Representative David Brock Smith (R-Port Orford) calls out the failures of the Governor and her Democrat Supermajority to get resources to Oregonians that need them and condemns the purely political fanfare of a Special Session as their hail mary attempt to cover up their disasters in leadership.

“Republicans have solved this issue more than once for Oregonians, with nearly $360 million dollars allocated that includes over $70 million to administration costs for dollars to get to tenants and landlords” said Rep. Brock Smith. “The failure of the Governor’s Oregon Housing and Community Services Department to get these resources out the door is reminiscent of her disastrous Employment Department and their failure to get needed checks to workers that lost their jobs due to her closing businesses and industries in Oregon.”

There are a number of budgetary items on the list for a Special Meeting tomorrow (Saturday) to be heard by a Special Committee appointed by the Speaker and Senate President, to then come to a Monday Special Session. The ONLY piece that needs legislation is the extension of the Eviction Moratorium.

“Extending the eviction moratorium is unnecessary and disruptive”, said Rep. Brock Smith. “Contrary to the Governor’s recent maskless escapades back east, she’s currently directing her agencies to draft permanent mask rules. Oregonians are ready to move forward, get back to work and grow our economies, they are not fans of the ‘do as I say, not as I do’ mentality. There is no need for a special session and legislation to extend the moratorium as everyone to date that has applied for relief are in the que and if eligible for rental assistance, are covered. The other needed resources for drought relief, illegal cannabis enforcement and additional rent assistance dollars can be allocated through the Legislative Emergency Board that can meet at any time.”

“Businesses continue to be crippled by a lack of workforce and data from other states clearly shows that an end to their eviction moratoriums had evictions lower than pre-pandemic numbers. An extension will only increase existing fraud within the system, hasten inflation, perpetuate a lack of workforce and add to the looming recession facing Oregon. What we need is Oregonians to have the ability to get back to work, not this political posturing by the Governor and her Democrats. The Speaker’s Gubernatorial campaign doesn’t need another headline of broken promises. In fact, if the Legislature is going to allocate more resources to help renters and landlords, they should give them to Gubernatorial Candidate, State Treasurer Read. He would definitely get them out to Oregonians with the proper information and he could surely use a headline.”


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-12-11 06:20:47

Former Oregon National Guard soldier and U.S. Congressional Candidate for Oregon’s 4th Congressional Candidate Alek Skarlatos released the following statement regarding record-high inflation.

“President Joe Biden and the Democrats who run Washington, have been on a spending binge that has created the highest inflation surge since 1982,” said Alek Skarlatos. “Throughout Oregon, gas prices are near $4.00 a gallon, the cost to heat our homes and buy groceries continue to rise and it’s clear Joe Biden’s tax-and-spend agenda is not working. If elected, I will hold Joe Biden accountable and offer real solutions to lower the cost of consumer goods and energy bills.”

Inflation surged 6.8% in November, even more than expected, to the fastest rate since 1982. “Inflation accelerated at its fastest pace since 1982 in November, the Labor Department said Friday, putting pressure on the economic recovery and raising the stakes for the Federal Reserve. The consumer price index, which measures the cost of a wide-ranging basket of goods and services, rose 0.8% for the month, good for a 6.8% pace on a year over year basis and the fastest rate since June 1982. Excluding food and energy prices, so-called core CPI was up 0.5% for the month and 4.9% from a year ago, which itself was the sharpest pickup since mid-1991.”

Economist Larry Summers says Joe Biden’s White House misread inflation. “Larry Summers, a former top economic adviser to President Obama, said Wednesday that President Biden's White House has been ‘behind the curve’ in their predictions about rising prices during the coronavirus pandemic. ‘I think that the policymakers in Washington unfortunately have almost every month been behind the curve,’ Summers said on CNN. ‘They said it was transitory; it doesn’t look so transitory. They said it was due to a few specific factors; doesn’t look to be a few specific factors. They said when September came and people went back to school, that the labor force would grow, and it didn’t happen.’”


