Category State
Oregon’s transportation agency gets new boss who knows commuters’ woes
Kris Strickler is being promoted to run the Oregon Transportation Department. He has billions to spend and thousands of employees to manage while addressing outside critics. (Claire Withycombe/Oregon Capital Bureau) SALEM — Oregonians fuming over stalled freeway traffic have a sympathetic person in a powerful…
State legislator takes break from service to donate – a kidney
Oregon State Capitol rotunda (Salem Reporter/file) SALEM – When state Rep. Tiffiny Mitchell of Astoria won election to the Oregon House to represent the north coast, there was a lot flying through her head. On election night last Nov. 6, she thought of the people…
Boquist content to break political china to make his points
Sen. Brian Boquist reflects on his political and military careers at his Dallas farm. (Aubrey Wieber/Salem Reporter) On a rainy Monday morning in September, Sen. Brian Boquist is sitting in a darkened manufactured home that serves as his district office, his face aglow from the…
House Republicans shake up leadership in bid for more influence
Rep. Christine Drazan was picked to lead the House Republican caucus. (Aubrey Wieber/Salem Reporter) Vowing to protect incumbents, Republican state legislators in the House on Monday picked a Portland-area freshman legislator to lead them, replacing Rep. Carl Wilson, R-Grants Pass. The legislators voted in Rep.…
Gov. Brown’s top lawyer turns down judicial appointment amid allegations he pressured public records advocate
SALEM — Gov. Kate Brown’s top lawyer said Tuesday he is turning down a plum judicial post after an outgoing state advocate for government transparency said he tried to exert undue influence over her work. Public Records Advocate Ginger McCall’s resignation last week turned the…
Freshman Christine Drazan replaces Carl Wilson as House Republican leader
Rep. Christine Drazan was picked to lead the House Republican caucus. (Aubrey Wieber/Salem Reporter) House Republicans voted Monday to elect Rep. Christine Drazan, R-Canby, as House Republican Leader. Drazan takes over for Rep. Carl Wilson, R-Grants Pass, who was elected to lead the caucus in…
Oregon’s public records council calls for independent advocate
Ginger McCall (Courtesy/Oregon Secretary of State) SALEM — The week in Oregon politics began and ended with Ginger McCall. McCall, the state’s first public records advocate, announced her sudden resignation Monday, Sept. 9, citing undue influence from Gov. Kate Brown’s office. And, by the time…
Supreme Court ruling on unanimous jury verdicts could throw decades of Oregon convictions into question
The U.S. Supreme Court could force Oregon into doing what every other state already does – requires every juror to vote to convict before a person is judged guilty. Such a decision by the Supreme Court in a case now before it could make it…
Oregon reaches inside to find next leader of ODOT
SALEM – Oregon’s transportation commissioners have chosen Kris Strickler, head of the Oregon Department of Transportation’s highway division, to be the agency’s new leader. The commissioners voted on the appointment Tuesday evening, chosen after a national search to replace longtime director Matt Garrett that took…