The U.S. Department of Justice today identified the following three jurisdictions that have permitted violence and destruction of property to persist and have refused to undertake reasonable measures to counteract criminal activities: New York City; Portland, Oregon; and Seattle, Washington. The Department of Justice is continuing to work to identify jurisdictions that meet the criteria set out in the President’s Memorandum and will periodically update the list of selected jurisdictions as required therein.

The list was published on DOJ’s website today in response to President Trump’s memorandum of September 2, 2020, entitled “Memorandum on Reviewing Funding to State and Local Government Recipients That Are Permitting Anarchy, Violence, and Destruction in American Cities.”

“When state and local leaders impede their own law enforcement officers and agencies from doing their jobs, it endangers innocent citizens who deserve to be protected, including those who are trying to peacefully assemble and protest,” said Attorney General William P. Barr.

“We cannot allow federal tax dollars to be wasted when the safety of the citizenry hangs in the balance. It is my hope that the cities identified by the Department of Justice today will reverse course and become serious about performing the basic function of government and start protecting their own citizens.”

Criteria for evaluating each city is below:

Whether a jurisdiction forbids the police force from intervening to restore order amid widespread or sustained violence or destruction. Whether a jurisdiction has withdrawn law enforcement protection from a geographical area or structure that law enforcement officers are lawfully entitled to access but have been officially prevented from accessing or permitted to access only in exceptional circumstances, except when law enforcement officers are briefly withheld as a tactical decision intended to resolve safely and expeditiously a specific and ongoing unlawful incident posing an imminent threat to the safety of individuals or law enforcement officers. Whether a jurisdiction disempowers or defunds police departments.

Whether a jurisdiction unreasonably refuses to accept offers of law enforcement assistance from the Federal Government. Any other related factors the Attorney General deems appropriate.

New York City

Shootings in New York City have been on the rise since looting and protests began on or about May 28, 2020. For July 2020, shootings increased from 88 to 244, an increase of 177% over July 2019. In August 2020, shootings increased from 91 to 242, a 166% increase over August 2019.

While the city faced increased unrest, gun violence, and property damage, the New York City Council cut $1 billion from NYPD’s FY21 budget. The budget resulted in the cancellation of the new police recruiting class, cuts to overtime spending, and the transfer of certain police functions, including school safety, out of the NYPD.

Meanwhile, the Manhattan and Brooklyn District Attorneys have declined to prosecute charges of disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly arising from the protests, and the District Attorneys in Queens and the Bronx have declined to prosecute other protest-related charges. Both Mayor de Blasio and Governor Cuomo have forcefully rejected federal law enforcement support.

Portland, Oregon

This month, Portland marked 100 consecutive nights of protests marred by vandalism, chaos, and even killing. Those bent on violence regularly started fires, threw projectiles at law enforcement officers, and destroyed property. Numerous law enforcement officers, among others, suffered injury.

Shootings increased by more than 140% in June and July 2020 compared to the same period last year. In the midst of this violence, the Portland City Council cut $15 million from the police bureau, eliminating 84 positions. Crucially, the cuts included the Gun Violence Reduction Team, which investigates shootings, and several positions from the police team that responds to emergency incidents.

In August, Portland Mayor Wheeler sent a letter to President Trump expressly rejecting the Administration’s offer of federal law enforcement to stop the violent protests.

Seattle, Washington

For nearly a month, starting in June, the City of Seattle permitted anarchists and activists to seize six square blocks of the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, naming their new enclave the “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone” (CHAZ) and then the “Capitol Hill Occupied Protest” (CHOP). Law enforcement and fire fighters were precluded from entering the territory. The Seattle Police Department was ordered to abandon their precinct within the CHOP. Person-related crime in the CHOP increased 525% from the same period of time in the same area the year before, including by Mayor Durkan’s own count “two additional homicides, 6 additional robberies, and 16 additional aggravated assaults (to include 2 additional non-fatal shootings).”

The CHOP was allowed to stand for nearly a month, during which time two teenagers were shot and killed in the zone. The Seattle City Council, Mayor Durkan, and Washington Governor Jay Inslee publicly rejected federal involvement in law enforcement activities within the city of Seattle.


--Sabrina-Marie Fisher

Post Date: 2020-09-21 13:40:15

Last Update: 2020-09-21 18:19:16

The idea of a carbon exchange was the invention of Enron Corporation. They chose Oregon as the place to try it because of the political climate here, spelled Neil Goldschmidt. They bought PGE to facilitate the plan. Soon the south building of the gray twins down by the river was filled with computers needed for the massive data management. Then the financial house of cards that Enron was built on came tumbling down.

