OPB Politics Now

This week, the Washington Post posted an interview with Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, who is an anomaly these days: a woman governor leading a state with a Democratic majority in the statehouse. Only Rhode Island can make the same claim.
Host Geoff Norcross and OPB senior political reporter Jeff Mapes talk with Washington Post reporter Amber Phillips about her piece on Gov. Brown, and why East Coast journalists view Oregon as the center of resistance to President Trump and his policies. We also talk with Oregonian/OregonLive political reporter Hillary Borrud about accusations of sexism in state politics.

We’re taking advantage of a slow week in Oregon politics to bring you a recent conversation with Oregon Governor Kate Brown on OPB’s "Think Out Loud."

Host Dave Miller sat down with Brown after the legislative session ended in Salem to take stock of her agenda and look ahead to 2018.

We’re back next week with a brand new episode.

Now that Oregon lawmakers are finished with passing bills for a while, they have time to consider their next moves. We dig into the election maneuvering now taking wing. We’ll talk about which politicos might file for which offices and look ahead to the next statewide ballot, which could be stuffed with measures for you to vote on.

This week, host Julie Sabatier talks with OPB senior political reporter Jeff Mapes, and Saul Hubbard, who covers politics for the Register-Guard.

The 2017 Oregon legislative session is finally over! On this special episode, we talk about what passed, what didn’t, and where all of that leaves Oregon politics. OPB senior political reporter Jeff Mapes and Oregonian/Oregonlive reporter Hillary Borrud join host Julie Sabatier.

***As of our taping Friday morning, the Oregon Legislature is still in session. Look for a special episode Monday, July 10 recapping the highlights once the session wraps up.***

While Congress continues to negotiate rolling back the Affordable Care Act, Oregon lawmakers are going the other way. Both chambers approved controversial bills. One would extend health insurance to children who are in the country illegally. Another would require insurance companies to cover reproductive care, including abortions.
We talk about why Oregon lawmakers are so willing to counter the federal government on such hot-button issues. Host Geoff Norcross is joined by OPB senior political reporter Jeff Mapes and news director Anna Griffin.

Oregon lawmakers are making their way to the end of the session in fits and starts. They have to wrap up by July 10, and billions of dollars in transportation funding still hangs in the balance. What will it take to dedicate money to Oregon’s roads and bridges? Why is it so hard for lawmakers to agree on something that both sides say should be a top priority? OPB senior political reporter Jeff Mapes and Register-Guard reporter Saul Hubbard attempt to answer these and other questions, including some listener mail! Julie Sabatier hosts.

Oregon Governor Kate Brown announced she and her fellow Democrats are abandoning efforts to increase corporate tax revenue. As a deadline looms to close a $1.4 billion budget gap, Brown and lawmakers are instead focusing their efforts on a healthcare provider tax and spending cuts.

Host Julie Sabatier talks with OPB political reporters Jeff Mapes and Chris Lehman about the failed effort to reform corporate taxes. They’ll also have an update on the $8 billion transportation package, and Oregon Ethics Commission review of former Gov. John Kitzhaber and his fiancée, former First Lady Cylvia Hayes.

Former Governor John Kitzhaber was a giant of Oregon politics until he resigned amidst an influence-peddling scandal in 2015. Two years later, the federal investigation into Kitzhaber and his fiancée Cylvia Hayes has concluded with no criminal charges. Host Julie Sabatier talks with OPB senior political reporter Jeff Mapes and Willamette Week reporter Nigel Jaquiss, who broke the original story about allegations Kitzhaber and Hayes used government resources to generate more than $200,000 in contracts for Hayes’s private consulting business.

Wyden and Merkley made national news this week, albeit for different reasons. During a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, Ron Wyden got into an exchange with Attorney General Jeff Sessions that was called “testy” and “heated.” As for Jeff Merkley, CNN wrote a story suggesting Oregon’s junior senator could be a strong contender in the presidential primary in 2020.
This week, OPB senior political reporter Jeff Mapes and host Geoff Norcross talk about how the senators are performing in the national spotlight. We also hear from OPB reporter Conrad Wilson about a Supreme Court hearing for Marion County Judge Vance Day, who could be removed from the bench.

On the latest episode of "OPB Politics Now," we discuss Oregon lawmaker's proposals for closing the state's $1.4 billion budget shortfall. Democratic leaders announced a corporate tax plan that would raise nearly $900 million over the next two years. They also have a proposal to shift some of the burden of Oregon’s pension plan to its recipients. Geoff Norcross talks with OPB senior political reporter Jeff Mapes and Hillary Borrud, political reporter for The Oregonian/OregonLive. And we get the highlights from political scientist Paul Gronke's survey findings about the affect of the state’s Motor Voter law on the the turnout and diversity of the Oregon electorate.