While Kotek has earned endorsements from 7 Editorial Boards, Republican Christine Drazan has earned none.
[Portland, OR] – As Tina Kotek focuses on fixing the biggest issues facing Oregon families, editorial boards across the state are touting her specific plans to fix Oregon’s homelessness crisis, pointing to her strong record of leadership and sense of urgency to back it up. In contrast, Republican Christine Drazan, who is promising a vague “new direction” that would actually push Oregon to the far right, has earned none.
Read How Editorial Boards Across Oregon are Praising Tina Kotek’s Plans to Address Homelessness:
Oregonian: “Her talent for developing specific policy solutions is unrivaled, with her plan to address Oregon’s housing shortage and homelessness as a case study… The housing and homelessness plan on her campaign website shows her strategic approach to two of Oregon’s most urgent problems.”
Portland Mercury: “Unlike her opponents, Kotek has a smart plan—and an actual track record—to combat homelessness. A critical aspect of keeping people off the street is more low-income housing, and during her time in the legislature Kotek pushed for a bill that would finally allow duplexes and triplexes in areas previously zoned for single-family homes, helped pass the nation’s first rent control law, and created legislation designed to help Metro fund housing services that really work—including Project Turnkey, which converts motels into transitional housing.”
Willamette Week: “Under her leadership, Democrats passed family medical leave and historic increases in the minimum wage, expanded health care coverage and made Oregon the first state in the nation to scrap zoning for single-family homes, an impediment to building more housing.”
Bend Source Weekly: “Kotek is a hard-driving legislator. No one is arguing that. However, it is in this drive that we’ve actually seen progress in addressing the issue of homelessness, and in correcting the problems that led to so much inequality in the housing sector over the past few decades…. Our faith is on the one who’s prioritized what we believe is Oregon’s biggest challenge—homelessness and housing—and put her legislative career where her mouth is.”
The Skanner: “She had little patience for her opponents’ hand-wringing and delays around solutions to the homelessness crisis, preferring to expand proven programs like Project Turnkey, which converts motels into temporary housing with service providers on-site.”
Eugene Weekly: “She knows Oregon’s issues, from homelessness to wildfires, and has the plans — and the leadership skills — to address them.”
The Daily Astorian: “Clatsop County — in the heart of Johnson’s former Senate District 16 — has had among the highest per capita rates of homelessness in Oregon. Astoria and Seaside, in particular, have struggled to cope with pressures around homeless camping and problematic behavior … With polls indicating that Johnson could draw more Democrats from Kotek than Republicans from Drazan, her presence in the race could help Drazan — who opposes abortion rights — become the first Republican governor elected in Oregon in 40 years.”