Then, Enron went broke, with top company officials facing prison time. But they left behind a legacy of corporate execs on the board of Associated Oregon Industries (AOI) and others. AOI went from a market corporation group to a cartel corporation driven group. John Ledger took them green to satisfy the new political climate. That was the beginning of the end to that once proud group.

All those computers in that gray building down by the river went to Chicago where Al Gore planned to establish his Chicago carbon exchange. Things were going good for the former vice-president until climate-gate happened. The U.N.’s International Panel on Climate Change, IPCC had over 100 computer models all fail miserably in their claims of drastic increases in Earth’s temperature. Scientists at the IPCC tried to save face but were caught cheating on climate data and their house of cards came tumbling down.

You know who those scientists are. They’re part of the 97% who are in consensuses about humans causing global warming. Funny how they’re all living off government grants. Former Vice-President Al Gore had to abandon his plans in Chicago and soon after the computers in Chicago were obsolete. By then several governments around the world had knock-off carbon plans with varying degrees of failure. The most notable of those was Spain. They went all in on a green energy economy and ended up bankrupt with 25% unemployment 10 years later. The human suffering left in its wake is still very apparent.

Tom Steyer and his stable of local politicians still think Oregon is ripe for Cap and Trade. The lessons of history are there for those able to learn.


--Tom Hammer

Post Date: 2020-09-21 09:27:00

Last Update: 2020-09-21 09:44:10

Editor's note: The following was submitted as testimony to the Oregon Legislature Senate Committee on Education by Dr. Eric Fruits who has been a long-time academic advisor and contributing analyst for the Cascade Policy Institute. His economic analysis has been widely cited and has been published in The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today. He is also an adjunct professor of economics at Portland State University.

Dear Chair Dembrow, Vice Chair Thomsen, and Committee Members:

Today, you will hear testimony from Reimagine Oregon. Among their “Policy Demands” is increased funding for charter schools. Cascade Policy Institute agrees. But, you can do even more to advance equity and foster excellence in education. It doesn’t require new taxes. It doesn’t require new spending. And, it doesn’t require a sprawling bureaucracy. Put simply, Oregon must flip its education funding model. Instead of funneling money through its dysfunctional public school system, the state should support students directly by providing each student their share of the State School Fund.

I have four kids: a fifth grader, a high schooler, and two in college. My sister is a fifth grade public school teacher, my wife is Kindergarten educational assistant at Portland Public Schools, and I teach part time at Portland State University. Based on firsthand and secondhand experience, the way we deliver education in Oregon is a mess. We’ve been rejiggering and “reforming” education for decades. For years, we’ve layered tax increase on top of tax increase “for the kids.” Yet, we have the third worst high school graduation rate and are ranked in the bottom half of states for college readiness. The state’s pandemic response will make these measures even worse.

My fifth grader in Portland Public Schools just got his daily COVID-19 class schedule, and there’s a lot of alone time. On a typical day, he meets with his classroom teacher over Zoom for 75 minutes over the 6.25 hour day. There’s a half-hour “morning meeting,” 30 minutes to review language arts and social studies, and 15 minutes to discuss math.

Nearly three-quarters of the time he’s “in school” he’s actually watching videos posted by his teacher or working on his own.

Over and over, Governor Kate Brown and our school boards remind us, “We’re all in this together.” But, if you talk to parents and kids, many feel like they’re all on their own. On their own to find space for kids to work. On their own to buy the laptops, printers, webcams, microphones, and headphones to support “online learning.” On their own to pay their broadband providers to supply enough bandwidth to support multiple people video conferencing at the same time. On their own to balance their jobs or job hunts with the school’s Zoom-on, Zoom-off daily schedule.

When the pandemic hit, thousands of parents tried to enroll their children in online charter schools that had a long history of effective distance learning. Some of you were in the room (virtually) when, in June, the Oregon Education Association lobbied against lifting the enrollment cap for online charters. The union argued even a modest lifting of the cap would take money away from public school districts. To them, our kids are just numbers fed into a formula that funds the system. Rather than working with existing money, they are demanding even more spending on the public school system.

On average, Oregon school districts receive about $10,500 per student (ADMr) from the State School Fund. If students aren’t getting adequate instruction from their public schools, they should get that money back to receive instruction elsewhere. States like Oklahoma and South Carolina have already taken advantage of similar ideas by reallocating much of their federal stimulus dollars directly to families to help them adapt to this school year.

