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Oregon News
2026 ELECTION
Oregon Democrats found a way to improve roads. Now their gas tax goes before voters as prices soar
Associated Press | By Claire Rush
Appealing to voters’ anxieties about the soaring cost of living is central to Democrats’ messaging in their hopes of big wins in this year’s midterm elections. In Oregon, a question on the primary ballot is complicating that strategy.
Hotly contested primary draws big money from unions, Democratic establishment as election nears
The Oregonian | By Julia Silverman
Money is pouring into the hotly contested Democratic primary race between incumbent state Sen. Janeen Sollman and challenger Myrna Muñoz. The two are vying to represent Washington County’s Senate District 15, which stretches from Hillsboro to Forest Grove.
Mail your ballot today, or find a drop box
The Oregonian | By Jamie Goldberg
The Oregon Secretary of State’s Office is urging voters who want to mail in their ballots for the May election to do so no later than today.
This candidate has outraised all other Oregon candidates for the U.S. House
Oregon Capital Chronicle | By Mia Maldonado
U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum, a Clackamas County Democrat, raised and spent more money in the month leading up to the May primary than any other candidate running to represent Oregon in the U.S. House of Representatives.
POLITICS
Kotek’s prosperity council could target Oregon corporate activity tax, adviser suggests
The Oregonian | By Shaanth Nanguneri
One of Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek’s top economic advisers on Monday suggested that a new economic prosperity effort the governor championed last year could recommend the state reduce its corporate activity tax.
Former Senate Minority Leader Tim Knopp’s comments came during a wide-ranging speech at a forum hosted by the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce, where he was joined by local business leaders to preview the work of the governor’s prosperity council. Kotek announced the council’s creation in December with the goal of bringing together a diverse sector of industry leaders to issue potential recommendations on policy issues such as permitting reform, global trade and corporate tax incentives.
Knopp, a Republican from Bend, said on Monday that he doesn’t know specifics but that “everybody knows that we need to take a look” at the state’s corporate activity tax and “figure out how to make it work better.” The tax is measured based on a business’ amount of commercial activity in Oregon totaling more than $1 million. Critics have labeled the tax, intended to fund education, Oregon’s “hidden” sales tax.
Kotek “will determine which one she wants to do, which one she thinks will move the needle, which things are politically available and possible. Politics is the art of the possible, and she will move on those (recommendations) and I will be helping her and you,” Knopp told attendees. “This new economy that is coming, it’s just a question of whether it’s coming to Oregon in a significant way, or whether it’s going to pass us by somewhere else.”
Knopp also said that Kotek will likely put forth legislation in the 2027 legislative session to ensure Oregon “can become the new prosperous state.” He pointed to an evolving economic landscape with the development of artificial intelligence and high-profile layoffs at tech companies, suggesting that states such as Texas and Arizona have attracted companies due to lower tax and fewer regulations.
Oregon has for years struggled with its reputation for overburdening businesses with regulations and taxes, and several high-profile recent rounds of layoffs spurred concerns that businesses are fleeing the state. A March letter to the business council from one of the state’s top business group coalitions warned that Oregon is facing high housing costs, poor public school performance, outdated land use rules and climate-related risks such as wildfires.
Though he didn’t call for any specific policy changes, Knopp also took aim at Oregon’s $1 million threshold for the estate tax, arguing that people are leaving the state in response to it and collecting tax status outside of Oregon instead.
He also said that the main types of businesses that will improve Oregon’s business climate include the semiconductor industry, energy companies, natural resources, and various manufacturing companies such as food production and sawmills.
“I told the governor, this is a no-fail mission,” Knopp told attendees. “Because if we don’t turn this around and turn it around fairly quickly, as I say, we will be Detroit for four decades with a slightly better view.”
Knopp defends Kotek
Kotek tapped former political rival Knopp to lead her economic efforts as chief prosperity officer. He is a former GOP Senate minority leader who in 2023 led a six-week quorum-denying walkout over bills on gender-affirming care, abortion and guns. He was unable to run for reelection due to a 2022 voter-approved constitutional amendment, which bars any lawmaker with 10 or more unexcused absences from serving another term.
Since his selection, the council has continued to hold regular meetings until it plans to issue formal recommendations for the governor in the summer. Kotek has declined to take any clear positions on potential policy changes ahead of the council’s findings. In the meantime, the council’s competing factions have sparred over how and whether the state should be cutting taxes for businesses as a solution.
One point of controversy on Monday, and among some prosperity council members, has been a 2026 law Oregon Democrats passed to partially disconnect the state from the GOP’s 2025 federal tax and spending law tax breaks. Republicans and business groups have painted the legislation as an effective tax hike, though Democrats said failing to disconnect from federal tax changes would’ve left the state without around $300 million in state revenue needed for the next year-and-a-half.
