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Oregon News
TRANSPORTATION
Transportation special session could be pivot point for 2026 governor’s race
Oregon Capital Chronicle | Commentary by Randy Stapilus
Aug. 29 marks the opening — and maybe closing as well — of this year’s special legislative session.
The stakes are higher than usual, not only because of the state budget issues involved but because that also may be the day the 2026 race for Oregon governor effectively kicks off.
All the raw materials for the campaign seem to be in place.
Those do not, for the most part, include the actual candidates. The field for governor as of now is far from set. Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek has not formally declared her reelection campaign — though considering the many fundraising emails her organization has been sending for many months, Kotek opting out would be a true shocker. There are several little-known candidates in the field, but so far none with major organization, funding or broad familiarity have formally announced.
This environment could change greatly before long.
One indicator was the July 28 launch of a recall effort against Kotek, by William Minnix of La Pine. To reach ballot status, he would have to collect 292,933 signatures by Oct. 27 — an immense effort, with no apparent mass organization behind it, highly unlikely to succeed. The recall campaign, even if small in actual organization, may get some attention around the state, possibly enough to affect the opening environment for candidate campaigns.
The stated reasons for recall may also get some circulation among Republicans: “Supporting policies that prioritize the support of illegal immigrants, over law-abiding Oregonians, including veteran, low-income families, elders and victims of crime. In addition, she has failed to abide by presidential executive orders and mandates, eliminating federal funding. In doing so she continues to unfairly attempt to over tax Oregonians to make up for lost federal funding.”
A second indicator of an uptick in gubernatorial politics is the special session. It will feature a rerun of one of the hottest issues of the last regular session, transportation funding. Proposals floated (and never passed) during the session were blasted statewide as becoming the biggest tax increase in Oregon history, enough at least to make a strong campaign slogan.
The non-passage of a transportation funding measure already has resulted in hundreds of announced layoffs at the Oregon Department of Transportation, but revenue plans — which mean significant increases in taxes and fees, some of which have been proposed by the governor — are sure to remain highly controversial.
Anyone thinking of challenging Kotek is surely looking at attaching that special session to her, and that could be true whether or not the legislators do what the governor wants them to do. If they rebuff her, she’d be dinged as ineffective. If she gets what she’s asking for, the fallout could be greater.
The background of a politically touchy session combined with recall efforts in the wind likely will result, not too many weeks from now, in the appearance of a major Republican contender.
In 2022, Republicans were hamstrung by an enormous field of candidates, none of them so well known as to be an obvious front-runner. That might be different this time.
That 2022 Republican nominee, Christine Drazan, turned out to be an effective candidate who came within 3.4 percentage points of beating Kotek. A former legislator and House Republican leader at the time of her last run, she has since bounced back into state politics, winning election to the Legislature last year (taking out an incumbent fellow Republican, James Hieb, in the process), and now is again House Republican leader. Any discussion of major contenders for the 2026 Republican nomination for governor has to start with her.
She has so far fended off inquiries about that, recently saying she wants to focus on the upcoming special session (which could be true from a candidate’s as well as a legislator’s perspective).
But at least one specific move toward a run has surfaced, in a report from the Oregon Journalism Project of a $55,000 polling effort paid for by Drazan (the results of which haven’t been released).
If after the special session Drazan is interested in running, the period in September or early October (before the probable failure of the recall effort in reaching ballot status), and allowing for a significant fundraising period prior to the next regular legislative session, would be optimal.
If she doesn’t want to run, patience among other Republicans is likely to evaporate soon. Anyone else would have to start from scratch and with fewer assets, and delays among Republicans in getting an early start would be a gift to Kotek. (On her part, Kotek probably will want to announce soon too, to avoid restiveness among Democrats.)
This upcoming special legislative session, then, is becoming a serious pivot in the run for governor over the year beyond it. In some ways, tension at the statehouse could run a little higher than usual.
Gov. Tina Kotek tweaks Oregon transportation funding bill as session nears
OPB | By Dirk VanderHart
Gov. Tina Kotek is tweaking a proposal to raise billions in taxes for roads and bridge upkeep, a little more than a week before the bill’s fate is tested in a special legislative session.
In a revamped proposal released Wednesday, Kotek offered a concession to environmental groups, which worried that a plan to slap a new tax on electric delivery vehicles could convince companies not to buy them. That tax is now out.
And Kotek offered a boon to trucking interests, who have long argued for changes in the way they are taxed under Oregon law. Adjustments in the bill have won the support of the state’s trucking lobby.
Meanwhile, the major question of what Kotek’s proposal might cost Oregonians is coming into focus.
What is clear is that Kotek has won goodwill from some groups with the changes.
Gov. Kotek proposes raising gas and payroll taxes to avoid ODOT cuts
KOIN 6 | By Lisa Balick
It’s full steam ahead for Governor Tina Kotek’s plan to raise the gas tax and a payroll tax to help pay for Oregon’s roads.
There is a special legislative session set for a week from Friday to vote on her proposals to avoid laying off hundreds of Oregon Department of Transportation workers and cutting services.
