First Potential GOP Challenger For Gov. Kate Brown Surfaces

"How do I not think about running?" asks Happy Valley Mayor Lori Chavez-DeRemer.

Mayor Lori Chavez-DeRemer
By Nigel Jaquiss

While much of the speculation in Salem this session about which Republicans might seek the GOP nomination for governor next year has centered on state Rep. Knute Buehler (R-Bend) and Secretary of State Dennis Richardson, the emergence of another potential candidate last week caused a flurry of discussion in the Capitol.

That potential candidate is Lori Chavez-DeRemer, the mayor of Happy Valley.

Chavez-DeRemer ran a strong race in 2016 in House District 51, losing the contest to now-Rep. Janelle Bynum (D-Clackamas) 51 percent to 49 percent.

The competition for the seat vacated by former state Rep. Shemia Fagan (D-Clackamas) became the most expensive House race in Oregon history, with Bynum spending $1.1 million and DeRemer spending $870,000.

DeRemer was first elected mayor of Happy Valley in 2010 and was re-elected in 2014. The population of the Clackamas County city grew 37 percent from 2010 to 2016, faster than any Oregon city.

"As a mayor of quickly growing city, I continually hear from my colleagues around the state how the leadership is greatly affecting our local communities," Chavez-DeRemer says in a text. "The time is now for the kind of leadership I can bring."

She says she hasn't decided for sure whether to run but says it's a pretty logical move given what's happening—or not happening—in Salem.

"How do I not think about running?" she says. "Oregon state government is a mess."

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