Our ranking of Portland-area lawmakers.

BY NIGEL JAQUISS njaquiss@wweek.com

WW news intern Lee Vankipuram oversaw data collection for this story.

Reader, beware: What follows is mostly gossip and opinion.

Ever since 1977, when we first began our biennial Good, Bad & Awful survey of metro-area legislators, we’ve started the story with that warning.

Normally, we traffic in facts and attributed quotes. But people in the Capitol—lobbyists, staff members and other regular observers—are uncomfortable speaking on the record about lawmakers. So for this issue only, we grant sources anonymity in order to provide readers with candid assessments of the Portland-area legislators who craft Oregon’s laws and shape its biennial $30 billion general fund budget. They fill out surveys—adding comments—and also tell us what they think in background interviews.

The consensus about this year’s session: Yecch!

Lawmakers did pass some bills early in the session: most notably a $200 million emergency housing package. But on May 3, Senate Republicans walked out. They blamed Democrats for overreaching on reproductive rights and gun control and, in a self-own, complained that bill summaries exceeded their reading comprehension. It amounted to a cry of frustration at Democrats’ electoral dominance and set the stage for last-minute drama when they returned last week.

In hindsight, the 2023 legislative session never could have been other than a train wreck.

For the first time in 20 years, the Senate got a new president: Rob Wagner (D-Lake Oswego), who rocketed to the Capitol’s top position just five years after being appointed to a vacant seat. His coronation left bruised feelings on both sides of the aisle. The House also got a new speaker for the first time in a decade. Dan Rayfield (D-Corvallis) took over from Tina Kotek, the first new governor in eight years. That’s three decades of leadership experience, replaced with rookies.

The musical chairs extended to both chambers: More than half of the 60 House districts sent new representatives to the Capitol, either from turnover or redistricting. The Senate, where the 30 members serve four-year terms (versus two in the House) welcomed eight members who were either new or in different seats.

So while Democrats maintained control of both chambers, they lacked the sophistication, experience and personal relationships with their GOP counterparts to defuse the minority party’s tantrum. It was like the Democrats got a new Tesla but couldn’t charge the battery.

On a more positive note, both chambers saw diversity unprec-