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-12-11 06:09:43

Last Update: 2021-12-10 16:20:47

As the Legislature prepares to convene Monday for a special session, Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek (D-Portland) expressed support for the special session priority list outlined by Governor Brown, saying, “We have a proposal before us to keep thousands of Oregonians from losing their housing while rental assistance is on the way. I applaud the two legislative housing chairs -- Rep. Julie Fahey and Senator Kayse Jama – for their ongoing work to address this crisis. Next week, we must honor our commitment to keep Oregonians housed.”

Despite making housing a priority during her tenure as speaker, Speaker Kotek has presided over a serious crisis in housing availability and affordability, some say caused by the very policies that she has supported and encouraged.

Despite record-low unemployment in Oregon, Democrats in state government continue to push taxpayer-funded rental assistance. Public assistance programs for renters have been criticized as poorly managed.

Multifamily NW, a housing provider advocacy organization of residential property managers, owners, and vendors throughout Portland, Southern Washington, and down through the Willamette Valley to Medford has produced a rental survey. Some of the comments made by respondents reflect the frustration with rental assistance program follow through at Oregon Housing and Community Services.

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One said, “People are starting the assistance applications but not finishing. Many people paying after applying for assistance and then receiving large assistance checks that give more than 3 future rent payments credit on accounts and cannot get a hold of Home Forward to find out what to do with excess funds.”

According to another, “Many residents are taking advantage of the rental assistance programs. We have found many residents, carrying high delinquency balances, are fully employed, but choosing to work the system to avoid paying rent.”

One finel, desperate respondent said, simply, “Hurry up on payment programs!”


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-12-10 14:08:27

Last Update: 2021-12-10 15:09:43

Governor Kate Brown is relying on the Western States Scientific Review Workgroup to support her agenda for Health Smart Cards. The workgroup, made up of nationally-acclaimed scientists with expertise in immunization and public health, has concurrently and independently reviewed the FDA’s actions related to COVID-19 vaccines. What isn’t apparent is that the workgroup, even though stacked with qualified people, simply does what any analyst could do -- read the reports sent to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by pharmaceuticals. There is no investigation by the workgroup. Ironically, the workgroup was convened in 2020 by several governors of western states because they did not trust the Trump administration to provide adequate scientific oversight of the vaccine approval process.

In the wake of Governor Brown announcing boosters are now approved by the workgroup for 16- and 17-year-olds, the FDA and Pfizer are being exposed for not being transparent. Her decision follows the FDA requesting courts to hide Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine data for 55 years that reports 1,223 death and 158,000 adverse reactions including fetal deaths and spontaneous abortions during a 90-day trial study of the vaccine.

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As a result of vaccine mandates, Governor Brown still has serious problems at Oregon State Hospital having posted 12,382 vacancies. Taxpayers are supporting boosted pay by an extra $18 per hour not counting overtime to retain workers. She approved continued Oregon National Guard deployments of approximately 1,000 crisis response and other medical personnel for understaffed hospitals and the Oregon State Hospital through the end of December. Contract extension was also approved for Jogan Health Solutions staffing through mid-January 2022, covering pediatric and adult behavioral healthcare residential treatment programs, emergency staffing for hospitals with acute COVID-related needs, emergency medical services, long-term care facilities, vaccine hubs, homes for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and other programs.

Oregon has spent more than $90 million to provide emergency staffing needs across the state. Some say that the solution is simple. Some say it could all be resolved if Governor Brown would terminate the vaccine mandate and adhere to three federal court rulings striking down vaccine mandates by the Biden administration.


--Donna Bleiler

Post Date: 2021-12-10 13:46:00

Last Update: 2021-12-10 14:08:27

After repeated failures by Oregon’s housing department to timely implement a rental assistance program, Senate Republicans are pushing for a bipartisan agreement to fix the problem and protect landlords and renters.

“When we first started, we were miles apart,” said Senate Republican Leader Tim Knopp (R-Bend). “We were not willing to entertain coming in to pass legislation that we believed would do long-term damage to the rental housing market. Senate Republicans have voted numerous times to extend rental protections over the last 2 years. We weren’t interested in doing it again unless we had a bipartisan deal that would fix the problem at the housing department and ensure housing providers would be made whole.”

