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Tag: Governor Tina Kotek

  • Governor Kotek Extends Oregon Homelessness Emergency – KXL

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    SALEM, OR – Gov. Tina Kotek on Tuesday extended Oregon’s state of emergency on unsheltered homelessness, sharpening the state’s focus on mental health and addiction as ongoing threats to public health, safety and economic stability.

    The emergency, first declared in January 2023, will now remain in effect through Jan. 10, 2027, unless modified or terminated earlier. Kotek said the extension reflects both progress made and the continued urgency of addressing homelessness alongside behavioral health needs.

    “We have helped thousands of people move from the streets into shelter, from shelter into homes, and prevented thousands more from experiencing homelessness in the first place,” Kotek said in a statement. “But we must maintain the momentum and strengthen our focus on the intersection of homelessness, mental health, and addiction.”

    Kotek said her administration’s work to expand treatment beds and strengthen the behavioral health workforce will support the renewed effort. “Working together, we can continue to reduce rates of unsheltered homelessness,” she said.

    Progress since 2023

    The governor initially declared a homelessness emergency on January 10, 2023, in regions that saw increases of 50% or more in unsheltered homelessness between 2017 and 2022. The order has been extended several times, most recently through Executive Order 25-01 issued January 7, 2025.

    According to the Governor Kotek’s office, from January 2023 through September 2025, emergency actions resulted in 6,286 new and maintained shelter beds statewide. During that period, 5,539 Oregonians experiencing unsheltered homelessness were rehoused, and nearly 26,000 households received assistance to prevent homelessness.

    State officials say those gains, while significant, have not resolved the underlying challenges faced by many people living without shelter. A large share of people experiencing chronic homelessness also live with serious mental illness, substance use disorders, traumatic brain injuries or other behavioral health conditions. These co-occurring issues often lead to repeated interactions with emergency rooms, psychiatric facilities, jails and crisis systems.

    “Through daily work serving people experiencing homelessness, we see every day how closely homelessness is tied to untreated mental health and addiction,” said Scott Kerman, former executive director of Blanchet House. “Housing saves lives, and stability and success occur when people also have access to treatment, care, and ongoing support.”

    New goals and investments

    Under the extended order, the state of emergency continues to apply to the Metro region continuums of care, Central Oregon, Lane County, Jackson County, Marion and Polk counties, Linn County, Clatsop County and Malheur County.

    The Oregon Department of Emergency Management will continue coordinating the emergency response, while Oregon Housing and Community Services and the Oregon Health Authority will focus on longer-term solutions.

    New goals outlined in the order include rehousing an additional 1,400 households, preventing homelessness for more than 8,000 households and investing $20 million during the 2025–27 biennium to support intensive permanent supportive housing. The order also calls for expanded behavioral health capacity and improved coordination between housing and health care systems.

    In addition, Kotek’s action releases $19 million in previously allocated funds to expand community capacity for people connected with the justice system who are unable to aid and assist in their own defense. Those funds will support 36 transitional housing beds in Clackamas County and 72 additional beds, including secure and nonresidential treatment facilities.

    Andrea Bell, executive director of Oregon Housing and Community Services, said the state remains committed to long-term solutions. “Every Oregonian deserves to live a dignified life—one where they have the freedom and security of knowing they can afford to have a place to call home,” Bell said. “Through local and state partnerships, we remain vigorously committed to materially making everyday life better.”

    The emergency order takes effect immediately. Kotek said she will reassess it every two months to ensure it reflects current conditions and progress.

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    Tim Lantz

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  • Drazan Announces Another Run At Governor – KXL

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    Sen. Christine Drazan (R-Canby) announces her run for Governor; Oct. 27, 2025.

    Portland, Ore. – Fresh off her appointment to the State Senate last week, Former Oregon House Republican leader Christine Drazan says she’s again running for Governor. 

    Drazan made the announcement Monday in a northwest Portland shipyard warehouse, where she entered under a massive American flag. “With confidence in the boundless future of our state,” she told workers at Gunderson Marine, “The character of our people and our ability to build and achieve absolutely anything we set out to accomplish together, I announce my candidacy for Governor for the great state of Oregon.”

