Thoughts of a retired journalist and communications specialist on media, politics and messaging.
Portland, OR
Joined October 2018
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At best, Kotek's answer would produce long-term benefits but no immediate relief (and that's only if you assume she magically boost childcare availability without raising taxes); Drazan's ideas are immediately possible, even without legislative support. oregonlive.com/politics/2026…
Worth remembering when you vote: Reproductive rights are constitutionally protected regardless of who is governor; vote by mail is convenient but doesn't help your family's budget; Oregon probably will be safer for everyone with a governor who is concerned about crime.
Good and fair quote.
🚨 Drazan: Oregon went from TOP 20 to BOTTOM 8.
@ChristineDrazan: “Oregon was a top-20 economy just four years ago, and she drop-kicked it into the bottom eight in four years.”
“We’ve lost 25,000 jobs in a single year here.”
Her message to Oregonians: “I don’t care what your party affiliation is. If you believe this is not good enough for you and your family… I need people to turn out to get this done.”
This is a huge issue in Oregon. The combination of automatically registering people as unaffiliated and having closed primaries creates a big barrier to voting in the primary election, where most races are determined. oregonlive.com/politics/2026…
My latest Oregon Roundup column poses 4 questions that every voter should answer before filling out their ballot. #Electiion2026 oregonroundup.substack.com/p…
Hester Communications retweeted
My latest Oregon Roundup column looks at @GovTinaKotek and other unpopular governors. Conclusion: Unlike other lowly rated governors, Kotek's unpopularity can be traced primarily to job performance. oregonroundup.substack.com/p…
The groups with the most people considering leaving Oregon are those 18-29 and those who earn $150k a year. That's those contributing the most to the economy and those who are needed to power it in the future. Curious how this compares with other states. oregonlive.com/politics/2026…
My latest Oregon Roundup column looks at @GovTinaKotek and other unpopular governors. Conclusion: Unlike other lowly rated governors, Kotek's unpopularity can be traced primarily to job performance. oregonroundup.substack.com/p…
The economy & government are leading concerns in most states. What's different in Oregon? It's easy to determine who to blame. Only one state (Wash.) has had a D governor longer than Oregon. Two states have had R governors longer than Oregon has been D.
oregonlive.com/politics/2026…
Thoughts on polling for Oregon's governor's race:
1. It's fair to consider Drazan the underdog no matter what polls show. Too much history to ignore.
2. Comparisons with 2022 don't mean much. Too many differences. No viable 3rd party candidate this time. Trump factor bigger now.
Question: Are there any voters dumb enough to fall for edited, out-of-context quotes? I hope not. I give candidates demerits for even attempting to this trick. We all know what was going on in 2020-22.
Even my opponent agrees — Portland is better off now than it was before I became Governor. While that’s true, there’s more work to do, and I’m determined to see it through. Learn more: tinafororegon.com/oregons-fu…
All the people who used #hurricanes to champion #climatechange have been quite this year, since the first hurricane didn't come til October. I'm not a climate change denier, but the use of weather events to promote an agenda that's much bigger than weather has always irked me.
There's almost nothing left of "boom times Oregon." #Nike stock is down 45% this year and almost 80% from its all-time high. And that's good compared with the decline in downtown real estate prices. oregonlive.com/business/2026…
Drazan's reason for hope: "OPB’s poll suggested the governor has only a slightly better image than Trump among Oregon voters: a 38% favorability rating to the president’s 37%." Oregon Ds usually surge late but there's rarely been a D as unpopular as Kotek. opb.org/article/2026/09/30/o…
A Nevada investor (appropriately) is buying up downtown Portland real estate. Even at sharply deflated prices, Portland is still a gamble. oregonlive.com/business/2026…
Sources of voter information from best to worst:
1. Your own research
2. Attending candidate forums & asking questions
3. Informed friends
4. Endorsements (Know that the endorsers only look at certain issues.)
5. Social media
6. Campaign ads (Even more misleading than SM.)
I understand the reasons for this donation, but it would have been more efficient to give the money to the existing engineering school at Oregon State - or to Portland State. Does Oregon need to engineering schools 50 miles apart?
oregonlive.com/silicon-fores…
This points to one of the many flaws hurting #highereducation. Too many decisions are made based on what donors or the government will fund instead of what makes sense as part of a comprehensive plan for educating the populace.
School closures are inevitable when student population plunges. Those opposed to closures should focus energy on advocating for policies that will encourage families with children to come to Portland and stay - instead of fleeing as they currently are. oregonlive.com/education/202…
