OPB Politics Now

In this special election preview episode, OPB reporters Troy Brynelson, Jeff Mapes and Emily Cureton talk to host Tiffany Camhi about the region’s three hottest campaigns for U.S. House.

In this special election preview episode, OPB education reporter Elizabeth Miller and host Geoff Norcross break down two November ballot items: The Portland Public Schools $1.2 million bond measure and a Multnomah County tax levy that would provide free preschool for everyone.

We’re catching up on an assortment of Oregon politics this week. Governor Kate Brown announced she will veto budget bills -- but those vetoes might not be legal. And the Oregon Republican Party will appear in your voter pamphlet after all-- because nobody is quite sure what constitutes a deadline these days.

Three months after George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer, the U.S. is continuing to grapple with how to address police violence and systemic racism against Black Americans. For four Oregonians whose loved ones were killed by police, the past few months have been a time of processing grief, building community and coming up with strategies to end police violence. Joe Keller’s son Deontae Keller was killed by Portland police in 1996. Kayla Washington’s father Jason Washington was killed by Portland State University police in 2018. Donna Hayes’ grandson Quanice Hayes was killed by Portland police in 2017. Stephanie Babb’s brother Brian Babb was killed by Eugene police in 2015.

Oregon is dominated by Democrats, but Portland played an important role this week in the Republican National Convention. This week, we look at GOP efforts to make Portland a symbol in President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign. And we’ll examine whether there are any benefits for Republicans hoping to eat away at Democratic majorities in Oregon.

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler says he doesn’t see a clear path to ending the nightly violence between police and protesters that have capped daily demonstrations for racial equity for more than two months now. On this week’s OPB Politics Now, reporters Rebecca Ellis and Dirk VanderHart talk through Ellis’ recent interview with the mayor, in which he acknowledged that he hasn’t figured out how to balance the public’s right to protest with a need to stop a small subgroup of demonstrators from committing vandalism.

Oregon lawmakers finished a whirlwind legislative session on Monday. They worked 15 hours. They passed 11 bills. And they managed to close a $1.5 billion budget shortfall.

Portlanders have just a few more days to decide who they want to fill the City Council seat previously held by Commissioner Nick Fish, who died in January. This week, the candidates spoke to OPB Think Out Loud host Dave Miller about their stances on everything ranging from policing to the pandemic.

There’s a new sheriff in town when it comes to protecting the federal courthouse in downtown Portland. Gov. Kate Brown struck a deal with the Trump administration to remove federal officers whose presence has brought massive protests back downtown. In this episode, we go behind the scenes of that deal, and talk about what’s next.