Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in Oregon Politics: Steve Novick, Chief Reese, Cylvia Hayes

Friday, January 02, 2015

Jesse Cornett, GoLocalPDX Contributor

Oregon State Capitol in Salem.

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:

Portland City Commissioner Steve Novick

All Steve Novick wanted for the holidays this year was a plan to fund fixes to Portland’s aging streets that lasted longer than the neighborhood kid’s goldfish. It looks like he may have got it. It is a tax based on the amount of gas you use except that’s not legal. Instead, it assumes that your fuel consumption corresponds with your income. Very creative.

The venerable Portland Business Alliance has signaled a warmth to the street fee proposal. Powerhouse lobbyist Paul Romain, who represents the petroleum industry and has been a critic at every turn, has not yet suggested if his clients will oppose the measure. Hair salon owner Ann Sanderson has continued to be the face and voice of the opposition and indicated her plans to refer any street revenue plan to Portland voters.

New Laws

At the start of each year, and sometimes even in between, a new crop of laws take effect. As of yesterday, minors have some legal protection from prosecution for being intoxicated if they are seeking medical assistance for themselves or others. Additionally, minimum wage workers will earn an extra fifteen cents an hour. Go ahead and hide the bong from the cops for a few more months: marijuana legalization doesn’t take effect until July.

Portland Police Chief Mike Reese

Chiefs of police in Portland don’t typically go out on a high note. When he retires this month, current Chief Mike Reese is bucking that trend.

Chief Reese was hired in 2010 when then Chief Rosie Sizer thumbed her nose at the Mayor and got herself fired. Prior to that Derrick Foxworth resigned as Chief after an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate. Then there was Mark Kroeker, brought in from Los Angeles, who lasted a tumultuous 3 1/12 years, ultimately resigning under pressure from the Mayor. Before Kroeker there was Charles Moose. Moose’s tenure was rocky at best and he resigned for a job that landed him in national headlines. You have to go all the way back to 1993 when Tom Potter retired to find a Chief that went out on a high note.

Kudos to Chief Reese for learning to deal with the various constituencies: the public (including the “ubiquitous critics”), the media, and the Police Commissioners/Mayors. He managed the politics so well it leaves many wondering what he will do for an encore.

Natalie and Edward Mallue

Oregon Native Natalie (nee Heimel) Mallue and her groom Edward Mallue had less than a day to shift their wedding venue last weekend. Apparently when you get married on a military golf course and the Commander in Chief wants to play through, the little known clause in the contract you signed is invoked. The President plays through.

The newlyweds, both Army Captains, didn’t seem to mind. They got an arguably nicer spot on the same course, watched him play through and took a congratulatory call from him.

Not:

Oregon State Representative-Elect Mike Nearman

Representative-Elect Mike Nearman is chomping at the bit to become a lawmaker. That’s good news. His misunderstanding of Oregon’s tax policy is okay. His taking to the interwebs to concoct a “parable” about the income tax kicker that he clearly does not understand is bizarre.

The kicker is this: every two years the state economist predicts how much revenue the state will take in over the next two years. At the end of the two years there is more than 2% over the original prediction, it goes back to taxpayers (and in some cases out of state corporations), even if the state is underfunding critical services.

Nearman’s example would be more accurate if the fast food place he was dining at was charging him 10% less than what it cost to provide his meal. It turns out they had 10 more customers in the day than they expected so revenue was up. They still had to lay off two employees because they didn’t have the money to make payroll. None the less, they called back and offered to spend money on a stamp to return a dollar to him. I think we can all agree the core lesson here is that Nearman needs better diet habits.

Portland City Commissioner Steve Novick

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. City Commissioner Steve Novick is all over the board: earning unique honors of being both Hot and Not this week. Willamette Week’s Aaron Mesh wrote a cover story this week about the machinations that led to Uber suspending operations. The story speaks for itself.

ACLU Oregon

The American Civil Liberties Union – Oregon was in the midst of a search for a Legislative Director on the eve of the legislature convening. That’s bad timing. This week it was announced their Executive Director would retire after 33 years at the organization. Losing someone of David Fidanque’s stature would be a loss at any time. Good for the organization for having such stable leadership. Let’s hope the transition earns them honors in the Hot category soon.

Oregon First Lady Cylvia Hayes

Cylvia has used up all nine of her lives in Hot or Not column. Tell me you are surprised to see her name here again. The slow drip drip drip release of information is something that keeps adding fuel to the fire of a story about Oregon First Lady Cylvia Hayes roles as romantic partner of and policy advisor to the Governor and private consultant. Highlights: helping sneak her cat into a hotel and suggesting a state employee clean the catbox. These stories are getting downright catty. Meow!

