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Oregon News
TRANSPORTATION
ODOT reports more than 200 workers quit, sprints to fill roles ahead of winter
Statesman Journal | By Anastasia Mason
The Oregon Department of Transportation told lawmakers more than 200 workers quit amid layoff uncertainty and the agency may need more money from the legislature as soon as 2027.
This comes after lawmakers passed a $4.3 billion transportation package on Sept. 29.
Republicans ready to refer transportation package to Oregon voters
Statesman Journal | By Dianne Lugo, Anastasia Mason
Jason Williams, director of the Taxpayer Association of Oregon, Senate Minority Leader Bruce Starr, R-Dundee, and Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Stayton, said they will be the chief petitioners of a referendum to roll back tax increases approved during the Oregon special session on transportation funding.
Diehl said people are "pretty fired up" over passage of the transportation funding package.
"They see a legislature that is directly going against their will and they won't accept that," Diehl said.
Previous referendums to increase taxes have been unpopular
In 2000, more than 87% of Oregonians voters were in opposition to a measure that would have increased the gas tax by 5 cents, increased registration fees and “change(d) the method used to tax trucks in Oregon,” according to Statesman Journal archives.
Starr said the grassroots coalition will "aggressively fundraise" for the petition, but he does not expect Senate Republicans to use campaign funds they would otherwise be used to elect Republicans.
Starr referred to the referendum as the only tool left for the minority to use to encourage Kotek and the majority to return to the table.
"It's a blunt instrument that is left at our disposal," Starr said. "It's not ideal, but it's the only instrument left."
Oregon Republican lawmakers say they will attempt to put transportation tax hikes on next year’s ballot
The Oregonian | By Carlos Fuentes
Two Oregon Republican lawmakers said Wednesday they will attempt to refer the transportation tax hikes recently approved by the Legislature to next year’s ballot, a move that would require an intense fundraising effort in the coming months.
Senate Republican Leader Bruce Starr of Dundee and Rep. Ed Diehl of Scio will lead the effort to give voters the final say on the tax hikes that lawmakers recently passed during a month-long special session, Diehl told The Oregonian/OregonLive Wednesday.
Oregon Republicans aim to put the transportation package up to voters: What to know
KATU | By Vasili Varlamos
Senate Republican Leader Bruce Starr, R-Dundee, Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Stayton, and Jason Williams, director of the Taxpayer Association of Oregon, are leading an effort to refer the recently passed transportation bill to voters.
Once those signatures are collected, they must be verified by the Secretary of State. Starr stated that petitioners will attempt to collect additional signatures in case of any verification concerns.
"Probably about 100,000-ish signatures need to be gathered. We got to have 78,000 plus a little bit of valid signatures in order for Oregonians to weigh in on it," said Starr.
Democrats pass anemic transportation bill as Republicans grandstand to bitter end
Bike Portland | By Jonathan Maus
It’s not the transportation bill any Oregon Democrats wanted, but it’s the only one they could manage to pass. Yesterday in the Senate Chamber the House Bill 3991 finally flopped over the finish line with a vote of 18-11. There were no surprises with votes and everything went pretty much as planned by Democratic leaders, a sentence I haven’t been able to write about this legislative process since it began back in May.
HB 3991 will raise about $4.3 billion over the next 10 years from a mix of increases on gas and payroll taxes along with higher fees for car ownership. The total revenue is just 35% of the what Democrats tried for when the bill was initially released (as HB 2025). At the outset of the session, Democratic party leaders hoped to use their control of all three branches of government to boost funding for basic maintenance and operations as well as bolstering buses and transit, making ODOT’s orphan highways safer, building safer routes to school, making electric bikes more affordable, paving off-street paths, and so on.
But there turned out to be a massive sinkhole between Democrats’ policy aspirations and political acumen. Party leaders seem to misread both Republicans and members of their own party. Senate President Rob Wagner and House Speaker Julie Fahey burned crucial time working with Republicans to make the bill bipartisan. They also assumed every Democrat would vote for it, even though some from more purple districts got cold feet when they saw the price tag.
Speaking at an event on Friday, Senator and Joint Committee on Transportation member Khanh Pham blamed the failure of the more robust initial bill on a variety of factors. “I think big picture,” Senator Pham shared in remarks at a park in downtown Troutdale, “[the failure had] to do with Republican opposition to transit, as well as some of my Democratic colleagues — who agreed that transportation was important, but maybe didn’t quite feeling the same urgency, particularly around safety and public transit.”
Despite what they’ve told their base, Republican lawmakers like newly named Senate Minority Leader Bruce Starr, were given a seat at the table in early negotiations. But because their ideas were not politically viable — among them were DOGE-like proposals to eliminate the Oregon Department of Transportation’s Climate Office, bicycle and pedestrian program, and to repeal the 1971 Bicycle Bill that ensures a minimum of highway investments include adjacent bicycling and walking facilities — almost none of them were included in the final legislation.
Instead of making their arguments stronger, or building coalitions and making compromises with fellow lawmakers, Republicans chose to do their politics on social media and in grandstanding floor and committee speeches. They ginned up opposition to the bill by using scare tactics and misinformation, which poisoned the well of public debate. Starr and other Republicans, including outgoing Senator Daniel Bonham (who’s barred from returning to the capital for taking part in a walkout in 2023), tried to make their points in desperate diatribes on the Senate Floor right up until the last minute.
