It’s been one year since George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer. And since then Oregon lawmakers have taken concrete and bipartisan steps toward addressing how officers can deploy force in the state. More bills aimed at holding officers accountable are likely to pass this session. And Oregon’s lone Black woman lawmaker Janelle Bynum has been at the center of those policy changes. She is openly aiming for higher office.

On the latest episode of Beat Check, criminal justice reporter at the paper Noelle Crombie talks about why she decided to write an in-depth story about Bynum right now. We talked about how the Happy Valley Democrat got into politics, how she became a power broker in Salem, what her reputation is in the capital and why she doesn’t shy away from vocally opposing people in her own party.

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