Oregon GOP lawmakers have launched a ballot veto referendum to gather signatures to undo the legislation, and Kotek has said she is looking to the council to recommend legislation addressing the issue in 2027.
Pressed by an audience member to reconcile the law’s passage with supporting business in Oregon, Knopp said that the “governor is committed to action. I don’t think she would have hired me if she wasn’t.”
He warned that failing to pass the legislation would have created a significant financial hole in the state’s education system.
“The short session is a difficult place to make big policy, and that was budget policy,” he said. “I think some of those policies are going to have to be relooked at in order for Oregon to reach its full potential, and to keep companies here.”
Powerful Lawmakers Say They Don’t Anticipate Tapping Education Stability Fund This Year
Willamette Week | By Joanna Hou
At an advocate-organized school funding forum, state Sen. Kate Lieber and state Rep. Tawna Sanchez said they anticipate more dire times to come.
Debunking the myths and misconceptions about Portland and the Trail Blazers’ Moda Center deal | Bill Oram
The Oregonian | By Bill Oram
Got called a boot-licker by a Portland city councilor.
On Mother’s Day, even!
That was a first.
Sometimes it feels that people like Angelita Morillo, and people who like Angelita Morillo, have warp-zoned to a different timeline than the rest of us. A timeline where extreme naïveté and reckless grandstanding are precious currency and decisions only have consequences if your social media following takes a hit.
Councilor Morillo, who represents much of Southeast Portland, offered her 50,000 TikTok followers a summary of my Sunday column about the city’s clunky handling of the increasingly concerning Moda Center situation (thanks for amplifying, BTW). She said I touted Trail Blazers’ controlling owner Tom Dundon as a “shrewd businessman” while claiming politicians are “villainizing (him) unnecessarily because these politicians are just pussyfooting ninnies that are not willing to make a deal with this shrewd, shrewd businessman.”
She might have a future as a sports columnist. Though I’d be careful about so wantonly repeating adjectives.
Anyway, based on the response to my detailing of the shaky future of the Trail Blazers and the franchise’s near-certain exit if this proposal falls through, there are a few misconceptions, half-truths and outright lies that I think need to be cleared up.
These are the fastest growing concerns for Portland area voters, poll finds
The Oregonian | By Aimee Green
No answers soared in popularity more than “taxes” and “cost-of-living/inflation,” when comparing this year’s results to those in polls commissioned by the news organization in the previous two years. The percentage of metro area residents who cited “taxes” as their most pressing concern increased more than threefold, from 3% in March 2025 to 11% in the latest poll.
Trump came after Portland for its sanctuary protections. Here’s how strongly voters support them
The Oregonian | By Yesenia Amaro
A majority of Portland-area residents and a vast majority of Portlanders support Oregon’s longstanding sanctuary status amid the Trump administration’s moves to target the state for those protections, a new poll commissioned by The Oregonian/OregonLive shows.
Portland voters are less worried about these issues than they were 2 years ago, poll finds
The Oregonian | By Sophia Cossette
Portland residents’ concerns over crime and drug use have dropped significantly in the past two years, according to a recent poll commissioned by The Oregonian/OregonLive.
New Funding Will Kickstart Internet Infrastructure in Rural Oregon. Here’s Where It’s Needed Most.
Willamette Week | By Kushboo Rathore
Hundreds of millions of dollars are now dedicated to satellite and fiber internet programs around the state that will begin construction in late 2026.
Hillsboro mayor orders halt to new data center tax breaks
The Oregonian | By Mike Rogoway
Hillsboro Mayor Beach Pace said Monday the city will stop signing enterprise zone tax break agreements with data centers until next month, and perhaps indefinitely.
Oregon election officials discuss Trump attacks on voting and what’s at stake
The Oregonian | By Mia Maldonado
Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read talks elections at virtual town hall ahead of primary.
Portland could close more than 950 shelter beds under mayor’s budget
OPB | By Alex Zielinski
Portland could lose more than 950 homeless shelter beds under Mayor Keith Wilson’s proposed budget.
Auditor Says County Failed to Adequately Monitor Spending by Troubled Contractor
Willamette Week | By Aaron Mesh
The Homeless Services Department pushed back on the notion that shoddy oversight resulted in Sunstone Way’s downfall.
City Council Passes Street Fee to Raise Revenues for Street Maintenance
Willamette Week | By Sophie Peel
With two new fees set to hit in 2027, the transportation bureau will have an additional $69 million per year to maintain city streets.
37 federal cases, 1 prison sentence: The quiet resolution of Portland's ICE protests
KGW | By Evan Watson
Federal prosecutors charged dozens of people after clashes outside the ICE building in SW Portland in 2025. Most defendants have avoided any time behind bars.
Eugene police officer resigns after racist comments caught on bodycam video
KPTV
An officer with the Eugene Police Department has resigned after video circulated online showing him using offensive and racist language.
The video, shared on social media, is a compilation of clips from the officer’s body camera.
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