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Oregon News
POLITICS
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek wants new state buildings to be earthquake ready
OPB | By Lauren Dake
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek issued an executive order on Monday to ensure new state buildings larger than 10,000-square-feet are built to withstand a Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake.
It’s unclear how many buildings her executive order would cover or how the additional mandate would be funded. The order also calls for all existing state buildings to be seismically upgraded by 2060.
The so-called “big one,” an expected 9.0 or larger magnitude earthquake, is expected to devastate parts of the Pacific Northwest and scientists expect it could come at any time in the next 50 years.
The idea of focusing on state buildings is to have an area that could serve as a shelter for people and have a space where state employees can turn into staging and emergency response areas.
Capital Chatter: The never-ending special session
Oregon Capital Insider | By Dick Hughes
There is no end to the strangeness besetting Gov. Tina Kotek’s special session of the Oregon Legislature. Lawmakers will convene Friday … to do nothing.
Next week they’ll do the same.
The special session has become Oregon’s version of the movie “Groundhog Day,” though without the romantic comedy.
On July 22, Kotek called the Legislature into special session for Aug. 29. One would have thought the governor had already ensured all the pieces were in place.
Capitalizing on the Democrats’ supermajorities in the House and Senate, she apparently counted on a one-day session that would stabilize the Oregon Department of Transportation by increasing taxes and fees.
Instead …
What began Aug. 29 with nine hours of delays has morphed into a tortuous journey lasting at least 20 days.
Along the way, Oregonians learned Democrats apparently can’t count.
Kotek expressed confidence the Legislature would have the required House and Senate quorums — two-thirds of members being present — to transact business. As I reported on July 23, “House Republican Leader Christine Drazan told the governor that four Republican members would attend to provide a quorum in the House.”
That meant all 36 Democratic representatives needed to appear at 11 a.m. Friday, Aug. 29, when the House was scheduled to convene. That didn’t happen.
Instead …
After successfully negotiating concessions in Kotek’s legislation, additional Republicans arrived nine hours later to make up for Democrats’ absence and guarantee a quorum.
On Labor Day, the House barely passed the revised bill. Democrats knew Republican Rep. Cyrus Javadi, R-Tillamook, would vote yes. That allowed Democratic Rep. Annessa Hartman, of Gladstone, to vote no while still guaranteeing the 36 affirmative votes necessary to pass a revenue measure.
The Senate expected to vote on Wednesday, Sept. 3. But Democrats learned they were one vote short. Late Tuesday, they announced Sen. Chris Gorsek, of Troutdale, was recovering from a medical procedure and could not attend.
Instead …
The Senate met Wednesday and put off debate on the bill until Sept. 17.
House members had assumed their part was done once they passed transportation package, so they officially adjourned their half of the special session.
Instead …
The House and Senate will meet Friday. They’ll gavel in and immediately gavel out.
Hardly anyone will attend because these are pro forma meetings to comply with the Oregon Constitution: “neither house shall without the concurrence of the other, adjourn for more than three days … . Two thirds of each house shall constitute a quorum to do business, but a smaller number may meet; adjourn from day to day, and compel the attendance of absent members.”
The House can meet for this purpose even though they’ll be missing at least four members who are on a trade mission to Vietnam: Reps. Daniel Nguyễn, D-Lake Oswego; Shelly Boshart Davis, R-Albany; Dwayne Yunker, R-Grants Pass; and Shannon Isadore, D-Portland.
Not surprisingly, ODOT remains in turmoil as workers fear for their jobs. Their layoffs were scheduled to start in July. At Kotek’s direction, ODOT Director Kris Strickler had postponed them through Sept. 15.
Instead …
The Senate didn’t act. So Kotek again ordered a delay in the layoffs until Oct. 15, pending senators’ approval of the transportation package.
The governor did not mysteriously find more money for ODOT. She apparently has the equivalent of a handshake agreement with the Legislature’s presiding officers that they will find the dollars to pay those salaries through Oct. 15.
Meanwhile …
This is a technicality, but it’s not clear whether Kotek has the legal authority to order ODOT to do anything.
Really.
