By Mariana Alfaro
Tina Kotek (click here) on her last day in office as the Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives, Jan. 20, 2022. Kotek, D-Portland, served as speaker from 2013-2022 and resigned to focus on her campaign for governor.
Democrat Tina Kotek (click here) is projected to win the tight race for Oregon governor.
The former speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives defeated Republican Christine Drazan, a former state lawmaker, and Betsy Johnson, a former Democratic state lawmaker who left the party and ran as an unaffiliated candidate....
...With the victory, Kotek is now one of two women — along with Maura Healey in Massachusetts (D) — who will become the country’s first openly lesbian governors.
During her nearly decade-long tenure in the state legislature, Kotek played a key role in expanding abortion access, increasing Oregon’s minimum wage, investing $50 million in clean energy and passing legislation that guarantees sick leave for all Oregon workers....
...“I ask my fellow Oregonians, no matter who you voted for, or even whether you voted at all, to believe in our state and our future,” she said. “Please, be engaged so we can all help solve problems togeth
Kotek said that, once she takes office, she will focus “on three things first”: Declaring a state of emergency over the state’s homeless crisis, expanding access to mental health and addiction treatment services and working to “bridge the divisions in our state.”...
We simply have to get more serious about building a lot more housing. The goal will be to build enough housing to meet the need for people currently experiencing homelessness, address the current shortage of housing, and keep pace with future housing demand over the next decade. I’ll start by issuing an executive order on Day One to create a long-term plan to build enough homes in urban, suburban, and rural communities to meet this goal."...
Democrat Tina Kotek (click here) is projected to win the tight race for Oregon governor.
The former speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives defeated Republican Christine Drazan, a former state lawmaker, and Betsy Johnson, a former Democratic state lawmaker who left the party and ran as an unaffiliated candidate....
...With the victory, Kotek is now one of two women — along with Maura Healey in Massachusetts (D) — who will become the country’s first openly lesbian governors.
During her nearly decade-long tenure in the state legislature, Kotek played a key role in expanding abortion access, increasing Oregon’s minimum wage, investing $50 million in clean energy and passing legislation that guarantees sick leave for all Oregon workers....
...“I ask my fellow Oregonians, no matter who you voted for, or even whether you voted at all, to believe in our state and our future,” she said. “Please, be engaged so we can all help solve problems togeth
Kotek said that, once she takes office, she will focus “on three things first”: Declaring a state of emergency over the state’s homeless crisis, expanding access to mental health and addiction treatment services and working to “bridge the divisions in our state.”...
I especially liked her approach to housing. It is vital for a healthy economy and successful schools.
"Housing supply in Oregon has not kept pace with the population growth, and the state continues to fall behind every year. What is your plan to increase housing stock?
The housing supply crisis has been decades in the making and is being felt in every corner of our state. As House Speaker, I led the way to begin the arduous work of addressing our severe housing shortage, including investing over a billion dollars to build more affordable housing and maintain the current supply of affordable housing, removing barriers to housing development, allowing for more housing options, and more. But there is much more work to do. My priority on day one will be to start implementing my plan to tackle Oregon’s housing crisis.We simply have to get more serious about building a lot more housing. The goal will be to build enough housing to meet the need for people currently experiencing homelessness, address the current shortage of housing, and keep pace with future housing demand over the next decade. I’ll start by issuing an executive order on Day One to create a long-term plan to build enough homes in urban, suburban, and rural communities to meet this goal."...
The rural communities in Oregon (click here) need to be addressed as well as the cities. The rural areas a primarily Republican, but, with an outreach by the Governor getting to know the farming community and smaller towns, their problems can be solved as well.
There is a difference in the election map from 2020 to 2022. The Republican influence in the rural counties has come under question. The strongly Republican counties are now only leaning Republican. The Democrats have primarily held their ground in Oregon. Governors like the Governor-Elect can continue to bring traditionally Republican counties into a clearer understanding of the Democratic Party by solving problems and making it real.
The LGBT community is important to Governor-Elect Tina Kotek. I believe when members of that community are elected to office it makes Clarence Thomas' ridicule of the USA Constitution where all citizens have rights all the more clear what a completely horrible Associate Justice he is. It only proves how religiously bigoted many of the Robert's Courts decisions are when it comes to the civil rights of American.
