Baby News Hubb
Advertisement
  • Home
  • News
  • Baby Products
  • Parenting
  • Contact us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Baby Products
  • Parenting
  • Contact us
No Result
View All Result
Baby News Hubb
No Result
View All Result
Home Parenting

Guest Commentary: Decisions Made Last Year Will Play Out for Oregon in 2023 

admin by admin
January 8, 2023
in Parenting


This year, the state will learn what how the decisions made in 2022 will look like in practice.  

This is likely to be most obvious in the political and governmental sphere. Oregon elected a new governor and three new members of Congress in November, but that is the beginning of the story, not the end. 

Starting this month, Oregonians will compare incoming  Gov. Tina Kotek with her predecessor, Gov. Kate Brown, and assess her  new management of state government (and even much of local government).  

In December, Kotek launched a series of listening stops, starting in Yamhill and Douglas counties, in partial fulfillment of her promise to keep in closer touch with the far-flung parts of Oregon. But there will be questions about the extent of communications – who is invited, for example, to the small groups she’ll meet? – and what results come of it. 

Kotek presented herself as a stronger manager of state government, determined to push through not so much policy changes as more effective management of them. There are no lack of management issues, from fulfilling Measure 110 drug assistance to helping with renter issues and homelessness to better funding of the public defender system. Illicit drug operations are also a problem. All were challenging for the last administration, and Kotek said she would improve the state’s performance. These are long-term issues, but we should have a sense within a few months of how she will tackle them.  

We’ll also see how the slightly less Democratic Legislature does as well, when lawmakers  arrive later this month, and how Kotek relates to it in her new capacity. Governors with legislative experience have been known (not only in Oregon) to flounder in that area after making the transition. A bellwether was suggested by a headline from last campaign season:  “Democrat Tina Kotek pledged Monday to make capping campaign contributions one of her top priorities if she’s elected governor.” Watch this touchy topic closely.   

Legislative leadership will be newer than it has been in more than in a decade. (Kotek has been around the statehouse a long time but she’s there now in a new capacity; it’s worth remembering that all three major governor candidates last fall had been prominent legislators and resigned their seats earlier in the year to run statewide, so none are back.) In 2023, Oregonians can decide how this version of Democratic control compares to the last. 

Are Oregon Democrats shrinking their philosophical tent? Last year’s primary ouster of Kurt Schrader, a Blue Dog Democrat in Congress, opened the question of what the governing party will look like, broad (with serious reach to the center) or narrow. The departure of former Democrat Betsy Johnson speaks to this, too. This year may give us some clues about how the party in Oregon is currently defining itself.   

Republicans face questions of a similar nature. Many Oregon Republican nominees in 2022 were from the mainstream of the party (“normies” in the lingo of some Donald Trump backers) but a significant number of nominees and other candidates were not. For the second election cycle in a row, the party’s nominee for the U.S. Senate, Jo Rae Perkins, was a perennial candidate with personal issues and close alignment with QAnon, yet she easily won the party’s nomination, and more than 40% of the general election vote. Republicans in Oregon have serious structural problems looking ahead to 2023. 

They also face some immediate questions. Here’s one: Will Republicans try to challenge the terms of the new constitutional amendment penalizing long-term absences from the session? Will they risk it? Will they be defanged? 

How effective will Oregon’s two least-known brand new members of Congress be? Both Democrat Andrea Salinas in the 6th Congressional District and Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer in the 5th were elected with slim margins this year, and both can expect to be targeted by the opposing parties next time. In the coming year, will they be caught up in controversies? Will  they build broad connections to their constituencies? What sort of issues or debates will  they be associated with? 

This year will be more than just about politics, of course. The farmworker overtime bill signed into law last April will come more fully into bloom this year. A proposed ballot issue to legalize sex work was short-circuited last year partly because of its descriptive language, and it may be back this year. Abortion laws could toughen even more in nearby states like Idaho, and Oregon will see ongoing pressure there. The appearance this winter of the “triple-demic” of COVID-19, the flu and the respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, either might fade or become an important driver this year with many hospital beds in the Northwest taken.  

But in all of these cases, we might not need terrific insight to see what’s ahead. The signs were set in place last year. Now we begin the road ahead.   

By Randy Stapilus of Oregon Capital Chronicle. Stapilius has researched and written about Northwest politics and issues since 1976 for a long list of newspapers and other publications. A former newspaper reporter and editor, and more recently an author and book publisher. 



Source link

Previous Post

20 Best Bath Toys for Babies and Kids

Next Post

Jane Johanson on having renowned sexpert Sue Johanson as a mom

Next Post

Jane Johanson on having renowned sexpert Sue Johanson as a mom

Recommended

Help, My Toddler Won’t Play With Other Children!?

January 4, 2023

DaVinci, Babyletto, Namesake, and more! — The Baby Cubby

January 31, 2023

Parenting Has Amplified My Own Anxiety (And Other Emotions)

August 23, 2022

My Ultimate Week of Parenting Teens

August 4, 2022

Don't miss it

News

The Hottest Baby Names for 2023

February 1, 2023
Baby Products

DaVinci, Babyletto, Namesake, and more! — The Baby Cubby

January 31, 2023
Parenting

Corvallis Business: Benton Unemployment Increases Slightly, Family Business 360 Slated, NFL Talent Talks Women in Leadership, Tapping the Accessible Travel Market

January 31, 2023
News

Keep Them Patient When Waiting Their Turn

January 31, 2023
Parenting

Government: City Reviews Effort Lobbying State on Homelessness, Session Set to Explain Fees to the Public, Roadside Weed Spray Opt-Outs

January 30, 2023
News

23 of the Best Leggings for Women

January 30, 2023

© 2022 Baby Life News Hubb All rights reserved.

Use of these names, logos, and brands does not imply endorsement unless specified. By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.

Navigate Site

  • Home
  • News
  • Baby Products
  • Parenting
  • Contact us

Newsletter Sign Up

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Baby Products
  • Parenting
  • Contact us

© 2022 Baby News Hubb All rights reserved.