Politics
Oregon public employee unions file labor complaints over vaccine records gaffe
Unions representing more than 31,000 state employees filed six separate labor complaints against the state of Oregon on Thursday for wrongly providing individual employees’ vaccination statuses to two newspapers. Leading up to the Oct. 18 effective date for a Covid vaccination mandate for state employees, news organizations in the state requested agency-level vaccination and exemption […]
Longtime New York Times columnist Nick Kristof launches Democratic campaign for Oregon governor
Longtime New York Times columnist Nick Kristof officially launched his campaign for Oregon governor on Wednesday, joining a crowded Democratic primary. Kristof, who grew up in Yamhill and returned to his family’s farm a few years ago, has been publicly considering a run for governor for several months. He resigned from the New York Times […]
Two lawsuits challenge Oregon’s new legislative boundaries
A former Republican state representative on Monday asked the Oregon Supreme Court to throw out all newly drawn state House and Senate districts and replace them with more competitive maps. The lawsuit from former Rep. Patrick Sheehan, R-Portland, and Clackamas County attorney Samantha Hazel joined a challenge filed earlier Monday that asked the court to […]
Bend attorney seeks rematch with Zika in Redmond-area House district
Bend attorney Emerson Levy is planning a rematch with state Rep. Jack Zika, R-Redmond, in a redrawn House district that now favors Democrats. Levy, 36, announced her campaign for the 53rd House District on Thursday. She was the Democratic nominee in the district in 2020, when she lost to Zika by 12 points. But after […]
Tillamook Rep. Suzanne Weber seeks to move up to Senate
State Rep. Suzanne Weber is running for Senate in the rural northwest Oregon district long represented by state Sen. Betsy Johnson, who announced her independent campaign for governor last week. Weber, R-Tillamook, announced her plans shortly after Johnson informed supporters she would run for governor. While Johnson was a Democrat until late last week and […]
Federal judge rejects last-ditch effort to block Oregon Covid vaccine mandate
A federal judge on Monday struck down a last-minute attempt to block Oregon’s vaccination mandate for teachers, health care workers and state employees, while another heard arguments in a similar case. Most people working in health care or education and executive branch employees had until the end of the day Monday to prove they’ve been […]
Clackamas County Rep. Mark Meek announces run for Oregon Senate
State Rep. Mark Meek plans to run for the state Senate in a newly-created district, he announced this week. Meek’s Gladstone home has been in a Republican Senate district represented by former state Sen. Alan Olsen or his appointed successor, state Sen. Bill Kennemer, for the past decade. New legislative boundaries give Democrats an advantage […]
Oregon state Sen. Betsy Johnson to launch independent campaign for governor
Moderate Democratic state Sen. Betsy Johnson will leave her party and run for governor as an independent, she told supporters Thursday afternoon. In an email obtained by the Oregon Capital Chronicle, Johnson described herself as offering a sensible alternative instead of forcing Oregon voters to choose between “another left-wing liberal promising more of the same […]
Kristof quits New York Times, moves closer to declaring campaign for Oregon governor
Longtime columnist Nicholas Kristof resigned from the New York Times Thursday morning, moving closer to announcing his campaign to be Oregon’s next governor. Kristof, who lives on a farm outside Yamhill, has been on leave since June as he explored a potential race. Earlier this week, he set up a fundraising committee with the Oregon […]
Oregon Rep. Bill Post will resign two months after moving to Nevada
State Rep. Bill Post, who thought he could continue in the Oregon Legislature despite moving to Nevada, found out otherwise and said in a statement Tuesday that he will resign his seat by Nov. 30. The Keizer Republican and former broadcaster revised his plans and will resign more than two months after he announced in […]
Oregon Republicans sue over new congressional districts
Four former Republican officials in Oregon sued over newly drawn congressional boundaries, alleging that legislative Democrats created a “clear, egregious partisan gerrymander.” The suit, filed in Marion County Circuit Court late Monday, claims that Democrats ignored required criteria for redistricting to ensure Democratic dominance in congressional elections as Oregon gets a sixth seat in the […]
Oregon tenants risk expiration of eviction safe harbor before they can get rent help
Three months ago, most legislators agreed to let the state’s eviction moratorium expire but provide a 60-day grace period as landlords and tenants waited on bureaucrats to process rental assistance claims. There were hundreds of millions of dollars in federal rent assistance available, Covid cases were decreasing and more than 2 million Oregonians had already […]