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Oregon News
POLITICS
Republicans are vowing to send another Oregon tax bill to the ballot
OPB | By Dirk VanderHart
A battle over Oregon gas taxes dominated much of state politics over the past year. Now voters might be in for a sequel.
Gov. Tina Kotek signed a bill Thursday that will functionally hike taxes by more than $300 million. A campaign to refer that bill back to voters kicked into gear immediately.
Two Republican state lawmakers — Rep. Ed Diehl of Scio and Rep. Dwayne Yunker from Grants Pass — are leading a charge to collect 78,116 signatures to put Senate Bill 1507 on the November ballot.
Oregon Republicans race to overturn tax increase as signature deadline looms
KATU | By Tanvi Varma
In Oregon, the clock is ticking on a push to overturn a tax increase passed by state lawmakers.
Republicans are now racing to gather enough signatures to refer the measure to voters in November. Supporters of the effort need about 80,000 valid signatures by July. If they fall short, the tax changes will take effect without going before voters.
Republicans backing the referendum say voters should have the final say on the tax changes.
“We’re talking about massive, massive investment into our state, and these are people that can make a choice for where they buy equipment, make a choice for where they expand their manufacturing facilities. And if you’re not going to get the same benefit in Oregon that you might get over the border in Idaho, you might get over the border, maybe you even get it in Washington," said Republican Senator Christine Drazan.
Keizer Sen. Kim Thatcher’s ‘cool adventure’ coming to close
Salem Reporter | By Les Zaitz
In the closing days of the recent legislative session, Kim Thatcher ticked off her final acts as a senator.
The Republican representing Keizer noted her final committee testimony.
She noted the last minority report she would present on the Senate floor.
And she carried her last bill in a legislative career of more than 20 years.
Thatcher’s term is up at the end of 2026 and she is barred by law from running again. She still has work to do as a senator until then – committee meetings and occasional Senate sessions to approve gubernatorial appointments.
“It was really a cool, cool adventure,” she said as she reflected on her political career in a recent interview.
Editorial valley: Another ‘death to capitalism’ proposal from Portland City Council
The Oregonian Editorial Board
Another week, another headscratcher of a proposal circulating at Portland City Hall. This time, two councilors are exploring whether to cap how much Uber and Lyft ride-hailing services may keep from passengers’ fares. By dictating the allowable share for companies, the thinking goes, the city can ensure Uber’s and Lyft’s contracted drivers get a bigger cut.
Regardless of intentions, the proposal seems like yet another death-to-capitalism initiative from a City Council that has veered sharply left.
Gov. Kotek signals she’ll veto bill changing Oregon public meetings law criticized by journalists
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Alex Baumhardt
The bill, meant to create clarity about what public officials can call and text about outside of public meetings, would be Gov. Kotek’s only veto following 2026 session.
Editorial peak: Kotek’s veto notice and the bill steamrolling transparency
The Oregonian Editorial Board
If legislators were as committed to transparency as they constantly profess to be, House Bill 4177 never would have advanced. The bill, which would expand elected officials’ ability to handle public business in secret, had so many built-in problems that even legislators who championed it bemoaned its flaws. Yet, the bill easily passed both chambers of the Legislature last month before landing on Gov. Tina Kotek’s desk.
Thankfully, Kotek isn’t caving. On Friday, she issued a notice of a potential veto for HB 4177, due to concerns that portions of the bill “may undermine transparency in the conducting of public business.” Provided she doesn’t reverse course, she is expected to formally veto the bill this week.
Trump approves Oregon disaster declaration over severe winter storms
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Alex Baumhardt
President Donald Trump approved a disaster declaration for Oregon following winter storms that brought record rainfall and caused flooding, landslides and mudslides in eight counties.
Oregon leads argument against Trump’s tariffs again
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Mia Maldonado
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield spoke with reporters following the first hearing in a second lawsuit brought by two dozen attorneys general against Trump.
Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer faces civils rights complaints
Statesman Journal | By Bill Poehler
Secretary of Labor and former Republican U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer has had three civil rights complaints filed against her by people who work in her agency, the New York Times reported.
TSA union warns of hardship during prolonged DHS shutdown at PDX
KGW | By Thomas Shults
A prolonged shutdown leaves TSA workers unpaid, sparking protests at Portland airport.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
As It Shutters, Beleaguered Shelter Operator Says All 175 Staff Will Lose Their Jobs
Willamette Week | By Andrew Schwartz
Late last month, WW reported that two homeless shelters funded by the city Portland would close after the nonprofit contracted to run them shuttered amid allegations of fiscal mismanagement.
