By GARY A. WARNER/Oregon Capital Bureau
The first days of the first week of the 2022 election year have been filled with a flurry of announcements of leaders leaving and candidates campaigning for office.
Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, told lawmakers via text message Wednesday that he would not run for re-election in 2022.
“I will serve out the remainder of my term,” Courtney said in the text. “It has been an honor and a privilege to have been allowed to serve locally on the Salem City Council and for all these years in the Oregon State Legislature. I hope I’ve helped.”
Courtney, the longest serving Senate president in Oregon history, joins House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, the chamber’s longest-serving presiding officer, in announcing their plans to exit the Legislature after the 2022 election.
Courtney is retiring, while Kotek is running for governor. Win or lose, she will have to relinquish her seat to a newcomer in 2022. Kotek is hoping to succeed Gov Kate Brown, who is barred from running again because of term limits.
Courtney has been Senate president since 2003, while Kotek has been speaker since 2013. Courtney is Oregon’s longest serving legislator, having a combined 38 years in the House and Senate. Courtney’s announcement Wednesday ensures that the trio at the top of the state’s political order will change for the first time since early 2014.
Brown became governor in February that year when as secretary of state, she assumed office after the resignation of Gov. John Kitzhaber amid influence-peddling accusations.
More change at the top may be coming. Oregon Public Broadcasting reported that House Majority Leader Barbara Smith Warner, D-Portland, will step down from her leadership position if re-elected in 2022.
Barring an electoral upheaval in November, Democrats will choose new presiding officers from their ranks. The party holds a 37-23 majority in the House and 18-12 majority in the Senate.
New election, new candidates
While Courtney’s departure scrambled the Legislature’s top, filings to run for the House and Senate officially opened Monday.
The Secretary of State’s website showed that as of Wednesday afternoon, 24 candidates had filed to run for Legislature — 19 in the House and five in the Senate.
COVID-19 disrupted the 2020 U.S. Census, having the domino effect of delaying redistricting until September 2021. The Oregon Supreme Court rejected Republican challenges to the new maps drawn by the Democratic majority for 60 House seats and 30 Senate seats. The court set Jan. 1 as the first day that candidates could formally file to run for the Legislature. But many candidates jump-started the races by registering campaign finance committees earlier in the year, which were unaffected by the delays.
The Secretary of State’s web pages for election finances on Wednesday shows 53 finance committees for House seats and 18 for Senate seats are already soliciting contributions and spending money to tout candidates.
The relative trickle will turn into a steady stream between now and March 8, the last day to file for office. All 60 House seats, which have a two-year term, will be on the ballot, along with more than half of the Senate seats, which have staggered four-year terms.
GOP leader makes governor run official
Rep. Christine Drazan, R-Canby, announced Tuesday that she was running for governor. A rally in Aurora confirmed Drazan’s plans outlined late last year when she stepped down as House minority leader, but said she would retain her seat through the election.
“Prices are rising, taxes are high, streets are lawless, schools are a mess, and too many of our fellow citizens are sleeping in the cold,” Drazan said at the rally. “Oregonians are desperate for change. We don’t need more of the same,”
Drazan enters a crowded field for governor, with 29 candidates from all parties filing to run so far. One of Drazan’s opponents in the May 17 Republican primary, 2016 GOP governor nominee Bud Pierce of Salem, will formally announce his own entry at a rally Thursday night in Salem. Sandy Mayor Stan Pulliam, Baker City Mayor Kerry McQuisten and Portland political consultant Bridget Barton are among Republicans already in the race.
If she won the GOP primary, Drazan could face House Speaker Tina Kotek, R-Portland, one of several Democrats running in their party’s primary for the state’s top job. Kotek and Drazan have tangled frequently on the floor of the House, including a bitter feud last September over redistricting. Kotek says she will retain her House seat and her position as the chamber’s top officer through the November election. The winner of the two party primaries will likely find themselves with three major candidates on the November ballot. Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose, resigned from the Senate last month to prepare for a bid for governor, running without any party affiliation.
Republicans have not won the governor’s office since Gov. Vic Atiyeh was re-elected in 1982.
Booze news
Supporters of sales of hard liquor in markets are moving forward with a single initiative they hope to qualify for the Nov. 8 ballot. With a few exceptions, hard alcohol sales are currently limited to state-licensed liquor stores.
Lauren G.D. Redman of Bend and Bill Caldwell of North Bend were the chief petitioners on all the proposals, which mainly differed on the range of hard liquor that could be sold. Supporters planned to survey which version had the best chance of winning public support.
A change in state statutes requires 120,020 valid signatures submitted to the Secretary of State to get on the ballot. Two signature drives in prior elections have fallen short of qualifying.
The final 2022 proposal, submitted as the Customer Choice & Convenience Act of 2022 #1 , allows for a broad range of sales. Redman, CEO of Newport Avenue Market in Bend, said last fall that she believed voters were ready to back an initiative after seeing well-regulated market sales in other states.
Kristof in or out
The biggest story of the first week of the election year could come Thursday or Friday. Secretary of State Shemia Fagan will announce whether former New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, who now lives in Yamhill County, meets residency requirements to run for governor. The much debated question won’t be be over this week, with Kristof expected to go to court to appeal if he’s kept off the ballot and his opponents seeking to have the decision overturned if Fagan rules he can run.
- The Oregon Capital Bureau in Salem is staffed by reporters from EO Media and Pamplin Media Group and provides state government and political news to their newspapers and media around Oregon, including YachatsNews.com