As part of the agreement, $5 million will be directed to the Oregon Housing and Community Services to speed up the processing of assistance applications. $10 million will be placed into the Landlord Guarantee Fund, which will ensure housing providers are made whole if a renter who applied for assistance is not eligible. The Emergency Rental Assistance Program will be replenished with $100 million to ensure those who have already applied will get assistance. The assistance application portal may reopen to spend any additional money left over. Another $100 million will go to local agencies for eviction prevention programs.

The safe harbor provisions passed in SB 278 will be available to renters who apply for assistance by June 30, 2022. Those protections will last until the application is processed, or September 30, 2022, whichever is sooner. Then the program will come to an end.

At the request of Senate Republicans, Monday’s session will also include important emergency legislation to support public safety and clamp down on illegal marijuana operations in Southern Oregon; a $99.725 million drought package to help farmers and ranchers recover from this summer's heatwave; money to support incoming Afgan refugees, and affordable housing investment in targeted areas.

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“Special sessions are for emergencies,” Senator Knopp continued. “These additional bills will address urgent problems facing Oregonians. The illegal marijuana situation in Southern Oregon is absolutely an emergency. The drug cartels are committing murder, stealing water, assaulting Oregonians, and engaging in human trafficking. Law enforcement needs our support to stop these dangerous operations.

“Oregon’s farmers and ranchers were hit hard by the heatwave this summer. The resources included in the drought package are going to do a lot of good. Our economy relies on a robust agricultural sector. We need to come together for them.

Representative Christine Drazan (R-Canby) called for new leadership at the Oregon Housing and Community Services Department, citing the agency’s repeated failures to implement Oregon’s emergency rental assistance program.

Representative Drazan urged Governor Brown to dismiss the current director and to respond to calls from housing providers to take concrete steps to address the agency’s systemic problems in advance of next week’s Special Session of the Oregon Legislature.

“The rollout and implementation of this much needed program has been grossly inadequate for struggling renters and landlords alike, who were promised relief but instead have been expected to wait patiently while the bills pile up,” said Representative Drazan. “Even today, thousands of promised checks have yet to be delivered. Oregonians should not have to keep waiting while this agency continues to underperform and put stable housing at risk. It is time for Governor Brown to take responsibility for this failure and appoint new leadership within the agency instead of simply throwing millions more taxpayer dollars at the program and expecting different results.”

“Oregonians need a functioning agency,” she continued. “I urge Governor Brown to take decisive action to fix this broken program and remove Director Salazar immediately.”


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-12-10 12:54:42

Last Update: 2021-12-10 13:46:00

Editor's note: The following is an anonymous letter from a Newberg School District parent.

Recently, I made the tough decision to take the last of my 4 children out of the public school system. I have always been a strong believer that we are our best advocates for our kids, and so we have looked for what worked best to help each child excel and reach their full potential.

I’m not sure what happened over the last few years, but the climate has completely changed in the public schools in Newberg, and I’ve had enough. The focus has shifted from academics to Pride Flags and BLM support. I personally have always and still do love and support the gay community as well as all people, no matter the color of their skin, religion, etc. I believe access to public education should be welcoming to all of the public. My kids are not pawns, and neither are your kids, your grandkids, nor our future leaders who are simply little kids right now.

When the middle school art class was asked to paint projects that are rainbow pieces to put throughout the school, the steps are painted in rainbows, the lights in the halls are rainbow colors, and the principals are wearing rainbow lanyards or pins, it makes any parent wonder what the focus is at the schools. When I know girls aren’t using the bathrooms at school because they are now genderless bathrooms, I worry about safety and access. When my middle school child was asked how she identifies gender wise by a teacher and asked to list her pronouns, she was confused.