The 2017 transportation bill signed by Gov. Kate Brown included this change, which legislators thought would increase accountability: “The Oregon Transportation Commission shall appoint the director, after consultation with the Governor. The director serves at the pleasure of the commission.”
Kotek voted for that House Bill 2017.
Now Gov. Kotek and Democratic legislators are reversing course, supposedly to improve accountability. Their HB 3991, which awaits Senate action, states, “The Department of Transportation shall be under the supervision of a Director of Transportation who shall be appointed by and shall hold office at the pleasure of the Governor.”
If Director Strickler reports to the commission under existing law, what official authority does Kotek currently hold over the department?
None?
In reality, both Strickler and the commission would be politically naïve to ignore Kotek’s wishes. The governor appoints the commissioners, subject to Senate confirmation, and they serve at her pleasure.
Oregon’s special session is on hold, but $178 daily payments to lawmakers still flow
OPB | By Dirk VanderHart
When Senate leaders announced Tuesday they were taking a two-week hiatus to allow Sen. Chris Gorsek to recuperate from health issues, they ensured two more weeks of payments.
The per diems add about $75,000 on top of the session’s initial expected cost of roughly $86,000. That’s a bit awkward at a time Democrats are already pushing a bill that will raise costs on Oregonians. The question now is what lawmakers do with the money.
Senate Democrats initially looked into strategies that would allow their members to voluntarily forgo being paid. Legislative lawyers told them that wasn’t possible, a spokesperson said. That’s because the wording of Oregon statute says lawmakers “shall receive” the payments.
“Sen. Jama has sent a message to all of the caucus members strongly recommending that for the dates Sept. 4 to Sept. 16 that they donate their per diem to a community nonprofit organization,” said Elizabeth Cronen, a spokesperson for Senate Democrats.
Cronen declined to provide Jama’s message to his members. But many Senate Democrats asked about the matter are making plans to donate their payments. Sens. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland, and Kate Lieber, D-Portland said they planned to donate the money to nonprofits or other institutions in their district.
“There are services that affect my community that we are underfunding,” Golden said.
Senate President Rob Wagner will donate his roughly $2,300 to College Possible Oregon, which helps low-income students gain admission to higher education, his office said. And state Sen. Anthony Broadman, D-Bend, said on Instagram he had two charities in mind for the money.
Republicans aren’t getting the same message from their leader. “I haven’t asked my caucus for anything,” Senate Minority Leader Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles, said Thursday. “Nor will I.”
Bonham declined to say if he planned to do anything specific with the per diem money, calling the question offensive.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek weighs standing order to protect COVID-19 vaccine pharmacy access
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Shaanth Nanguneri
Gov. Tina Kotek and the Oregon Health Authority are exploring similar measures to a standing order issued in Washington aimed at ensuring access to COVID-19 vaccination in the face of federal guidelines that have tightened access to the shot and spurred confusion for patients across the state.
County Dodges Questions Whether It Asked Ex-Preschool for All Director to Cut Ties With Her School
Willamette Week | By Joanna Hou
Tensions between Multnomah County and its former Preschool for All director rage on.
Leslee Barnes, formerly the county’s director of preschool and early learning, resigned July 31. Her resignation came shortly after a WW story reported that her preschool, Village Childcare Enterprises LLC, had been flagged in a secretary of state audit for “wasteful” spending of Preschool Promise dollars. (That’s a state program that provides child care to low-income families.)
ECONOMY
Oregon among states with highest unemployment increases
KOIN 6 | By Amanda Rhoades
There are now more unemployed people than there are jobs available in the U.S., according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
There are currently 7.24 million job seekers and 7.18 million open positions, according to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report.
As reported by The Hill, the decline is the first time unemployed workers have outnumbered the total number of job openings since 2021.
The situation in Oregon is even worse. The state ranked third for the most unemployment claims per 100,000 people in the workforce last week, according to a recent WalletHub report.
Intel said DEI was ‘instrumental’ to innovation — then suddenly stopped talking about it
The Oregonian | By Mike Rogoway
It was just last year that Intel declared the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion were the company’s “core values,” essential for innovation and strong business growth.
This year, Intel has almost nothing to say about DEI at all in its annual Corporate Responsibility Report.