So acute was Republicans’ disdain for Democrats and so focused were their tactics on getting a political win, that not one of them would even consider voting for the highly-compromised bill — even with the knowledge that two Democratic Senators had to come to the capitol building to ensure its passage despite major unresolved medical issues.
And despite HB 3991 being nothing more than a stop-gap measure to preserve ODOT jobs, prevent major upheaval in the delivery of basic transportation services statewide; and despite the fact that Democratic party leaders already caved to Republicans on several fronts just to get them to show up for the special session — Starr and Bonham clung to their tired, easily disproven narratives that the bill was an assault on all Oregonians and they gleefully promised to refer it to voters.
In her opening remarks about the bill in Senate Chambers yesterday, Senator Pham cleansed our timelines by sharing sober facts about the bill. While saying, “Nobody likes to raise taxes,” Pham explained that the typical Oregon family who drives 12,000 miles a year will pay an extra two dollars every month to ensure ODOT crews can fix potholes, paint fog lines, and keep roads plowed in winter. When it comes to the payroll tax that funds public transit, a family that makes $60,000 per year will pay an additional five dollars a month to maintain service for thousands of riders in cities and rural towns — many of whom have no other way to travel to things like medical appointments.
About Republican proposals to simply move money around and slash programs to fill the budget hole, Pham dismissed them as, “Nothing short of magical thinking.” “Any good faith review of ODOT’s actual budget would recognize that ODOT’s investments in DEI, safe routes to school and climate policy are orders of magnitude smaller than the massive budget holes we face to merely preserve our existing road systems,” she said.
And in the saltiest language I’ve heard from the very mild-mannered Pham about her legislative counterparts, she added, “Oregon’s policymakers need to be clear-eyed about the challenges ahead, not self-administering our own version of DOGE and weakening our ability to invest in the vital social services, education and infrastructure on which our communities depend.”
While Republicans gear up to gather signatures required to repeal the tax and fee increases, Democrats and supportive advocacy organizations are already talking about the next legislative session. Even if no major transportation policy proposals arise in the 2026 short session, we’re guaranteed the topic will be back on the table in 2027 when Democrats will have to fight to save transit funding from a Republican-built fiscal cliff. That’s because one of the compromises Republicans won by using the leverage of quorum was to sunset the payroll tax increase that pays for transit after two years.
Hopefully by then Democrats have learned the lessons of this past session.
Oregon transportation department behind on winter hiring because of funding delay
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Mia Maldonado
The Oregon Department of Transportation is rushing to fill vacant positions as it recovers from resignations and a hiring freeze.
POLITICS
House Republicans elect new leader as Drazan seeks Senate post
The Oregonian | By Sami Edge
Oregon House Republicans have chosen a new leader.
On Wednesday, the caucus elected Rep. Lucetta Elmer of McMinnville to lead the 23 member body. The previous leader, Rep. Christine Drazan of Canby has her sights set on the Senate – she intends to seek appointment to Sen. Daniel Bonham’s seat after he steps down this month.
Two House Republicans said Wednesday night that Rep. Emily McIntire of Eagle Point was the other candidate to replace Drazan.
In a news release, Elmer wrote that she’s honored to take the post. Elmer has been deputy leader of the House Republican Caucus since 2024.
Republicans elected Rep. Alek Skarlatos of Winston as the deputy leader of the caucus.
Government shutdown expected to affect nearly 10,000 federal workers in Oregon
The Oregonian | By Carlos Fuentes
Nearly one third of the 30,000 federal employees who work in Oregon were expected to stop working after the government shut down Wednesday morning, according to data from the Oregon Employment Department.
Oregon data center defendants admit they didn’t tell state Amazon was a customer
The Oregonian | By Mike Rogoway
The owners of a fiber-optic provider in eastern Oregon now admit they didn’t tell authorities about their company’s dealings with Amazon in 2018, when they sought state permission to buy the telecom business from a nonprofit on whose board they had served.
TRUMP ADMIN VS. OREGON DEMOCRATS
Federal Judge Recuses Himself from National Guard Case
Willamette Week | By Andrew Schwartz
Trump administration lawyers had noted that Judge Michael Simon is married to U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, who has been outspoken on the issue.
Can a sea of naked people on bikes change Trump's mind on Portland, Oregon?
USA Today
In Portland, activists are planning a unique show of dissent: A naked bike ride to protest Trump's deployment of National Guard troops.
4 Oregon counties sued by US DOJ for refusing to share inmate info with ICE
KOIN 6 | By Amanda Rhoades
On Wednesday the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon filed a petition to enforce administrative subpoenas in Multnomah, Clackamas, Marion and Washington counties after each of them refused to comply.
Trump administration yanks funding for Northwest green hydrogen project
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Tom Banse
The Trump administration on Wednesday nixed funding for the Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub and several hundred other federally-subsidized clean energy projects in Democratic-led states.
2026 ELECTION
Republican Air Force vet Monique DeSpain again challenges U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle for congressional seat
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Alex Baumhardt
Republican Air Force veteran and attorney Monique DeSpain will for the second time challenge incumbent Democratic Rep. Val Hoyle for the Eugene-area 4th Congressional District seat.
DeSpain would first have to win the Republican nomination in the state primary taking place on May 19, 2026, to be on November ballots. So far, the only other Republican candidate is Jonathan Lockwood, a former legislative staffer and campaign consultant.
EDUCATION
Oregon students make small gains but still lag pre-pandemic proficiency in key subjects
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Alex Baumhardt
Results from the latest statewide assessment tests show student proficiency in reading, writing and math are growing slightly, but are still far below pre-pandemic levels.
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