In a WARN notice posted publicly this week, that nonprofit, Sunstone Way, indicated the scale of the impact for its own staff: By the end of June, all 175 of them would lose their jobs.
In the notice, Sunstone Way HR said it had “anticipated the city of Portland would continue operating the shelters that Sunstone Way currently operates.”
Oregon ski resorts adapt to shrinking snowpack amid rough season
OPB | By Joni Auden Land
Many ski resorts across the West have been forced to close early this year. An unseasonably warm winter has led to one of Oregon’s worst snow seasons on record.
HOMELESSNESS
Residents of Oregon homeless camp say Forest Service blew off efforts to reclaim lost property
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Danielle Dawson, David Dudley
Former residents of one of Oregon’s largest homeless encampments say they lost cars, work tools, irreplaceable family photos and other items.
2026 ELECTION
Top GOP contenders for Oregon governor set to square off
OPB | By Lauren Dake
The first debate between the candidates is scheduled for Thursday.
The four leading Republicans vying to be Oregon’s next governor will face off in their first debate this week.
The Thursday evening debate, hosted by the GOP, is another sign that the race to challenge Gov. Tina Kotek for the state’s top job is heating up as the May primary gets closer.
There’s no debate: Oregon governor hopefuls don’t need TV like they once did
The Oregonian | By Carlos Fuentes, Betsy Hammond
With primary ballots set to arrive at the end of the month, leading Republican candidates for Oregon governor have not yet debated or appeared together. Instead, in today’s fragmented media environment, they have been reaching voters on their own terms.
This year’s frontrunners, particularly 2022 gubernatorial nominee and state Sen. Christine Drazan of Canby and former Trail Blazer and 2010 gubernatorial nominee Chris Dudley, have been spending big on TV and digital ads targeting specific audiences. They have also crisscrossed the state, meeting with donors and Republican groups in smaller, more receptive settings.
Both candidates declined Thursday to participate in a journalist-moderated debate intended to reach a broad audience that was slated to air on KGW and be co-hosted by The Oregonian/OregonLive.
Prediction markets have exploded. What can they tell us about Oregon’s hottest primary race?
OPB | By Dirk VanderHart
Which Republican challenger will move on to face Gov. Tina Kotek in November is the most intriguing question of Oregon’s primary election. But with ballots headed out in less than three weeks, the state of that race has been hard to parse.
No public polls have emerged, candidates only recently started airing television ads, and there’s an open debate over whether grassroots enthusiasm or cold, hard cash will win the day.
What’s an Oregon political obsessive, or even just a casually interested voter, to do? You could look to gamblers for guidance.
Prediction markets – where bettors can plunk down money on whether an event is likely to occur – leave few corners of life untouched these days. Major sites like Kalshi and Polymarket allow bets on the daily high temperature in Helsinki, the likelihood of Christ’s return and everything in between.
Research has shown the markets can be prescient when it comes to elections. And in Oregon, they’ve homed in on the GOP gubernatorial primary, which has attracted more than $100,000 in wagers across platforms.
Three large prediction markets – Polymarket, Kalshi and Robinhood – differed only slightly on primary odds as of Sunday morning. Their current guesses may surprise you.
State Sen. Christine Drazan, with broad name recognition from her 2022 gubernatorial run and more than $1 million in the bank, is one leading candidate. As of Sunday all three markets gave her a 44% chance of being the GOP nominee.
How One Candidate “Stepped In It” With Trade Unions While Discussing Data Centers
Willamette Week | By Aaron Mesh
Hey Google, why are data centers becoming a third rail of Oregon politics?
As candidates for the Oregon Legislature meet with WW’s editorial board for endorsement interviews prior to the May 19 election, one topic is emerging as a hot button: data centers, and how they affect the communities where they sprout. In Washington County, for instance, at least two House candidates—Myrna Muñoz and Tammy Carpenter—have signed on to a petition calling for a pause on construction of data centers, which provide towns with a short-term economic boost but use an enormous amount of water to cool computers producing artificial intelligence.
The tension is perhaps felt most keenly in House District 52. That district includes much of the Columbia River Gorge, from Troutdale to The Dalles, which means it’s a center of Oregon hydropower. Google has opened at least six data centers in the district, according to three Democratic primary candidates, although it isn’t clear how many of these facilities are operational. As a result, The Oregonian reported last week, Google’s data centers consumed 550 million gallons of water in The Dalles last year—40% of the water usage in that Gorge city.
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