Think of it as a money-back guarantee. If the public school isn’t working for your kids or your family, you should have a right to take that money and spend it somewhere that does. Public school districts will benefit from reduced enrollment and can achieve smaller class sizes without increasing the number of teachers on the public payroll and adding to the growing PERS crisis. Because many public school districts have local funding that does not depend on enrollment numbers, reduced enrollment will actually increase per student spending in their districts.

Direct funding of students reduces inequities in school systems because it allows all students to have access to education alternatives. Almost 60% of public charter school students in the U.S. are Black or Hispanic. Imagine what these families could do with as much as $10,500 per student to spend on educational expenses. If equity is the goal, school choice through direct funding is the surest and quickest path.

If your local grocery store doesn’t re-open or can’t keep its shelves stocked, families can take their money elsewhere. In contrast, under our current public education system, families pay income taxes and property taxes to fund schools that aren’t fully open and don’t deliver. On top of that, families have to spend their own money on equipment and supplies to support their kids’ distance learning. Many workers have had to quit their jobs or put off their search for work so they can stay home while their children distance-learn. If we’re all in this together, who’s looking out for them?

Senators, this is your chance to shine. Flip the funding of education in Oregon. Give the money to the students and you will be stunned by their success. It’s not just about equity. It’s about equity and excellence.

Respectfully submitted by

Eric Fruits, Ph.D.


--Dr. Eric Fruits

Post Date: 2020-09-21 08:35:31

Last Update: 2020-09-21 08:56:16

Governor Brown announced a new program to provide masks and gloves to small business in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Governor, in partnership with the Oregon Legislature’s Emergency Board, allocated $10 million from the federal CARES Act funding for the purchase of protective supplies. The state of Oregon is fulfilling orders at no charge until resources are depleted.

“We want our businesses to be able to operate in the safest manner possible right now so that we can get out of this health crisis, and get them back to full operations,” said Oregon Governor Kate Brown. “Our small businesses are the hardest hit, so we want to help them get the tools they need at no cost to them.”

Businesses with fewer than 50 employees that are headquartered in Oregon with principal operations in Oregon are eligible. Business Oregon — the state’s economic development agency — and the Department of Administrative Services are collaborating to create the order and distribution process. Businesses with fewer than 10 employees will receive a box of 200 gloves and 100 masks, with larger businesses receiving up to 500 masks and 800 gloves. For now, businesses are limited to one order, with additional orders possible at a later date depending on availability

In addition to the small business program, the Early Learning Division (ELD) is providing supplies such as gloves, disinfecting wipes, masks and more to child care providers around the state as part of the effort. The Governor set aside $1.3 million from the federal Governor’s Education Emergency Relief Fund to purchase supplies for this critical service. Child care providers have been operating under emergency conditions since March and are following increased safety and health guidelines. Child care providers approved by ELD to operate Emergency Child Care are eligible to order supplies and will need a license/provider number to do so.

“Since the beginning of the pandemic, child care providers have been doing critical work to support families and other businesses in Oregon,” said ELD Director Miriam Calderon, “These items will help providers continue operating with a focus on safety for children, parents and their staff.”

The order form is online and is now accepting orders. Businesses and child care providers can access the form here:


--Ben Fisher

Post Date: 2020-09-20 13:16:00

Last Update: 2020-09-20 13:40:15

So far, we've heard from thousands of people across the greater Portland area including southwest Washington. Community members are participating in the comment period by visiting our online open house in Spanish and English. Watch a recording of our webinars on Aug. 12, Aug. 18, and Aug. 20 to hear what others are asking about the toll project.

We want to hear from you, please share your thoughts by visiting our online open house, taking our survey, emailing the project team, or leaving a voicemail.

Web button with text "Have your say!" linking to I-205 Toll Project online open house

The I-205 Toll Project would toll all lanes of I-205 at—or near—the Abernethy Bridge. Tolls could help pay for improvements along I-205 and the seismic work needed on the Abernethy Bridge. With a toll, some people may choose to drive at times when the toll is lower; or, they may choose to carpool, take transit, or use other options instead. The result? More reliable travel. Even a small shift in the number of drivers on the road can reduce travel times.

Community feedback includes questions and comments about tolls, concerns about effects to non-tolled roads, the need for more transportation options, the cost of the toll, and how we plan to use revenue generated by tolls.

Have you shared your thoughts yet? Join us online to share your feedback!

Visit ODOT's online engagement site during the comment period:

English site and Spanish site.