When my high school child's class was asked who was vaccinated and who was not, I saw division created and medical privacy violated. When I read that the American Flag was too controversial and was removed from a classroom, I saw blatant infraction of the law. When my son’s English class was assigned a short story to read involving a gay 5th grader daydreaming about the professionals he would have sex with, such as policemen and fire fighters as well as referencing clitorectomies, I was appalled. When I saw a teacher creating Tik Toks to show all the Pride things in her classroom, I knew this teacher cared more about her message than my kids' education. When I saw the things counselors and staff said on Facebook, I knew my kids could not safely go to their counselors for unbiased help with anything.

When I know that recall signature sheets and flyers are being passed in the schools during school hours, and the leadership, including the superintendent, allows more and more material into the schools that has nothing to do with academics, I know my kids are no longer in a place where learning is the focus. I continue to wholly support the gay community and BIPOC, but we aren’t even helping kids pass classes because the focus has been lost. Doesn’t it feel like the kids, regardless of identity or color, are being used as pawns to further the divide? This is about learning, and our schools are failing our kids and generations to come. We owe it to our children to do better and be better.


--A Newberg School District Parent

Post Date: 2021-12-09 10:12:45

Last Update: 2021-12-09 10:45:59

As the 2022 elections near in a year in which Republicans expect to do well nationally, the hope that statewide coattails will follow combined with the fog of redistricting has inspired several Republican members of the Oregon House to run for the Oregon Senate.

In Salem, two-term Republican Representative Raquel Moore-Green has announced her decision to run in Senate District 10 which includes South Salem, West Salem and the cities of Monmouth and Independence. She will run against Democratic Incumbent Deb Patterson who narrowly defeated Denyc Boles in 2020.

Freshman Representative Suzanne Weber is seeking to take over Senate District 16 which is being vacated by Democrat Senator Betsy Johnson who is set to run for Governor as an Independent. The district includes Tillamook, Clatsop and Columbia Counties.

Representative Daniel Bonham who represents The Dalles and much of the rural Columbia River Gorge will run for Senate District 26 which also includes Sandy and Hood River. He seeks to replace Chuck Thomsen who is retiring from a district that is very tight.

Also declared is Cedric Hayden who will run in Land and Linn Counties in Senate District 6, trying to replace Democrat Lee Beyer, who is retiring.

Senate Republican Leader Tim Knopp (R-Bend) supports all four candidates, “Raquel, Suzanne, Daniel, and Cedric are proven leaders who have fought for a better Oregon. I welcome their decisions to step up and run for the Senate.

“Oregonians are desperate for new leadership. Voters are angry and anxious about the direction of the state. They want public safety, real solutions on homelessness, no heavy-handed government controlling their lives, and parents need to be part of education decisions in the classroom. Making progress on these issues starts electing more Republicans to the Senate.”

Knopp focused on Moore-Green's opponent in Salem. “Since getting elected, Senator Patterson has proven she is out of touch with her constituents. She voted with Portland liberals 99.99% of the time to advance the same tired policies that have made Oregon a more expensive place to live and raise a family.

“In just one year, she has voted to keep schools closed, against bolstered funding for law enforcement, and has sided with Governor Kate Brown’s extreme overreach. She has voted to continue the same policies that have made homelessness in Salem worse. She has even advocated taking school resource officers out of schools, which has led to fights in Salem-Keizer schools to increase by 42%.”


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-12-09 09:11:41

Last Update: 2021-12-09 10:12:45

State Representative and former McMinnville Police Chief Ron Noble (R-McMinnville) has announced that he is running for the Republican nomination for the newly carved out 6th Congressional district. He joins a crowded field for the seat which, of course as a new district, has no incumbent.

In a tweet which at the same time could be seen as both an expression of frustration of serving in the super-minority in Oregon's House, while at the same time, hoping to serve in what many experts see as a real possibility of a Republican majority in Congress, Noble said, "I am officially running for Congress in #OR06. I look forward to earning the trust of Oregonians to represent their interests and actually get results in Congress."

The crowded field includes Republicans Angela Plowhead, David Russ and returning 5th Congressional District nominee, Amy Ryan Courser. The 6th district contains much of what was in the 5th in the previous decade. As a moderate, Noble could watch a handful of conservative with less name recognition than he split the conservative vote and make his nomination possible.

