barn feeding operation with 580,000 Foster Farm chickens, reports The Statesman Journal.
From OPB: “Washington Supreme Court denies review of Pac-12 appeal, handing control of conference to OSU, WSU”
Service Employees International Union Local 503 (the state’s largest public-sector union) and other labor groups have grown incensed by Oregon’s ginormous kicker. “Oregon’s inaccurate revenue forecasting costs billions needed for critical public services,” reads a memo the union sent to Gov. Kotek’s office.
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.