Longtime Portland Developer Wins Reprieve From Lender Seeking Foreclosure
Willamette Week | By Anthony Effinger
Real estate developer John Russell won a battle over the fate of his downtown building known as the “Black Box” last week when a Multnomah County circuit judge ruled that the lender on the property couldn’t appoint a receiver to take control of it.
EDUCATION
Oregon borrowers face confusion, anxiety as federal changes disrupt student loan repayment options
OPB | By Tiffany Camhi
A barrage of updates to the federal student loan repayment system this year has left borrowers feeling misled and frightened for their future.
Portland Public Schools Proposes Spending $16 Million on Center for Black Student Excellence
Willamette Week | By Joanna Hou
The Portland School Board will vote Tuesday on a proposed $16 million building purchase for the Center for Black Student Excellence.
HEALTH CARE
Airing Internal Rift, Major OHSU Labor Union Suspends Top Leaders
Willamette Week | By Andrew Schwartz
A major union at Oregon Health & Science University suspended four leaders this week, according to an internal email, airing rifts in the labor group on the eve of its own elections, and as it bargains with the university over a consequential new contract.
NATURAL RESOURCES
Map: These Oregon natural areas could be logged, developed if Trump rescinds roadless rule
The Oregonian | By Gosia Wozniacka
Many beloved recreation areas across Oregon would be opened up to road construction and logging if the Trump administration rescinds a two-decade-old rule that protects wild areas in national forests across the country.
5 years after Labor Day fires, here’s what Oregon leaders have learned
OPB | By Lauren Dake
This day five years ago, a handful of megafires ripped across Oregon’s landscape, destroying more than 4,000 homes and killing at least 11 people.
2026 ELECTION
Oregon representative switches parties days after key transportation vote
The Oregonian | By Jamie Goldberg
Oregon Rep. Cyrus Javadi will leave the Republican party and register as a Democrat.
Javadi, who lives in Tillamook, announced Friday that he made the switch earlier this week ahead of the Thursday deadline for him to do so in order to run as a Democrat in next year’s election.
Coastal Oregon lawmaker switches party affiliation, registering as Democrat
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Mia Maldonado
Rep. Cyrus Javadi of Tillamook announced on Friday that he will run as a Democrat in the 2026 election, leaving behind the Oregon Republican Party.
Javadi has been the odd one out in his party several times throughout his term — voting alongside Democrats on bills related to LGBTQ+ rights, criticizing federal cuts to Medicaid in Substack posts and being the only House Republican to vote in favor of a transportation bill lawmakers are undertaking in a special session to raise $4.3 billion over the next 10 years.
His stances have confused some of the Democrats living in his district and angered some of his Republican constituents — so much that one of his Republican constituents is leading an effort to recall him. Recall supporters have until Sept. 24 to gather 5,400 signatures and force Javadi to either resign or stand for a special election.
The Evergreen PAC, the campaign arm of the House Republican caucus, said House Republicans remain committed to lowering taxes, making homeownership affordable, ending homelessness and improving student outcomes.
“That mission is not affected by today’s announcement,” the statement read. “Instead it strengthens our work, and our caucus, to advance those ideals by giving the north coast the opportunity to support a new leader who will put the needs of their communities above themselves.”
Marion County commissioner enters race to unseat Gov. Tina Kotek
KOIN 6 | By Ken Boddie
Candidates can start filing for statewide office in next year’s election on September 11.
A few candidates have already declared, including Republican Danielle Bethell, who’s entering the race to unseat incumbent governor and Democrat Tina Kotek.
Democrat businesswoman from The Dalles aims to win Oregon’s only red district
KOIN 6 | By Ken Boddie
Oregon has just one Republican in the state’s congressional delegation.
Congressman Cliff Bentz of Ontario represents Oregon congressional District 2, one of the largest in the nation in terms of land area.
The district is mostly rural, encompassing most of eastern and southern Oregon. Bentz has represented it since 2021.
Democrat Dawn Rasmussen of The Dalles hopes to change that.
Oregon unions back Equal Rights for All measure, aiming to amend state constitution
KATU | By Sana Aljobory
At the 2025 biennial Oregon AFL-CIO Convention, union delegates from across the state voted overwhelmingly to endorse the Equal Rights for All ballot measure.
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