On Wednesday, staff from the governor’s and ODOT’s offices held a briefing going into more details about the plan.
Electric vehicle owners may soon pay more to drive in Oregon
KATU | By Vasili Varlamos
Lawmakers will return to Salem for a special session on Aug. 29. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek put forward a bill that raises the gas tax and other vehicle fees to fix Oregon's roads and bridges.
This bill not only raises fees, but it also introduces new ones. One of those new fees is a mandatory Road Usage Charge (RUC) for electric vehicle owners.
The goal of the charge is to offset the lost gas tax revenue from electric vehicles.
POLITICS
Kamala Harris coming to Portland's Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall for talk, book tour
KATU
Former Vice President Kamala Harris is coming to Portland’s Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in November as part of a speaking tour that coincides with the release of her new memoir.
Harris is publishing the memoir, "107 Days", on September 23. It is about her 107-day-long presidential campaign — the shortest in U.S. history.
Will Christine Drazan run for Oregon governor again? A GOP fundraising site suggests yes
OPB | By Dirk VanderHart
Christine Drazan hasn’t revealed her political plans for 2026, but a major Republican fundraising platform may have offered a hint.
As of Wednesday, the website WinRed listed Drazan as running for Oregon governor next year, a development that could tee up a rematch with Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek.
But by Thursday morning, the listing had disappeared.
Drazan’s campaign team had the fundraising profile removed after questions from OPB. A political aide, Trey Rosser, suggested that WinRed had automatically listed Drazan as a gubernatorial candidate because she was the party’s nominee in 2022.
“This was not an intentional change or indication of any future plans,” Rosser said.
Ethics Commission Will Ask Panel to Review Public Meetings Law
Willamette Week | By Sophie Peel
Problems with the “serial communications” part of the law are front and center in City Council text chains.
These Are the Questions a County Ethics Investigation Should Ask
Willamette Week | By Joanna Hou
What did the chair know about Leslee Barnes’ stake in Village Childcare, and when did she know it?
CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY
White House border czar makes visit to Portland ICE facility
KOIN 6 | By Amanda Rhoades
More than a month after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Thomas Homan told Fox News he would be heading to Portland to double down on sanctuary cities, he quietly dropped in on Thursday.
The visit came less than a week after Attorney General Pam Bondi threatened Portland leaders in a letter regarding sanctuary jurisdictions.
Portland school relocates after unrest at neighboring ICE facility raises safety issues
KGW | By Celine Stevens
The Cottonwood School relocated after activity at the nearby ICE facility created safety concerns, including chemicals, munitions and gas impacting the campus.
Multnomah County taps fresh grad to be top jail doctor
The Oregonian | By Fedor Zarkhin
The Multnomah County jail system will soon have a new leader, a doctor who finished his residency about two months ago.
Corrections Health announced that Dr. Stephen Kane, of Maryland, is tentatively expected to take the position of medical director starting Oct. 7. He will be paid $299,193.31 per year.
ECONOMY
Providence Seaside Hospital to shut down labor and delivery, newborn care services: 'Very sad and difficult decision'
KGW | By Amy Xiaoshi DePaola, Libby Dowsett
Providence Seaside Hospital will close its obstetrics and inpatient newborn care services Oct. 4, citing high costs, declining birth volumes and workforce shortages.
Salem has 90 days to secure new airline, TSA says
KATU
Avelo Airlines ended service earlier this month. That was the only airline offering commercial flights at the airport.
TSA says Salem has until Nov. 10 to find another one or the agency will pull its screening devices.
Trump administration considers stake in Intel as condition of CHIPS funding, official tells CNBC
OPB | By Kyra Buckley
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the government should get a nonvoting stake in Intel, which is among Oregon’s largest private employers.
McDonald’s admits combo meal prices got too expensive, announces price cuts
CNN
McDonald’s is slashing the prices of its combo meals after admitting its menu has gotten too expensive.
EDUCATION
Oregon business property tax breaks cost schools $275 million last year, study finds
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Alex Baumhardt
The amount of money schools lost to property tax abatements doubled between 2019 and 2024, driven by abatements given to new data centers, researchers found.
Discrimination policy for Oregon youth grants may only restrict funded work, appeals court rules
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Shaanth Nanguneri
An Oregon Department of Education policy aiming to prevent grant awardees for youth support services from discriminating on the basis of religion can only regulate activity tied to the state’s funding, a federal appeals court ruled.
Secure Rural Schools funding gap shutters Columbia Gorge middle school
OPB | By Erik Neumann
A middle school in the small Columbia River Gorge community of Carson will be closed this fall. Lost federal Secure Rural Schools funding is one reason why.
HEALTH CARE
After Huge Private Pledge, OHSU Says Cancer Center to Become “Self-Governed Entity.” Questions Remain.
Willamette Week | By Andrew Schwartz
When Oregon Health & Science University announced last week that Phil and Penny Knight had pledged a mighty $2 billion to its Knight Cancer Institute, the school noted that the cancer institute, given the magnitude of its mission, would become a “self-governed entity within OHSU.”
What this meant in practice was not entirely clear.
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