Opb Politics Now

Sometimes the structure of government voters choose is just as important as who they elect. We’ll look at why Bend may get a stronger mayor, Eugene voters have two different auditor measures to consider and Portland’s form of government remains … strange.

Multnomah County leaders thought they finally had to deal to sell off the Wapato Jail. But when it comes to this particular large government white elephant, things are never easy. OPB News Director Anna Griffin and OPB reporters Dir Vanderhart and Amelia Templeton unravel the roiling ball of snakes that is Wapato.

Students and an interfaith group are launching a last-minute attempt to get a measure on the Oregon ballot to ban military-style guns. OPB reporters Jeff Mapes and Dirk VanderHart and Claire Withycombe, state capitol reporter for The East Oregonian and Pamplin Media, dissect the initiative and tell us what other measures are being circulated for signatures right now.

On this week’s OPB Politics Now, we’ll wrap up the 2018 legislative session and examine the state of the Oregon Republican Party going into primary season.

Oregon lawmakers are rushing toward adjourning the 2018 session, so we’re taking a last-minute look at the prospects for several of the major bills still in the pipeline. Jeff Mapes, OPB’s senior political reporter, talks with OPB politics reporter Lauren Dake and Paris Achen, capital correspondent for the Portland Tribune.

The mass shooting in Florida has reignited the debate over gun control. Washington and Oregon are solidly blue states. But guns are one issue where Democratic lawmakers have struggled to build consensus. On this week’s OPB Politics Now podcast, OPB News Director Anna Griffin talks to OPB political reporter Lauren Dake and Olympia reporter Austin Jenkins about the politics of guns in the northwest.

The Oregon House this week passed a resolution that would ask voters to create a constitutional right providing “access to effective, medically appropriate and affordable health care.” As the resolution heads to the Senate, OPB Politics Now looks at both the policy and the politics of the “health care for all” measure. Kristian Foden-Vencil, who covers health care for OPB, and Jeff Mapes, OPB’s senior political reporter, grapple with an issue that could be headed for the November ballot.

This week on "OPB Politics Now," we’ll discuss the policies both Oregon and Washington are considering to tackle climate change at the state level. OPB political reporter Lauren Dake talks with Cassandra Profita, an EarthFix reporter for OPB; Austin Jenkins, Olympia correspondent for the Northwest News Network; and Jeff Mapes, OPB’s senior political reporter.

Oregon legislators will be starting their short session that they hold in even years. We talk about what’s on the agenda in the latest episode of OPB Politics Now.

Oregon voters have overwhelmingly approved a package of health care taxes to ensure low-income Oregonians will keep their health coverage. We discuss the aftermath of the $320 million referendum that will tax hospitals and certain health insurers. Who wins, who loses and what’s the future of health care -- and health care politics -- in Oregon?

Since Donald Trump’s presidential victory, Oregon’s lone Republican congressman, Greg Walden, has enjoyed a higher profile and more power. But with more influence comes extra scrutiny. OPB political reporters Jeff Mapes and Lauren Dake, along with Central Oregon reporter Amanda Peacher discuss Walden’s tenure representing the state’s 2nd Congressional District with Trump in the Oval Office.

Oregon voters will decide on Jan. 23 whether or not to approve up to $320 million in hospital and insurance taxes to help pay for the state’s share of Medicaid. The system funded by both federal and state dollars covers more than a million Oregonians. We explain how the taxes help pay for Medicaid and what supporters and opponents are saying. And we explore what the Legislature will do when it meets in February if voters reject Measure 101. Host Anna Griffin is joined by OPB political reporters Lauren Dake and Jeff Mapes and by Courtney Sherwood, editor-in-chief of The Lund Report.

There are many questions facing Oregonians in 2018. Who will be Oregon’s next governor? Should any Congressional representatives worry about midterm elections? Will Oregon highways get tolls? We look into the big political stories of 2018 with OPB political reporters Jeff Mapes and Lauren Dake, and news director Anna Griffin. Geoff Norcross hosts.

Please fill out our survey and tell us what you want to hear in 2018: http://opb.org/politicsnowVera Katz was small in stature, but she had a big influence on Oregon politics. She was elected to three terms as Portland’s mayor and was the first woman to serve as speaker of the Oregon House. She died earlier this month at the age of 84 after a long battle with cancer.We talked a bit about Katz and her political legacy on a recent episode, but this is a woman who did so much that it’s hard to capture in one conversation. So today, we’re bringing you a more in-depth look at Vera Katz.

The deadly crash of Amtrak train 501 near Tacoma Monday is drawing new scrutiny of passenger rail funding and oversight. Communities have been voicing concerns about the rerouting of the Cascades line for years, and Congressional efforts to make train travel safer haven’t materialized yet. Geoff Norcross is joined by OPB political reporters Jeff Mapes and Lauren Dake, and Seattle Times transportation reporter Mike Lindblom. We’ll also discuss the $1.5 trillion tax bill, and how it will be felt in Oregon.

Vera Katz passed away this week at age 84. She served three terms as Portland mayor, which has become a rare accomplishment.Every mayor since has only served one term. She was also the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House in the Oregon Legislature.We look back on Katz’s legacy in both roles.We also dive into Columbia Sportswear’s role in the Portland homelessness debate.Host Julie Sabatier talks with OPB news director Anna Griffin and senior political reporter Jeff Mapes, and Dirk VanderHart of the Portland Mercury.

President Trump ordered the shrinking of two national monuments in Utah this week. Attention immediately shifted to the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, which Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke says should also be smaller. We talk through the politics of these moves, and get into Oregon Gov. Kate Brown's actions on the thorny issues of the state budget and PERS. Short answer: task forces!

Oregon Secretary of State Dennis Richardson has just released an audit that shows the Oregon Health Authority misspent millions in taxpayer dollars. OHA oversees medical coverage for more than a quarter of all Oregonians and, according to the audit, the agency has failed to enact rigorous financial controls and properly determine who is eligible for coverage. But the audit also says Oregon isn’t alone in struggling to run the complex program – and supporters say it has done an heroic job of bringing coverage to hundreds of thousands of low-income Oregonians.OPB political reporters Lauren Dake and Jeff Mapes join OPB news editor Anna Griffin to discuss the ups and downs of one of the biggest agencies in state government – and the impact the audit will have on the governor’s race and the health-care tax vote that will go before Oregonians in January.

We’re bringing you a conversation with an Oregon political figure that you might have missed when it originally aired. Secretary of State Dennis Richardson opened up to OPB host Kate Davidson as part of her “backstory” series, where she explores the pivotal experiences that shape the views of people in the public eye.

Oregon State Senator Jeff Kruse faces explosive new allegations of sexual misconduct. Former Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber has agreed to pay a $1,000 fine for ethics violations surrounding his resignation from office nearly three years ago. And Portland City Commissioner Chloe Eudaly is engaged in an unusual Facebook feud with the local news media.OPB political reporters Jeff Mapes and Lauren Dake, OPB news editor Anna Griffin, and Laura Gunderson, editorial page editor for the Oregonian/OregonLive discuss these three very different stories of Oregon politicians in the news this week