Oregon Politics: Who’s Hot and Who’s Not?

Friday, November 21, 2014

Photo Credit: iStock

Every Friday, GoLocalPDX breaks down who's rising and who's falling in the world of Oregon politics. Check out who made the lists this week.

Hot

Tina Kotek/Val Hoyle: Oregon House Democrats elected to keep these two rising political stars at the leadership helm, with Kotek as House Speaker and Hoyle as Majority Leader. It will be interesting to see where their careers take them, especially after presiding over an incredibly successful campaign season that foreshadows a fruitful progressive legislative agenda.

Yes on 92: Advocates for the GMO labeling measure argue the fight isn’t over as more ballots are being challenged and (re)counted. According to a Yes on 92 email sent out to supporters the vote gap has dropped to 4,092 (0.27%) votes. State law requires a recount if the margin shrinks to 0.2% of the total votes. In the mean time, Yes on 92 advocates aren’t backing down.

Michael Kaplan: Gov. John Kitzhaber appointed Kaplan as director of the Oregon Energy Department on Wednesday. Kaplan, who has been serving as chief of the department since replacing Lisa Schwartz (who mysteriously resigned in May after only a year on the job), will be the agency’s fifth leader in five years.

10,000: The number of new Oregon jobs added in October, the largest monthly gain in nearly 20 years. Oregon might be on track to regain pre-recession employment levels, but our state’s leaders will need to do more to diversify the economy and support job growth in rural areas; the vast majority of new jobs has occurred in the Portland metro area, Columbia Gorge and Central Oregon.

Obamacare: Reuters reports that one part of Obama’s signature health care law, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is going according to plan. A report released by the National Association of State Budget Officers on Thursday revealed that U.S states are receiving and spending more money on the Medicaid health insurance program, which is attributable to the expansion of Medicaid in a majority of states. Before Obamacare, Medicaid ate up more and more state spending each year.

Not

Marijuana Tax: The passage of Measure 91 this past election may have excited the majority of Oregonians, but its tax implications have surely created a headache for many city and local officials. As the Statesman Journal reports, many Oregon cities enacted new taxes on marijuana in anticipation of the drug’s legalization. However, Measure 91 stipulates that the state is the only entity allowed to tax the drug. Regardless, cities are preparing to defend their taxes in court.

Portland Street Fund: It is clear that Portland Mayor Charlie Hales and Commissioner Steve Novick are showing leadership on the “street fund” initiative, which plans for $46 million in road paving and safety projects. They’ve revised their deeply unpopular initial plan and continue to remain solution-focused, yet the public remains skeptical. OPB hosted two such skeptics on a radio segment, in which they blasted Hales and Novick for not giving them more choices.

Terry Bean: Successful real estate developer and major political donor, Terry Bean was arrested Wednesday in Lane County on charges of sexual assault. As GoLocalPDX reports, Bean is widely known as a major donor to progressive causes and political candidates, having donated generously to President Obama’s campaign and a slew of local Democratic candidates. His former boyfriend, Kiah Lawson, was also arrested in connection to the crime.

94%: The percentage of Oregonians with contested ballots that has not fixed theirs. This figure is especially disconcerting to GMO advocates who are still counting ballots to narrow their 0.27% lag, especially since the majority of those with ballot errors are registered Democrats who are more likely to support GMO labeling. The deadline to fix your ballot is Tuesday.

Keystone: U.S. Senate Democrats voted Tuesday to block legislation that would have approved construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, marking a major win for the environmental movement in what has become one of the most contentious issues during Obama’s presidency. Oregon Senators Jeff Merkly and Ron Wyden were among those who voted against the project. While set back for now, Republicans have vowed to bring keystone back once they claim the Senate majority in January. Even if the Senate had passed the bill, it is doubtful that Obama would have signed it into law.

U.S. House Republicans: President Obama announced late last night his plans to allow up to four million undocumented immigrants who have lived in the United States for at least five years to apply for a program that protects them from deportation and allows those with no criminal record to work legally in the country. While the executive action is praised by advocates for reform, it is still limited in scope due to House Republicans' inability to do their job.

Gus Wendel is a writer, organizer, and musician. Originally from Eastern Oregon, he now resides in Portland.