Complete the online survey, which is also available in Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese.

A decision on which alternative to implement will be made in 2022 based on the analysis conducted, existing policy and guidance, and community and stakeholder engagement.

Please share this message with your family, friends, and community groups!  

Update: The I-205 Toll Project public comment period end date has been extended from Sept. 16 to Sept. 23, and may be extended further as Oregon state health and safety officials respond to ongoing wildfires.


--Ben Fisher

Post Date: 2020-09-19 18:08:06

Last Update: 2020-09-19 19:26:32

This morning, the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) filed a temporary administrative rule with the Secretary of State, adopted yesterday by the State Board of Education, that focuses on the health and safety of our students and educators by creating a safer and more inclusive school climate.

During yesterday’s Board of Education meeting, the board unanimously passed the All Students Belong temporary rule to prohibit the use of hate symbols in schools and to establish requirements for anti-bias incidents at a district level.

Like similar initiatives currently in place in Oregon school districts, this effort was sparked by students as a response to the increasing number of incidents impacting their ability to access education in Oregon’s schools.

“Our students called us out and into action,” Oregon Department of Education Director Colt Gill said. “The Oregon Department of Education is committed to ensuring that Oregon’s schools are safe and inclusive for all students and staff, and the All Students Belong rule is an important step in that process. The noose, Confederate flag and swastika are being used to bully and harm students and staff, and this is particularly true for students of color. Students must feel like they are safe and belong in their own schools if they are to learn, work and grow to their fullest potential. It is our responsibility to make sure that all of our school communities feel safe and welcomed, and we support youth to set a moral standard.”

The rule requires districts to adopt and implement policies and procedures that prohibit, at a minimum, the use or display of the noose, swastika, or Confederate flag in any program or school-sponsored activities except where used in teaching curriculum that is aligned with the Oregon State Standards. This applies to both in-person and distance learning environments. The rule will take effect today, and districts will be asked to have policies in place by January 1, 2021. A permanent rule will be introduced in several months.

ODE will continue to support school districts in developing rules, policies, and procedures over the next several months by providing guidance, educational resources, and toolkits to support implementation of these policies. Most districts have existing nondiscrimination policies and procedures for addressing bias incidents that pose a threat to student, staff and/or community safety that can serve as a starting point for responding to incidents in which hate symbols or hate speech occur in both in-person and in distance learning situations.

“Our goal is to create stronger and safer school communities,” Gill said. “Removing these symbols is an important step in making sure that Oregon schools are for everyone, no exceptions. All students belong.”


--Ben Fisher

Post Date: 2020-09-19 14:20:40

Last Update: 2020-09-19 14:29:34

State Rep. Paul Evans (D-Monmouth) has a reputation of running to the left of his Willamette valley district, which includes Monmouth, Independence, West Salem and parts of South Salem.

The American Federation of Teachers-Oregon, a radical union group, has endorsed just a handful of politicians this election, but one of them is State Rep. Paul Evans. He proudly displays their endorsement on his website. Recently, the American Federation of Teachers-Oregon called to “disarm, defund, and ultimately abolish police forces.”

You'll recall that Rep. Evans signed a letter with fellow Democrat legislators that called for law enforcement to be removed from Portland. Since the letter was signed, violence escalated in Portland and other cities, including the shooting death of an innocent man.

Experts note that Evans' association with these causes and groups is generally regarded to be to the political left of the centrist Salem suburbs that he represents.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2020-09-19 13:06:04

Last Update: 2020-09-16 14:59:31

Editor's note: Oregon Abigail Adams Voter Education Project equips voters with information on how candidates stand on issues through a questionnaire process featured in comparison guides.

Candidate for House District 48 Edward Marihart is challenging incumbent Jeff Reardon, his 5th run to represent portions of Clackamas and Multnomah Counties.

Three major issues to Oregon voters are the economy, safety and education. Reardon voted to increase taxes and fees including cap and trade, corporate gross receipts tax (CAT), and reduce the kicker. Voted against an agriculture necessities exemption from the CAT tax, and voted for the prohibition on hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas exploration and production. In the 2020 Special Session he voted for a 6% cell phone tax. Marihart indicates he would vote no on these issues and says he doesn’t support any “new tax and personal income tax should be reduced.”

Reardon’s idea of safety is to sign a letter to US Attorney General William Barr demanding “immediate withdrawal of federal operatives from the City of Portland.” He helped sponsor the bill that nullified Measure 88 passed by voters allowing undocumented driver’s license and he helped sponsor a bill that allows not requiring proof of citizenship to obtain a driver’s license. Voted to require employers to notify employees of ICE investigations, and prevent courts from asking immigration status and notifying ICE. Marihart would vote no and supports voters. He also supports the work of ICE and the courts.

