The Bridge by OR360

The Bridge by OR360

By Alex Titus, Ben Bowman, & Reagan KnoppNewsEducationGovernmentPolitics
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The Bridge by OR360 episodes

  • Why Eric Zimmerman is betting on Portland | EP 130
    Eric Zimmerman is a chief of staff for a Multnomah County Commissioner and a Major in the Oregon National Guard. Previously, he worked as a senior advisor to the Mayor of Portland and as an assistant city manager. He's also thinking about running for Portland City Council. 
     
    In this episode, we cover Eric's background in the military, his experience running for office, and why he has hope for Portland's future--but wants a more action-oriented set of leaders in charge. We also talk about the time that he punched a man in the face (following an attack on his then-boyfriend)--and what it was like when the story hit the newspapers a year later. Finally, we touch on how the conflict in the Middle East has impacted state and local politics.
    48 min
  • Christine Drazan is looking for a new direction for Oregon | EP 129

    Former republican minority leader Christine Drazan rejoins the podcast over 100 episodes later to reflect on Oregon's political leadership throughout the pandemic and present her framework for rebuilding what she calls Oregon's broken systems, through an organization called A New Direction, a 501c4 non-profit organization dedicated to connecting Oregonians with each other to advance policies and ideas that make Oregon a safer more affordable place to live and raise a family, strengthen checks and balances, improve transparency, empower Oregonians and support the next generation.

    To learn more visit https://www.christinefororegon.com/

    25 min
  • The chair of the Oregon GOP on how Republicans can win | EP 128

    Justin Hwang is a Korean immigrant and small business owner.

    He’s been chairman of the Oregon Republican Party since 2022 and was previously a candidate for state representative and state senate. He talks about the challenges Republicans are facing in Oregon and where he sees the opportunities for Republicans to hold and make additional gains.

    https://oregon.gop/

    22 min
  • Decoding Oregon’s swing county with Adam Marl | EP 127

    Adam Marl is the City Commission President for Oregon City. He was worked for numerous Republican candidates and elected officials.

    He serves in the most politically complex of the three major Portland metro counties: Clackamas. Marl is the youngest, as well as fist Asian person, to serve on the city commission. As someone who identifies as an Evangelical Christian but cites legislation from leaders like Sen. Mitt Romney, Marl has a nuanced take on Oregon politics.

    In this episode, Ben and Adam cover a wide range of topics including tolling, culture wars, abortion policy, and what it means to be a young Republican in Oregon in today's political climate.

    You can check out a piece that Adam recently wrote for The Way here: https://theoregonway.substack.com/p/how-oregon-republicans-can-further Also be sure to subscribe on Youtube if you haven't already! https://www.youtube.com/c/OR360

    And huge shoutout to our newest partner OVBC, be sure to check out their typography survey and share your voice and opinions about Oregon politics here:  https://oregonvbc.org/

    49 min
  • A Once-in-a-Decade Opportunity to Share Your Voice! New Partnership with OVBC | EP 126

    Returning to the podcast is Amaury Vogel. Amaury is the Associate Executive Director of the the Oregon Values & Beliefs Center (OVBC).   OVBC is an innovative organization that provides public opinion research for free to policymakers, news organizations, and the general public. In this episode we talk about how polling works (and why sometimes it doesn't work), and we discuss what makes OVBC unique.  

    OVBC 2023 Typology Survey: Online Survey Software | Qualtrics Survey Solutions  

    OVBC 2023 Typology informational landing page (also contains Pew and Policy Interactive Links): 

    OVBC 2023 Typology Project - Oregon Values and Beliefs Center (oregonvbc.org)  

    Pew Typology: Political Typology - Research and data from Pew Research Center  

    Policy Interactive: Finding Common Ground in a Divided Political Culture – PolicyInteractive  

    oregonvbc.org  

    ovbc.info/23_Background

    37 min
  • Producing our way out of the housing crisis with Jodi Hack | EP 125

    Oregon is grappling with a severe housing crisis. Recent data reveals that the median selling price of homes in Oregon is hovering around the $500,000 mark. In swiftly growing cities like Bend, this figure climbs even higher due to significantly constrained housing availability. Governor Tina Kotek has set an ambitious target of constructing 36,000 new homes annually. However, critics argue that current regulations, coupled with limited land resources stemming from the Urban Growth Boundary and Oregon's stringent land use guidelines, render this goal unattainable.