Oregon Candidates and Their Biggest Donors

In Nov. GoLocalPDX reported: Oregon is one of only five states in the country with no limits on campaign contributions and it’s reflective in the hundreds of thousands of dollars that poured into statewide candidates' pockets this election cycle.

As voters complete their ballots by Election Day on Nov. 4, they might want to take note of who gave candidates the most money and who might have their ear if they’re elected. From Nike Chairman Phil Knight’s $250,000 donation to Gov. John Kitzhaber to a $33,000 individual contribution for state senate candidate Dave Dotterer, it’s clear big money is a player this election season.

“It (limitless campaign contributions) creates a breeding ground for corruption,” said Daniel Weiner, counsel in the democracy program at the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law.

READ MORE

GMO Labeling, Measure 92 Goes Down

Oregon voters have rejected a statewide ballot measure that would have required the labeling of foods that contain genetically modified ingredients, according initial projections that came in Nov 4.

With 94 percent of the votes in, the measure is failing with a 51 percent to 49 percent margin.

Opposition to Measure 92 received more financial contributions and spent more money than any other political campaign in Oregon’s 2014 election, raising over $17 million and spending a total of $20.6 million.

The final tallies came in closer and triggered an automatic recount, but in the end the measure failed by only 800 votes.

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5

Hayes Scandal Could Implode Kitzhaber’s Campaign

In Oct, GoLocalPDX asked local political experts if the emerging Cylvia Hayes scandal might impact Kitzhaber’s political fortunes:

If the scandal over Cylvia Hayes, Gov. John Kitzhaber’s fiancee, continues to unfold, even with a locked-in-place electorate like Oregon’s race for governor, political tides could shift, political experts say.
“Kitzhaber’s going to be in trouble,” said Bob Moore, owner of Moore Information, an opinion research group that conducts political polling. “Here’s somebody that calls herself the first lady of Oregon. It’s like, ‘c’mon, you have to be above reproach.'

"You’re embarrassing the governor, for one thing, and is the governor paying attention?”

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Kitzhaber Does Not List Hayes on Financial Disclosures

In Oct, GoLocalPDX revealed that Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber didn't list his fiancee Cylvia Hayes in a 2013 ethics document that required him to name lobbyists he had a relationship with.

In a Statement of Economic Interests document obtained by GoLocalPDX and filed with the Oregon Ethics Commission, Kitzhaber stated that his household received income from two companies, Energy Foundation and Resource Media, that had contracted with Hayes' consulting firm E3 Strategies.

But under a section that required him to disclose “any compensated lobbyist who was associated with a business with which you or a member or your household was associated during 2013” Kitzhaber simply put “N/A” or not applicable.

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Recreational Marijuana Legalized in Ore.

Voters passed Measure 91, making Oregon the third state to legalize and tax marijuana for recreational use on Nov.4.

Yes on 91 volunteer Martha Duff said, "Tonight Oregon won a great victory, decades in the making."

Supporters of the measure held a Portland party on election night evening to celebrate the new law. While a number of attendees were from the Portland area, some supporters made the journey from out-of-state to witness, what they called, history in the making.

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2

"Oregon First Lady" Role is Legal Fiction

GoLocalPDX reported in Oct that a “state ethics investigation into the actions of Cylvia Hayes will be complicated by the fact that her role as a public official and as “First Lady” of Oregon is nowhere to be found in Oregon State law.”

After the state GOP filed an ethics complaint, Cylvia Hayes will be the focus of an ethics investigation to determine if she, as First Lady, broke rules governing the behavior of a public official. The problem is, there’s no such thing as a “First Lady” under Oregon state law.

“There’s no such thing if you look it up in the statutes,” said Christopher Shortell, an Associate Professor of Political Science at PSU’s Mark O. Hatfield School of Government.

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Biden Lauds Oregon Senator Who Resigned Amid Sexual Harassment Claims

During a speech to women on Sept 19, US Vice President Joe Biden praised former U.S. Senator Bob Packwood, the Oregon Senator who resigned in 1995 amid numerous accusations of sexual harassment.

During a Democratic National Committee's Women’s Leadership Forum meeting, Vice President Biden held up Packwood as an example of Republicans who previously championed issues now mostly favored by Democrats, such as raising the minimum wage.

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