In the area of education, Reardon voted to include contributions in all curricula from every minority group such as immigrants, LGBTQ, disabled and women. He voted for mandated vaccinations with no exceptions and to ban students from schools that don’t comply. Marihart would vote against forced vaccinations for private schools, and would vote against curriculum mandates to include minority group contributions. He supports local control and school choice.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2020-09-18 14:31:59

Last Update: 2020-09-18 15:06:24

State Representative Paul Evans (D-Monmouth) -- like many of his fellow Democrats in the legislature -- finds it easy to vote to raise taxes on Oregonians. He's not found it easy to pay his own, it seems.

Some of the more prominent tax increases that Rep. Evans has voted for are:

• A massive, tax-based greenhouse gas reduction program, costing Oregonians over $2.8 billion biennially.
• A regressive commercial activity tax, which some called a "hidden sales tax, costing Oregonians over $2 billion biennially.
• A cell-phone tax, which will tax cell phone customers in his district for the purpose of expanding broadband outside his district.

When it came time to give tax relief to Oregonians, he voted against considering bills that would be provided a $1,000 income child tax credit to working families, given student relief on student loans, and given seniors property tax relief.

State Department of Revenue records show that he has accrued nearly $17,000 in tax liens. Pundits have noted that it's ironic that while Rep. Evans wants to increase taxes, he seems to be unable to pay his own.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2020-09-18 14:14:06

Last Update: 2020-09-16 14:59:04

Thousands of Oregonians, their livestock, and their animals are displaced following Oregon’s devastating wildfires. Many shelters, private groups and citizens are now housing these animals, some of which do not have known owners. While many of these groups are advertising lost animals on their websites or social media it can be difficult for the public to know where to look. The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) has created an online database and website to help.

The ODA Animal Tracker is meant to assist Oregonians looking for animals displaced during the wildfires. This tracker is not intended to replace existing systems already in place at county animal shelters. In order to make the database work, animal shelters, private citizens and groups caring for animals without known owners can email ODA with information and photos. That information will be added to the database and continuously updated. Therefore, owners are asked to visit often if they don’t see their animal listed.

If you are caring for animals without a known owner due to the wildfires you can have the animals listed by emailing ODA at animaltrack@oda.state.or.us. The email must include the following information:

Shelter Name & Location Shelter Phone Number Shelter Email Address Location where animal was found (as much detail as known) Species Color Sex Picture(s) of animals Livestock – Left side, Right side, Face/head, any identifying marks (brands, scars, ear tags) Pets – Left side, Right side, face/head, back

If the shelter, private citizen or group does not have the means to collect and email this information, please call ODA’s Brand Inspection program at 503-986-4685 to request help. It is important to remember that it against the law to keep found livestock. If assistance is needed to verify ownership of livestock, please contact ODA to request the assistance of your local brand inspector (503-986-4685).

County shelter links can also be found on the ODA Animal Tracker for owners to search as well. County shelters will be responsible for ensuring ownership of animals discharged from their shelter.


--Ben Fisher

Post Date: 2020-09-17 17:04:46

Last Update: 2020-09-17 17:23:48

Clackamas County Chair-Elect Tootie Smith announced today that she filed an official complaint with the Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division against regional governing body METRO for sponsoring a partisan, political candidate fundraiser hosted by the Oregon League of Conservation Voters.

The event occurred as a virtual fundraiser on September 11, 2020 and featured guest speakers like Governor Kate Brown and Democratic Secretary of State candidate Shemia Fagan. The event raised at least $123,000 while featuring endorsements of two candidates for METRO Council, many Democratic candidates for state legislature and other offices, and even promoting METRO’S own $7 billion-dollar transportation tax on the ballot this November.

“I am disgusted that METRO would so boldly violate Oregon’s elections laws and take advantage of taxpayers in this way”, stated Tootie Smith. “Not only is METRO a publicly-funded agency that is prohibited from using taxpayer resources on any political committee, candidate, or ballot measure election, but they did so to promote their $7 billion-dollar tax measure as residents in my county were literally losing everything they own to wildfires that are still burning here. Arrogantly violating the law and the public’s trust should come with swift consequences,” Smith demanded.

