Murmurs: Two Mayoral Candidates Are Scofflaws and Speeders

TWO MAYORAL CANDIDATES ARE SCOFFLAWS AND SPEEDERS: Voters just tuning into Portland’s hotly contested mayoral race got new information this week: The Oregonian reported City Commissioner Carmen Rubio had racked up 150 parking and traffic violations and got her driver’s license suspended six times because of her failure to pay her tickets despite earning a six-figure salary for much of the time in question. Rubio told the daily she “put my family financial and career obligations first [and] learned some hard lessons about when life catches up with you.” WW reported that one of her rivals in the mayor’s race, City Commissioner Rene Gonzalez, racked up seven speeding tickets (one dismissed), regularly failed to show up in court, and had his driver’s license suspended twice. “As a younger man, I sometimes drove too fast,” Gonzalez says. “But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve become more responsible and it is reflected in my record. Those of us in public service should always strive to do better and lead by example.”

OHA TO CRACK DOWN ON INSURERS THAT DON’T OFFER GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE: The Oregon Health Authority has announced a plan to identify Medicaid insurers that fail to offer gender-affirming care. The plan is to use claims data to figure out which providers offer the services and then audit the state’s coordinated care organizations to ensure they contract with those providers. The agency says it will begin doing so this month, according to a letter director Sejal Hathi sent to the Oregon Health Policy Board late last month. The consequences for the CCOs who don’t are not clear, although Hathi says her agency will provide “written feedback” and “monitor CCO progress.” House Bill 2002, a 2023 law that requires insurers to offer gender-affirming care, went into effect at the beginning of this year. Hathi’s letter follows a letter from the board’s health equity committee noting that there’s “a scarcity of GAC providers, especially in rural areas.” The letter notes that officials are expecting an influx of transgender people seeking health care as other states restrict access.

DOYENNE OF DIVORCE DONE: For decades, Jody Stahancyk has been the biggest name and personality in Oregon’s family law bar. Now after 51 years as a lawyer and 38 years leading her own firm, Stahancyk, Kent & Hook, she is stepping away from practicing law. Stahancyk, 76, has sold her interest in the firm to her partners, although she will license her name to them for a year. She’s not going to stop working, however: She is opening a bed-and-breakfast in her hometown, Prineville, starting a podcast about the financial elements of practicing law, and will continue to assist paralegals seeking to obtain licensure in the areas of family and landlord-tenant law. “It’s just time to move on to new adventures,” Stahancyk says. “I am absolutely dedicated to expanding the practice of law to paralegals who are experts on documentation and the backbone of family law.”

BLUMENAUER GOES TO BROADWAY: Portland State University has long lagged behind its downstate rivals in the political connections crucial to success in funding higher education. But on Sept. 9, Portland State University president Ann Cudd scored a coup, announcing that starting in January, PSU will employ U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) on the campus at 1825 SW Broadway. Earlier this year, Blumenauer capped a 52-year political career (with the past 28 in Congress) by landing a $450 million federal grant (by far the largest of its type) to build a cover over Interstate 5 in Albina. He will bring five decades of high-level connections in federal, state and local government to a campus that’s often a neglected stepsibling to the University of Oregon and Oregon State University. “I have always been clear that I intend to come home and help the city I love,” Blumenauer says. “There is no better place for me to do that than at Portland State, where I can work with engaged students, committed faculty and the university’s many regional partners.”