    She promises to improve student test scores, cut taxes and streamline construction permits, “Get our parks and sidewalks back, help people get sober and stay clean, more cops and fewer needles in our neighborhoods.” She added, “We are going to make Oregon number one for the best place in the nation to raise a family, start your business, grow your business and get a world class education.”

    In 2022, she lost to Governor Tina Kotek, whom Drazan addressed indirectly Monday, “Our Governor may be in charge, but her state is out of control.” Kotek has not yet filed for re-election. Her deadline is March third. Non-incumbent candidates have until March tenth. 

    “We will face uncertain seas, there is no doubt about that,” Drazan said Monday, “But we will work through the storm; we have important good work to do.”

    So far, four other Republican candidates have already filed to run in the May Primary: Danielle Bethell, Kyle Duyck, Patrick Kopke-Hales and Robert Neuman. But Drazan is, by far, the most recognizable of the group. 

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    Heather Roberts

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  • Governor Tina Kotek Leading Oregon Delegation On Trade Mission To South Korea And Japan – KXL

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    Tina Kotek, center, was accompanied by her wife Aimee Wilson, right, as Kotek was sworn in as Oregon governor at the state Capitol building in Salem, Ore., on Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. (Dave Killen/The Oregonian via AP, Pool)

    SALEM, Ore. – Governor Tina Kotek is leading an Oregon delegation to South Korea and Japan this week to promote the state’s economic strengths, deepen cultural ties and expand trade, investment and tourism opportunities.

    The weeklong mission, which runs from Oct. 23–30, includes First Lady Aimee Kotek Wilson and representatives from Business Oregon, the Port of Portland, the Oregon Department of Agriculture, Travel Oregon, economic development groups and about a dozen Oregon small businesses pursuing export opportunities in agriculture and advanced technology.

    The governor said she will continue to monitor state business while abroad.

    Japan and South Korea consistently rank among Oregon’s top five agricultural trade partners, purchasing more than $758 million in goods combined, according to the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

    Governor Kotek’s schedule includes meetings with Korean Air and Delta Air Lines to advocate for the return of nonstop passenger flights between Portland and Asia, a top priority for state tourism and business leaders.

    The delegation will also host “Friends of Oregon” receptions in Seoul and Tokyo to celebrate long-standing cultural and economic relationships.

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    Grant McHill

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  • Gov. And Other Leaders React To President’s Authorization Of Troops To Portland – KXL

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    Gov. Tina Kotek, and other city & state leaders, speak to reporters 09/27/2025. Photo: Heather Roberts

    Portland, Ore. – Oregon’s Governor says she will not authorize the use of her National Guard in Portland, despite a request from the Trump Administration. She says she had to initiate a conversation with the President after he posted to social media that he would send troops to the state’s largest city.

    Governor Tina Kotek says she talked to President Trump Saturday morning, telling him she disagrees with his assertion the city is “war ravaged” and federal intervention is needed. “And I also said to him, ‘we have to be careful not to respond to outdated media coverage or misinformation that’s out there’.” Some have speculated his administration is using footage from 2020 to justify the deployment of troops. Mayor Keith Wilson said, “I’ve been so deeply disappointed to see the footage from a half decade ago recycled and then recycled again.” Wilson, Kotek and other elected and civic leaders spoke to reporters Saturday afternoon from Tom McCall Waterfront Park. “This is not a military target,” Wilson said, “If President Trump came to Portland today, what he would find is people riding their bikes, playing sports, enjoying the sunshine, buying groceries or produce from a farmers market.”

    Wilson also noted no one from the Trump Administration reached out to his office before or after authorizing troops, “President Trump has directed ‘all necessary troops’ to Portland, Oregon. The number of ‘necessary troops’ is zero.”

    Officials clarified statements made Friday night about an increased federal presence in the city, saying armored vehicles had been seen near the South Waterfront ICE facility, and more federal law enforcement were in town. However, no military troops had actually yet been deployed, despite the President’s authorization.

    Other politicians joined the call for the President to back down from his threat. Senate President Rob Wagner (D-Lake Oswego) issued a statement saying in part, “President Trump’s threat to deploy the military in Portland is an attempt to incite people and distract from the real challenges that face this nation.” I went on to call on Oregonians to remain peaceful, “In the face of this threat of unwanted and unneeded federal aggression.”