The virtual event was held on Friday, September 11th from 6:30-8pm and stated in its promotional materials that all proceeds would benefit OLCV’s mission which specifically includes “electing pro-environment candidates to office”. Oregon League of Conservation Voters is registered with the Secretary of State as a political action committee (PAC) which prohibits METRO from being able to participate as a public government agency.

Shockingly, current candidate for Secretary of State Shemia Fagan failed to recognize the violation of state election law. Fagan was caught in the video recording stating, “I demand that you donate to the Oregon League of Conservation Voters to make sure that we can send back pro-environment, pro-democracy legislators to Salem.”

“As if METRO’s bureaucratic blind spots aren’t bad enough, we have a secretary of state candidate who claims she wants fair elections but is busy using our tax dollars to promote her campaign,” said Smith. “The event celebrated Governor Brown and candidate Shemia Fagan as ‘climate heroes’ of 2020, while my county was burning up as a result of the failed environmental policies they support. The stunning disconnect proves neither of these people are qualified to run the state."

"They were having fun, 'sipping champagne', and asking people to give $2,500 donations to political campaigns, while my neighbors were scrambling to evacuate their homes and save their livestock and property. Meanwhile, Oregonians with few means were giving $5 to GoFundMe drives because the state was not prepared for a disaster. Shame on Governor Brown and Senator Shemia Fagan!” exclaimed Smith.

Clackamas County’s Riverside wildfire has burned over 135,000 acres and many parts of the county are still under evacuation warnings. The fire is barely contained. On September 11th, Mollala’s 8,000 residents, including Chair-Elect Smith, had just been given a Level 3 “Go Now” warning and surrounding Oregon City, Canby and Sandy were upgraded to Level 2 “Be Ready to Leave”. Tens of thousands of metro-area residents have been displaced and many have had their homes and property destroyed.

“Last Friday, when this fundraiser occurred, I was fleeing my home and scrambling to help my neighbors in need,” explained Smith. “I’ve been away from my home for eight days and just returned to view the damage. My entire home is smoke-filled and unlivable. To think that our state leaders were celebrating the very policies that exacerbated these fires while our communities burned makes me sick to my stomach. And to know these politicians were blatantly campaigning using our tax dollars to promote extreme and partisan political agendas is not only unethical, it’s illegal,” she stated.

In addition to the elections complaint against METRO, Smith is exploring a possible lawsuit against the agency for its participation and public support of a partisan fundraiser promoting its own bond measure.

A copy of the complaint filed by Chair-Elect Smith can be found here: METRO ELECTIONS COMPLAINT


--Ben Fisher

Post Date: 2020-09-17 15:28:25

Last Update: 2020-09-17 18:08:06

Editor's note: Oregon Abigail Adams Voter Education Project equips voters with information on how candidates stand on issues through a questionnaire process featured in comparison guides.

Two candidates for Secretary of State, Kim Thatcher and Shemia Fagan, both have Senate records that can be compared to give an indication how they would function as Secretary of State and first in-line for Governor. As possible head of the state elections, Fagan sponsored the National Popular Vote Compact diminishing the value of Oregon’s votes, and sponsored the bill to eliminate proof of citizenship to obtain a driver’s license. Thatcher voted no on all these bills.

Three major issues to Oregon voters are the economy, safety and education. Fagan voted to increase taxes and fees including cap and trade, corporate gross receipts tax (CAT), increased fees on public utilities, prohibit hydraulic fracturing, and reduce the kicker. She sponsored a bill to eliminate the mortgage interest deduction from taxable income. When the CAT tax passed on party lines, Thatcher helped sponsor an exemption for agriculture necessities to keep food prices down, and voted to allow farmers to clean ditches without a permit to benefit agricultural drainage and enable fish and habitats, which Fagan voted against. Thatcher voted against increased taxes and fees.

Fagan signed a letter to US Attorney General William Barr demanding “immediate withdrawal of federal operatives from the City of Portland.” She helped sponsor the bill that nullified Measure 88 passed by voters allowing undocumented driver’s license. Voted to prevent courts from asking immigration status and notifying ICE. Thatcher voted to support voter’s voices in Measure 88, and voted to give judges authority over immigration status.

In the area of education, Fagan voted to include in all curriculum’s contributions from every minority group such as immigrants, LGBTQ, disabled and women. She voted to require mandated vaccination with no exceptions and ban those from schools that don’t comply. Thatcher sponsored the Education Savings Account for school choice. She voted no on forced vaccinations.

Other candidates are Kyle Markley and Nathalie Paravicini.




--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2020-09-17 14:21:12

Last Update: 2020-09-18 08:24:22