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KOTEK NIXES REMOTE EMPLOYEE TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT: On April 3, Gov. Tina Kotek ended a state policy mandating that agencies pay work-related travel expenses back to Oregon for state employees who have permanently relocated to other states. (Well over 500 state employees have done so.) WW first reported on the policy last August, although it went into effect in December 2021. Senate Minority Leader Tim Knopp (R-Bend) blasted the practice last year and this year got all 29 of his Senate colleagues to co-sponsor a bill that would have ended it. Kotek took care of that instead by simply ordering the Department of Administrative Services to change the policy. The issue that Knopp and State Treasurer Tobias Read both found unfair—that the state would pay commuting costs for out-of-state but not in-state workers—will be moot as of Sept. 1, although employees may apply for exceptions. “I appreciate the governor joining us in our effort to end this unfair and wasteful policy,” Knopp said.
FORMER STAFFER SAYS LAWMAKER THREATENED TO PUSH HER OFF FALLS: The woman accusing Rep. Brian Stout (R- Columbia City) of sexual assault took the stand in a hearing March 29 to determine whether a five-year sexual abuse protective order against Stout should stay in place. The woman, a volunteer on one of Stout’s campaigns, said the two of them agreed to have an intimate relationship in 2020. According to the Columbia County Spotlight, the woman testified that Stout told her: “By the way, if you ever tell anyone about this, we will walk to Multnomah Falls and I will push you over the cliff.” On the first day of the hearing, held Jan. 13, Stout denied he had sexually abused the woman on any of five occasions she detailed in her Nov. 7 petition for the protective order, calling her accounts “flat-out lies.” The hearing is scheduled to continue April 25. Stout was removed from his House committee assignments in January soon after he arrived in Salem. Nicholas Herman, Stout’s attorney, says, “Mr. Stout looks forward to being vindicated through a dismissal of the sham restraining order after the hearing is completed.”
STATEWIDE RANKED-CHOICE VOTING BILL MOVING FORWARD: April 4 marked the second legislative deadline by which bills without sufficient support are relegated to the scrap heap. One under-the-radar bill that remains very much alive is House Bill 2004, which would change the way Oregonians vote in elections for statewide and federal offices. The bill, sponsored by the two most powerful Democrats in the House, Speaker Dan Rayfield (D-Corvallis) and Majority Leader Julie Fahey (D-Eugene), would have Oregon adopt ranked-choice voting for those contests. Alaska and Maine already use ranked-choice voting in statewide races, and voters in Multnomah County and the city of Portland last year approved versions of ranked-choice voting for local races. “Ranked-choice voting leads to increased voter satisfaction and provides Oregonians with a simple, proven solution that will lead to more inclusive and equitable elections for all communities,” the Urban League of Portland’s Jennifer Parrish Taylor testified at a recent hearing.
SCHMIDT ATTACK ADS RING IN ELECTION SEASON EARLY: A massive billboard greeting motorists descending from the Morrison Bridge into downtown Portland is notable not just for its size, but its timing: It’s the earliest negative campaign billboard in recent memory. “Portland Is a Schmidt Show!” it proclaims. Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt announced his candidacy for reelection to WW in January. Since then, he’s been the brunt of a constant stream of online attacks ads funded by People for Portland, a 501c4 advocacy nonprofit that spent big on moving Portland City Hall rightward in the last election cycle. The group, founded by political consultants Kevin Looper and Dan Lavey, is encouraging Portlanders to take #SchmidtShow selfies on Twitter. The billboard, which is located just two blocks from an open-air drug market surrounding the abandoned Washington Center, links Schmidt to “record crime” and “empty jail beds.” Schmidt’s office replies that stating a claim in 10-foot type doesn’t make it true. “The truth is, [the DA’s office] is prosecuting cases referred to us by law enforcement at the same rate as we did in 2018 and 2019,” writes spokeswoman Liz Merah. “This dissemination of misinformation undermines the work of the DA and discredits [the office’s employees’] dedicated work.”
OPEN APPLICATION PERIOD BEGINS FOR WW’S GIVE!GUIDE: After raising $8.1 million for 235 local nonprofits in 2022, WW’s Give!Guide is ready to do it all over again. Know any great nonprofits making a difference in the Portland area? Tell them it’s time to apply! The application period is now open and closes April 30. Nonprofits of all types and sizes based in Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties are eligible. Give!Guide has raised more than $56 million since its inception in 2004. It runs annually from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31. Application information is available giveguide.org/apply.
Correction: Due to an editor’s error, this post initially referred to People for Portland as a political action committee. In fact, it is a 501c4, which can advocate for policies but not for candidates. WW regrets the error.