    City Councilor Candace Avalos said in a statement, “The Trump administration is deeply unpopular with Americans and they’re desperate to turn our city into propaganda that they can use to justify their authoritarian agenda.” President & CEO of the Urban League of Portland Nkenge Harmon added, “Portland is not a war zone. It is our home. It is safe, united, beautiful, and resilient. I know our community will rise to the occasion and not fall for this political theater.”

    U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum sent a letter to the President, along with the Secretaries of Homeland Security and Defense saying, “By bypassing consultation with Congress, the administration has further eroded public trust and is risking inflaming tensions on the ground. Oregonians deserve transparency and assurance that the use of military force—of which you have authorized ‘full force’—within our state is consistent with constitutional principles and public safety, not political gamesmanship.” U.S. Rep Andrea Salinas noted, “Federal courts already ruled it was illegal when Trump sent troops to California. It was illegal then, and it still is now.”

    Oregon’s House Republican Leader Rep. Christine Drazan (R-Canby) issued the following statement:

    The ICE facility in Portland has been subject to months of dangerously chaotic protests that have put residents and federal agents in harm’s way. The governor’s assertion that there is no national security threat and the mayor’s assertion that everything is fine is tone-deaf. It’s shameful that state and local leaders have allowed violent mobs and domestic terrorists to assault federal law enforcement, destroy property, and interfere with those seeking immigration services from obtaining assistance and case management. We need order, we need to restore safety, and Oregon’s local leaders have failed to provide it.

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    Heather Roberts

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  • Oregon Lawmakers In Special Session on Transportation Funding – KXL

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    FILE – Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek speaks at the State Library of Oregon in Salem on Jan. 31, 2023. An internal investigation by the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission, obtained by The Associated Press via a public records request Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023, concluded that Executive Director Steve Marks and other five agency officials had diverted sought-after bourbons, including Pappy Van Winkle’s 23-year-old whiskey, for their personal use. Gov. Kotek on Wednesday asked the agency’s board of commissioners to remove Marks and the other implicated officials, alleging they “abused their position for personal gain.” (AP Photo/Claire Rush, File)

    SALEM, Ore. — Oregon lawmakers will meet in a special session starting this morning, trying to pass transportation funding for road projects and prevent hundreds of layoffs.

     Governor Tina Kotek called the Special Session after lawmakers failed to pass transportation funding during the regular session ending in June.  “We need to meet the basic needs of our transportation system,” said Kotek.

     She’s proposing tax and fee increases to fill ODOT’s budget gap and prevent as many as 500 layoffs. Democrats say the $791 million this would raise over the next two years would handle immediate needs, but it’s not a long-term solution. Republicans are against it, saying it relies too much on tax and fee increases. House Republican leader Christine Drazan, tells the Lars Larson Show her party’s ready to walk out to stop it. “Every single tool has to be available to fight this.”

    To raise more than $700 million for roads and prevent hundreds of ODOT layoffs, lawmakers are looking at a 6 cents per gallon gas tax increase, doubling vehicle registration fees, a $139 increase in title fees, and doubling the payroll tax for public transit.  Drazan says every option, including a walkout is:   “On the table. And so I wanna be really clear about that. We are opposing this.”

    The State Senate gavels in at 9 A.M., with the House following at 11 A.M..

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    Annette Newell

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  • Governor Kotek Declares First Drought Emergency of Year – KXL

    Governor Kotek Declares First Drought Emergency of Year – KXL

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    For the first time this year, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek’s declared a drought emergency.  This one affects Jefferson County.

    The governor says the effects of a multi-year drought have yet to improve throughout the Deschutes River Basin, and rainfall has been below average in Jefferson County since 2018.

    Washington State declared parts of its region in drought.  In mid June, Washington declared drought and has a drought definition written into the state statute.

    This week, Karin Bombacco with the Washington State Climatologist’s office, talked about the drought across the region.

    “This year, they were really looking at the lack of snow throughout Washington,  and whether there are expected to be hardships due to that lack of water…Jefferson County in Oregon requested a declaration in April. It works a little bit different in Oregon where counties request to the state,” she said.

    The forecast for water supply is not expected to improve. Droughts have significant impacts, on farming, ranching, recreation, tourism, natural resources, drinking water, fish, and wildlife.

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    Annette Newell

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