As Chair of the House Special Committee On State Legislative Redistricting, State Representative Andrea Salinas (D-Lake Oswego) drew herself into the vacant district, then filed to run for the district. Many experts see this as a clear case of the kind of self-dealing that gives politics a bad name.

Prior to serving in the Oregon Legislature, Salinas was a lobbyist for the government employee union SEIU 503 and presumably will expect support from them.

Also announced on the Democratic side, is Loretta Smith (D-Portland) who served as a Multnomah County commissioner from 2011 to 2018. She ran unsuccessful campaigns for Portland City Council in 2018 and 2020.

Oregon's newly created 6th Congressional District is the counties of Yamhill, Polk and the western part of Marion County, as well as the southwestern portion of Clackamas County.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-12-08 14:12:18

Last Update: 2021-12-08 15:18:39

Since the middle of last century, the craft of journalism has been in decline. According to some experts, this decline has been the result of an increasingly intensifying leftward slide. Now, forces on the left have taken to shoring up their failing industry and the impact will be felt in Oregon.

The Oregonian/OregonLive is reporting that it has been selected to host a new Report for America corps member journalist beginning in June 2022.

According to the Portland based print and daily, the addition of this reporter, "will enable The Oregonian/OregonLive to expand its education coverage to focus deeply on early childhood programs and literacy education in kindergarten and first- and second-grade."

According to its website Report for America says that "the collapse of local journalism has created a crisis for democracy. Residents no longer get the information they need to understand the critical issues facing their community, to make good decisions for their family, and hold elected officials accountable. Charles Sennott formerly of the Boston Globe is the Executive Director of Report for America.

"Report for America is a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. An initiative of the nonprofit media organization, The GroundTruth Project, it is structured to harness the skills and idealism of an emerging group of journalists plus the creative spirit of local news organizations." They "aim to place 1,000 reporters by 2024 and strive to fundamentally transform local news business models and ecosystems."

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Influence Watch reports that "Report for America is a joint project of Google News Lab and The GroundTruth Project, both organizations associated with the political left-of-center. The GroundTruth Project was founded in 2014 to train foreign correspondents. It is cosponsored by Google News Lab. GroundTruth Project has taken funding from a number of left-of-center institutional funders, including the Packard Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, and the Knight Foundation."

The Google News Lab describes its mission "is to collaborate with journalists and entrepreneurs to drive innovation in news. Offering partnerships and training in over 50 countries, the News Lab brings the best of Google technology to tackle important challenges in journalism today." It also identifies the challenge of fighting misinformation as one of its priorities.

The Northwest Observer has received no such grants.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-12-08 08:53:37

Last Update: 2021-12-08 10:12:18

Governor Kate Brown has announced that she will appoint Crook County District Attorney Wade Whiting as a judge on the Circuit Court for the 22nd Judicial District, serving Jefferson and Crook Counties.

Whiting will fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Judge Michael McLane. His appointment is effective immediately.

“Wade Whiting has broad and impressive experience as a lawyer in both Jefferson and Crook Counties, and is also deeply involved in his community through his volunteer activities,” said Governor Brown. “I am looking forward to seeing him bring his energy and enthusiasm to his new role on the bench.”

Whiting, an Eagle Scout, graduated from high school in Camas, Washington and went to college at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where he majored in business.

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After graduating from college, Whiting earned his law degree from the University of Kansas. He moved to Oregon with his family, and worked for a private firm in Madras for nearly three years, handling a wide variety of matters, including family, real estate, and business law issues, and also criminal defense. In 2013, he joined the Jefferson County District Attorney’s office. Whiting subsequently was appointed to serve as District Attorney of neighboring Crook County in 2017.

Whiting lives with his family in Prineville, where he is deeply involved in his community. He is the chair of the Crook County Local Public Safety Coordinating Council, serves as vice president of the Crook County Foundation, is a member of the Kiwanis Club, and volunteers as a coach for various youth sport leagues. He is also active in the local bar association, including serving as Bar President from 2013-2016. In addition, Whiting lent considerable time and energy helping to promote the recent passage of the Crook County criminal justice center bond measure.


