Up, Up and Away
Bridging the political divide in Oregon has become increasingly challenging in recent years. The task isn’t going to get any easier when the cost of the I-5 bridge balloons into the ozone.
Rick is a seasoned policy and public affairs veteran, bringing decades of hands-on experience with legislative, regulatory, and communications efforts. His work has spanned transportation, financial institutions, economic development, and marketing communications. Rick maintains close personal relationships with Oregon legislative and executive leaders. He serves as an informal advisor to several legislative leaders and understands the intersection between moving public opinion and moving (or stopping) legislation.
Bridging the political divide in Oregon has become increasingly challenging in recent years. The task isn’t going to get any easier when the cost of the I-5 bridge balloons into the ozone.
Joe Brown’s Carmel Corn is a Portland icon. It has been there since the beginning when Lloyd Center first opened its doors in 1960. Generations of Oregonians have succumbed to the allure of that sweet aroma wafting through the mall.
Performing a feat rarely accomplished in modern Oregon electoral history, opponents of the legislature’s high-profile transportation tax bill have successfully used primarily volunteers to gather the necessary signatures to refer the action to the voters. What will Democrats do next?
Coordinated care organizations (CCOs) are valiantly working to ensure health care coverage for hundreds of thousands of Oregonians while facing headwinds of reduced federal funding, increased delivery costs, and the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), which keeps them so awash in expensive bureaucracy and new polices that will increase costs further.
On Monday, Christine Drazan announced she will once again be a candidate for governor in the upcoming election. Drazan fared well in her last run in 2022 before losing to Tina Kotek.
In the late 1970s, small bands of Oregon legislators used bipartisan tactics to accomplish their goals in the Capitol.
Salem-Keizer’s transit district, known commonly as Cherriots, is eyeing significant tax increases to achieve more ridership. Currently, Cherriots receives about $16 million per year through local property taxes and another $13 million per year from a statewide tax on workers’ wages, for $29 million in revenue from those sources.
The opening of the 1977 Oregon Legislative Session mirrored all the political elements of today. Democrats held the Governor’s mansion with Bob Straub; Democrats controlled the House and had an overwhelming 24-6 super-super majority in the Senate. In the House, Portland metro liberals controlled the leadership, the agenda, and most of the committees.
After a rough-and-tumble start and mechanical breakdowns once on the road, the Oregon Legislature’s Emergency Session motorcade has screeched to a halt due to a road closure and forced into a long and uncertain detour.
Gov. Tina Kotek has called this Emergency Session of the Oregon Legislature to pass a funding bill for the fiscally challenged Oregon Department of Transportation. Efforts to solve ODOT’s financial woes missed the closing bell of the 2025 regular session, so Kotek has ordered legislators to summer school to finish their homework.

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