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Oregon’s Ellen Rosenblum, other Democratic attorneys general urge Supreme Court to preserve abortion pill access
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum and a coalition of other Democratic attorneys general on Friday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to preserve access to abortion medication. The 24 attorneys general filed a brief with the Supreme Court urging it to reverse a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling making it harder for patients to access […]
National report: Oregon gets C- grade for redistricting, cites lack of tribal input
New Oregon legislative and congressional maps didn’t adequately incorporate feedback from Oregon tribes, a report from a national coalition of advocacy groups found. Overall, Oregon earned a C-minus on the Community Redistricting Report Card issued Wednesday by the Coalition Hub for Advancing Redistricting & Grassroots Engagement. Delaware, Rhode Island, Utah and Wyoming received the same […]
Wyden, Merkley talk federal housing legislation, tax credits in Portland
PORTLAND – Oregon’s two U.S. senators say the timing is right for approval of more federal funding and tax credits for housing for low- and middle-income families in Oregon and elsewhere. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, both Democrats, discussed their housing legislation at a press event Wednesday with housing advocates at Portland Community Reinvestment […]
Former campaign staff blast McLeod-Skinner’s management style as she gears up for a rerun
A few months into her third congressional campaign, Jamie McLeod-Skinner appears to be a front-runner for the first time in her Oregon political career. The Terrebonne attorney last spring unseated incumbent congressman Kurt Schrader in the Democratic primary for the 5th Congressional District, which stretches from Bend to the suburbs of Portland, then narrowly lost […]
Eugene voters on track to overwhelmingly reject Holvey recall
Eugene voters appear on track to overwhelmingly reject a recall against one of the state’s top Democratic legislative leaders. More than 90% of the 11,000 votes counted by 8 p.m. Tuesday in the recall election targeting Rep. Paul Holvey rejected the attempt to remove the longtime lawmaker and second-ranking Democrat in the House. It’s a […]
Building more homes is Kotek’s top priority for 2024 Oregon legislative session
After spending hundreds of millions in the past year to get people off the streets and into shelters, Gov. Tina Kotek and the Oregon Legislature say they’re focused on addressing the state’s underlying housing crisis. Kotek and the co-chairs of her Housing Production Advisory Council laid out their priorities in meetings with legislative leaders, housing […]
Oregon Democrats, federal employees call for action as shutdown looms
With less than 36 hours until the federal government shuts down, frustrated Democratic members of Oregon’s congressional delegation and federal employees called on congressional Republicans to hurry up and pass a continuing resolution keeping the government open. Oregon’s four Democratic House members and Oregon-based federal employees who are officers in their unions held a news […]
Oregon Senate confirms new education superintendent, dozens more appointees
Oregon officially has a new superintendent of public instruction, new heads of the state lottery and emergency management department and more than 100 new members of state boards and commissions following Senate votes Friday. The state Senate meets about every eight weeks outside of the legislative session to confirm or reject Gov. Tina Kotek’s nominees […]
New Oregon House GOP leader Helfrich seeks unity, pragmatic solutions
Oregon House Republicans have a new leader, and he said he’s focused on uniting his party and finding pragmatic solutions to the state’s problems. House Republicans chose Rep. Jeff Helfrich, R-Hood River, in a private election this week after former leader Vikki Breese-Iverson, R-Prineville, stepped down. Helfrich, who’s serving his first full term in the […]
Survivor, Oregon Senate GOP leader praise new sex crime law, say more needed
A sexual assault survivor and Oregon’s Senate Republican leader hailed a new state law that gives more time to charge rape crimes but said more needs to be done to protect victims. The new law will change the statute of limitations for first-degree sex crimes to 20 years after the crime was committed. If the […]
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek expects to vote against Salem payroll tax
Salem’s most powerful resident said Thursday she expects to vote against the city’s proposed payroll tax. Gov. Tina Kotek, who moved to the governor’s mansion at Mahonia Hall in January, is among the more than 91,000 Salem voters who will get the chance to decide in November whether the city can move ahead with a […]
Oregon Gold Star families get highway designation, ninth state highway honoring veterans
Starting next year, drivers traversing U.S. Highway 30 between Astoria and Ontario will see signs honoring Gold Star Families – the parents, children, spouses and siblings who lost loved ones serving in the military. The Oregon Gold Star Families Memorial Highway will be the last of nine state-spanning highways honoring Oregon veterans. It marks the […]