LEGISLATIVE UPDATE The Importance of Political System Involvement

THE IMPORTANCE OF POLITICAL SYSTEM INVOLVEMENT

By: Roger Beyer

Big I Oregon Lobbyist

Written April 4, 2022

The Oregon Legislature wrapped up the 35day session on Friday, March 4th, three days prior to the constitutional deadline. From an overall perspective, 271 measures were introduced this session and 117 passed. Five of those passed were budget bills and most of the rest had agreement of legislative members and groups.

With the strong revenue forecast and the continued influx of federal funds there was plenty of money for legislative pet projects. Policy wise, except for the natural resource sectors, it was a quiet session. With the primary election just around the corner, things are about to quickly heat up. This year the Governor’s race has garnered most of the attention with officially 36 candidates, 17 Democrats and 19 Republicans. Others will also be in the field, as I will explain in detail shortly.

On the Democrat side, it really comes down to two, Tina Kotek and Tobias Read. These two are well known among state Democrats and have garnered most of the major endorsements and money.

The Republican field is currently wide open. Of the 19, none are well known or can be labeled as the frontrunner.

Four have raised or have more than one half million dollars in the bank, and a couple of others seem to have their own money to spend if they desire. It appears that 30% of the vote could win the nomination and as of now any of these six: Bridget Barton, Christine Drazen, Jessica Gomez, Bud Peirce, Stan Pulliam and Bob Tiernan could achieve that percentage.

This does not include the expected independent, Betsy Johnson, who will not appear on a primary ballot for either party but must submit approximately 25,000 signatures to appear on the November election ballot. She has raised more money (more than $2 million) than any candidate from either party and has more than $4 million on the bank, which is 4 times more than any other candidate.

This means that for the first time since 1930, when Julius Meier was elected, as the first person to serve as governor who was not a member of a major political party, an Independent has a real shot at winning the Governor’s office.

In that election, the Republican front runner died prior to the election opening the door for Meier, a former Republican, to win as an Independent. Johnson, a former Democrat, now has an opportunity to repeat history.

This unprecedented occurrence demonstrates the importance of being involved in our political system. It is important we take advantage of this opportunity by registering to vote, doing our homework on the candidates, getting involved with those you think will best represent you and, most importantly, casting a vote for that person.

To help you get involved and stay on top of the latest goings on, Big I Oregon hosts monthly political forums. The second Tuesday of each month at noon, via Zoom, we have been hearing from gubernatorial candidates and others about the latest issues and what is happening in our state. You may register on the Big I Oregon

website by clicking on the calendar on the home page www.bigioregon.com.

Getting involved can be done in multiple ways: by financially supporting the candidate of your choice, donating to OIPAC (the political action committee of Big I Oregon), donating to InsurPac (the national Big “I” political action committee), attending town halls or going to campaign events where you can get to know the candidate personally and volunteering time to help get them elected. Donations can be made on our website, www.bigioregon.com, under Advocacy, Make an OIPAC Contribution.

If you do any of these items and the person wins the election, you will have put yourself in a position to be the “insurance expert” for that new state lawmaker. This will pay dividends for you and your industry for as long as that person remains a lawmaker in the state. Do not miss this chance to be involved in the most interesting election of the past century.

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