--Bruce Armstrong

Post Date: 2021-12-07 12:45:23

Last Update: 2021-12-07 12:52:46

At a time when Oregonians are leaving the State in unprecedented numbers, the question facing many is, ‘Do we stay and fight or do we relocate to a more freedom-friendly state?’

Yamhill County Commission Board Chair Mary Starrett, who has spent her last two terms pushing back against Oregon’s relentless overreach, answered this question by filing for re-election to Board Position #3 saying, “We stay and hold the line.”

Asked why she was running, Starrett said:

“Regardless of one’s politics, we should all be concerned that our governor can, without any Legislative input shut down businesses, schools, and churches, weaponize State agencies to take away licenses and levy fines, instigate baseless child welfare actions against political enemies, mandate experimental medical treatments for employees and force the masking of children and adults under the guise of an ongoing “Emergency” that has no data end point.”

“The goalposts keep moving and more rights are being taken away with shocking frequency.”

Chair Starrett decried the lack of State-County collaboration from the Governor’s office saying:

“Governor Brown has refused to include counties in the decision-making process throughout the COVID “emergency” of the past 2 years. OHA, under the Governor’s direction has refused to share accurate COVID-19 data despite numerous counties’ inquiries and Public Records requests from State Senators.

The obfuscation and determination to defy legitimate requests for transparency is an outrage that our majority party legislators refuse to acknowledge.”

Starrett makes freedom a top priority of her agenda.

“Any chance we, as Oregonians have of retaining what’s left of our freedoms is going to have to be fought for at the local level. Counties and cities will either stand up to Federal and State government overreach or we’ll continue to lose precious rights.

Our State Legislature has abdicated its role and now it’s up to counties to push back and protect the rights of the individual”

Starrett has pushed back against the State’s continued overreach by sponsoring or supporting over 20 Board actions for the protection of Constitutional rights during emergencies and to push back on Oregon Governor Kate Brown’s COVID restrictions, including:

• Support for Medical Freedom
• Support for Business Reopening
• Support for Overturning COVID -19 Executive Orders
• Opposition to Minor Immunization without Parental Consent
• Support for Congregate Care Family Visitation
• Support for Local Economy/Businesses of Yamhill County Impacted by COVID-19
• Opposition to Ongoing County Lockdowns
• Support for Vaccine Informed Consent Guidance
• Opposition to COVID-19 Vaccine Passports
• Support Civil Rights of Yamhill County Residents Regardless of Immunization Status
• Oppose OHA/Oregon OSHA Health Mandates
• Support Local Control re: COVID-19 Protocols, Opposing Mask Mandate K-12

Starrett adds: “And the work has just begun.”


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-12-06 12:19:55

Last Update: 2021-12-06 16:53:37

As the massive infrastructure bill passed the US House containing a myriad of and tax increases -- including $80 billion in funding for 87,000 more IRS agents to "spy" on Americans and giving more power to the IRS an Oregon State Senator is calling for a member of the Oregon delegation to the US Senate to vote against the measure.

State Senator Fred Girod (R-Lyons) is calling on U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, chairman of the Senate Finance committee, to reject proposals to spy on Americans’ bank accounts.

“Oregonians do not want their bank accounts spied on. Senator Wyden must ensure these proposals do not make it into Biden’s blowout spending bill. There are better ways to enforce tax law than a dragnet operation that would lead to unnecessary audits of regular Oregonians.

“If this proposal passes, the legislature must take immediate action to ensure Oregonians' privacy is protected. Legislative Democrats, the Attorney General, and the Treasurer must pledge to not enforce this extreme proposal. Oregonians deserve better than this invasion of privacy.”

Wyden, who is 72 years old has been a US Senator from Oregon since 1996. Prior to that, Wyden was a member of Congress from Oregon's 3rd District -- Multnomah County -- since 1981.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-12-06 12:17:48

Last Update: 2021-12-06 12:19:55