    Joining our discussion today is Jodi Hack, a former Republican Representative and now the CEO of the Oregon Home Builder's Association. Jodi will help us break down what all is contributing to the housing shortage and what policies may need to change in order to increase inventory and address the demand for affordable housing in Oregon.

     

    35 min
  • Kathleen Stuart on winning campaigns and public official compensation | EP 124
    Kathleen Stuart has held many of the top jobs in the Oregon Democratic campaign world--deputy director for the Senate Democratic Leadership Fund, Executive Director for FuturePAC, and head of the Democratic coordinated campaign effort in 2018 (where Gov. Kate Brown won by 6 points). She now owns her own firm, Stuart Collective, and was recently selected as one of the Portland Business Journal's 40 under 40.
     
    In this episode, we talk about Kathleen's relatively rapid promotions in the political world, and her career trajectory from private sector public relations to politics. We cover how caucus campaign committees work, and what the "coordinate campaign" does. We also talk about compensation for public officials (legislators, judges, and statewide officials) and her recent piece in the Oregon Way called: "Where can Oregon step up to support women serving in office?". For more information on Kathleen, you can visit: www.stuartcollective.co

     

    48 min
  • Freshmen legislators on being a mom and winning swing seats | EP 123

    Rep. Annessa Hartman (D-Gladstone) and Rep. Emerson Levy (D-Bend) are freshmen legislators first elected in 2022.

    They represent two swing districts (sometimes called “purple” seats) — Hartman in Clackamas County and Levy in Central Oregon (you can listen to our interview with then-candidate Levy here). They are also both relatively young legislators, and moms of young children. In this episode, we discuss the impact of running for office and public service on family, what it’s like running in ultra-competitive districts, and the policy wins they are most proud of.

    42 min
  • Charles Lehman On Portland’s Drug Crisis | EP 122

    Charles Lehamn is a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a prominent center-right think tank that focuses on urban and city-related issues. The organization gained prominence in the 1980s and 1990s for brainstorming the "broken windows" theory and creating the policy blueprint for Republican New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Charles recently took a trip to Portland to examine the impact of Measure 110 and detailed his thoughts in a City Journal piece that we link to below and discuss the episode. 


    We also dive into more technical issues such as defining what certain drugs like Fentanyl actually are, the hard statistics around Measure 110 and its outcomes, the differences between legalization and decriminalization and a host of other issues. This episode is also meant to give listeners the opposing view of the folks over at the Drug Policy Alliance who helped to pass Measure 110 (you can listen to that episode by clicking here).

    1 hr
  • What Oregon leaders can learn about battling corruption from the Truman Committee, with Steve Drummond | EP 121
    The Watchdog, a brilliant book by NPR senior editor Steve Drummond covering the Truman Committee's oversight of the defense buildup and war production effort of World War II, begins in Portland, Oregon. The book chronicles Harry S. Truman before he became president--his development from a junior senator from Missouri without much power, recognition, or stature to the Vice President of the United States (and, just a few months later, President). 
     
    The Truman Committee is a case study on effective government oversight. Ultimately, the Committee saved billions of dollars, prevented countless American deaths, and helped the United States win World War II -- and the Committee is undoubtedly what launched Truman from political obscurity to political powerhouse. In this episode, we discuss the lessons that today's leaders can learn about fighting corruption from Harry Truman and the Truman Committee.
    56 min

About The Bridge by OR360

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OR360 Media presents The Bridge, a podcast hosted by Alex Titus, Ben Bowman, & Reagan Knopp.