During her nearly ten-year tenure in the state legislature, Kotek played a key role in expanding access to abortion, raising Oregon’s minimum wage, investing $50 million in clean energy and passing legislation guaranteeing sick leave for all Oregon workers.
While Kottke’s experience could have eased her gubernatorial run, the division and pain over the pandemic policies enacted by Brown lingered, the housing crisis intensified and George Floyd’s demise in tomorrow’s The fallout from fierce racial justice protests in Portland following the murder of Neapolis intensified in states where President Biden won by nearly 16 percentage points in 2020.
Republicans in Oregon have attacked Democrats, claiming they have done nothing about crime, while Kottek has worked to distance himself from Democrats who want to defund police. Meanwhile, Drazan has worked to improve Oregon’s public school system, declaring a state of emergency related to homelessness, repealing the 2020 drug decriminalization law, while increasing funding for police and prosecutors.
Although the game call didn’t arrive until Thursday night, Kotek declared the win on Wednesday and said in a press release that she was looking forward to working on Oregon’s problems.
On Thursday, she celebrated the victory again at a news conference in Portland, noting that she had spoken to Drazan and Johnson and told them that she would work to resolve the issues they had with the campaign.
In her remarks Thursday, Kotek said she is honored to have the opportunity to serve as Oregon’s next governor.
“I ask my fellow Oregonians, no matter who you vote for or even whether you vote, to believe in our state and our future,” she said. “Please get involved so we can help solve the problem together.”
Once she takes office, Kotek said she will “focus on three things first”: declaring a state of emergency for the state’s homeless crisis, expanding access to mental health and addiction treatment services, and working to “bridging our state differences.” “
Anne Branigin and Camilla DeChalus contributed reporting.