Murmurs: Betsy Johnson Stays Busy

BETSY JOHNSON STAYS BUSY: Former state Sen. Betsy Johnson (D-Scappoose) came up short in her bid to become the second governor not affiliated with a party in Oregon history last fall, winning nearly 9% of the November vote. But she’s staying active in the political arena. She will address a meeting of the Lents Neighborhood Livability Association on April 13, according to that group, and will appear periodically on KGW-TV as a political commentator, helping along with DHM pollster John Horvick to replace the late Len Bergstein. “Len left huge shoes to fill,” says KGW news director Greg Retsinas, “but Betsy knows a lot about Oregon and has a lot to say.” Johnson says she enjoyed visiting Lents during the campaign: “They said, ‘You paid attention when you wanted something from us. Are you going to forget about us afterwards?’” She says she plans to stay engaged in state and local issues and looks forward to the KGW gig.

PSYCHEDELICS TRAINER SKIPS OUT ON STUDENTS: Oregon’s nascent psychedelics industry lost a high-rolling player this week. Synthesis Institute, a Dutch company training facilitators for psychedelic mushroom sessions, sent an email to students confirming it had gone bankrupt, days after cutting off access to the company’s online curriculum. The email went out to about 300 recipients. One student, Claire Johnson, says she paid $8,997 for the yearlong Synthesis training, taking advantage of an “early bird” discount. If all them got that rate, Synthesis students would have paid about $2.7 million for their incomplete training. Synthesis had grand plans for Oregon. The company had raised at least $10 million from investors and paid $3.6 million for the 124-acre Buckhorn Springs Resort near Ashland in June 2021. It planned to hold psychedelic retreats there. Those plans were upended in November, when Jackson County commissioners voted to block psychedelics centers in rural parts of the county, limiting them to commercial zones.

GHOST KITCHEN TRAILERS PILE UP IN OLD TOWN: WW reported last year on how Reef Technology, a Miami-based company backed by SoftBank that launched its “ghost kitchen” model in Portland in 2020, appeared to be capsizing: It had lost some of its most lucrative parking management contracts in central Portland and had shuttered most of its food trailers parked across the city (“Ghosted,” Dec. 14, 2022). Now, 13 nonoperational Reef trucks sit in a parking lot owned by Prosper Portland in Old Town. That’s double the number parked in the lot just three months ago. Six are cherry-red Wendy’s trailers, which exclusively made and delivered Wendy’s food. At its Portland height, Reef operated more than 20 ghost kitchens that sold wings, fries and burgers for 10 different brands, including Mr. Beast Burger and Sticky Wings. Reef did not respond to a request for comment.

NEXT GUN BALLOT MEASURE LOOMS: Voters in November narrowly passed Measure 114, which requires gun purchasers to get training and a permit before buying a firearm and limits magazines to 10 cartridges. That measure is now in court, but before the case is resolved, gun enthusiasts have filed a new measure for 2024, now known as Initiative Petition 21. IP 21 would establish the right to carry concealed firearms without a permit. One of the chief petitioners, former Baker City Mayor Kerry McQuisten, says the passage of Measure 114 (by 1.3%, fewer than 25,000 of nearly 2 million votes cast) has energized gun supporters. “People are really angry,” McQuisten says. She adds that “constitutional carry” is now legal in 25 states. McQuisten and her co-petitioners must now submit 1,000 sponsor signatures before beginning the task of collecting the 160,551 signatures required to qualify a change in the Oregon Constitution for the ballot.

EMBATTLED CITY OFFICE GETS NEW ACTING DIRECTOR: Michael Montoya, director of the Portland Office of Community & Civic Life, announced last week he’d take temporary leave for personal matters. Employees of that office received an email Tuesday night from City Commissioner Dan Ryan: His director of special projects, T.J. McHugh, would become acting director of OCCL. The office supports neighborhood associations and addresses neighborhood concerns, but for many years has suffered from dysfunction and debates over whom it should serve. Ryan began overseeing the office at the beginning of this year and has said publicly he wants to strengthen neighborhood associations after former commissioners decreased their funding. McHugh ran Ryan’s election campaign and joined his office shortly thereafter. For many years, McHugh worked as a marketing executive for companies like Nike, Target and Macy’s. Working for Ryan has been his first stint at City Hall.