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MICHAEL DUNNE: I'm Michael Dunne. If you were born in the year that Oregon last had a Republican governor, you'd be 38 years old today. Ronald Reagan was president. The internet was just a dream, and Bon Jovi was the nation's biggest pop star. Well, a former representative and current senator in the Oregon legislature is trying to change that near four-decade dominance of Democrats in the governor's mansion. Today, on the show, you'll hear from Christine Drazan and hear how she believes her message and vision will make her victorious this time over Governor Tina Kotek. Then in the second part of the show, we'll get you caught up on regional events and happenings in our community as we head towards Thanksgiving that's next on Oregon on the Record. Senator Christine Drazan, thank you so much for coming in person. Really appreciate it.
CHRISTINE DRAZAN: I'm so excited to be in the studio.
MICHAEL DUNNE: Well, gosh, you know, you made the big announcement late last month about running for governor. Why did you decide to run?
CHRISTINE DRAZAN: Oregon is in a tough spot, and Oregon needs new leadership, and I believe in the future of this state. I believe in the people of this state, and we need to have a conversation as fellow Oregonians about what kind of a future we want, for our families, for our businesses, for our communities, for the people living on our streets, and that's what our elections are about. Our elections are about a vision for the future, and I believe that Oregonians deserve better, and that I am ready to be accountable to them to deliver that.
MICHAEL DUNNE: Okay, you have a lot of experience in the legislature. If you were to become the executive, how do you think that would work in terms of, you know, building bipartisanship, that sort of a thing.
CHRISTINE DRAZAN: What a great opportunity it represents for Oregonians to have a governor that will hold politicians accountable, and also will be collaborative when we have shared goals. And that's the kind of governor that I will be. I will stand up for Oregonians themselves, and it's time for us to hold politicians in Salem accountable. It's interesting. I heard an interview yesterday with Congress. Congresswoman Maxine Dexter was having a sidebar conversation, and she was admitting that Democrats have been in charge in Oregon for too long. And the reason that she put it that way was because at a certain point you're just entitled, and you're not actually doing your best work anymore. You're not actually serving the people. And that's really the issue that we have right now, is we have had leadership for far too long that has not been held to account for results, for results for the people of this state, with the amount of money we spend on our schools, we should have extraordinary test scores. We should have students in Oregon that are leading the nation for the amount of money that we're spending on the homeless crisis on our streets. We should see those numbers go down. And instead, in Portland, they saw a 60-67% increase in the number of homeless on Portland streets. That is unacceptable. We have got to say we expect more from our leaders. We elected them to get a job done, and they need to get that job done. And you know, there's no perfect. I'm not saying that somebody should deliver perfect, but I am saying Oregonian says are better than what they're getting.
MICHAEL DUNNE: You've done this before. You've run for governor before, and it was a close race. How do you think things might be a little different this time?
CHRISTINE DRAZAN: Absolutely, Oregon is Oregon is not any better, and I think that that's an important thing to recognize when we go into this election cycle, when, when Tina Kotek ran, she said, I am going to deliver housing, and I'm going to deliver clean streets, and I'm going to do all of these things, and she hasn't done any of them. By any metric that you look at, Oregon is in a worse spot today than they were when she first got elected into office. And the other thing that's really quite different in this cycle, is that I am not running against a third-party candidate like I was last time. And certainly, the presence of a third-party candidate in the last race really did harm my chances at serving as Oregon's governor, and this time, there's the opportunity to hold the governor accountable and to be able to share my vision with Oregonians and compete for that opportunity to serve.
MICHAEL DUNNE: It's often been described that there's sort of two Oregon's. There's urban Oregon, the I-Five corridor, and there's rural Oregon. If you got to the top slot, how do you think you could sort of help bridge that divide, if you will?
CHRISTINE DRAZAN: Yeah, I was born in Klamath Falls, and I graduated high school in Eagle Point, and that is important for me personally, because it really did shape who I am. It shaped how I look at the world. I work really hard, and I don't and I don't assume that things are going to be easy. I think people in the rural parts of our state rely heavily on community and family, and they don't take things for granted because they are more remote. And we certainly have frontier portions of this state that are more closely connected to Idaho than they are Oregon, and so for that part of this state, I think it's very important to say, we respect you. We respect your way of life, and to give them the kind of economic opportunities and not deprive them of economic opportunities. I think that's where the rural divide, the rural urban divide exists, is an economic opportunity. But as an adult, I have been living my adult life from the time I headed off to college in the metro area. I currently live in Clackamas County, that's where we raised our kids. And, you know, I spend a lot of time in Portland, and so I have had the opportunity to have the, you know, formative parts of my years and the rural parts of the state and the and my adult years, and where we've chosen to raise our kids has been, has been very urban, and so as you know, as an Oregonian, I've lived both of those experiences, and I respect both. And I don't want to turn the rural parts of our state into Portland, and I certainly don't want to turn Portland into the rural parts of our state.
MICHAEL DUNNE: Okay, speaking of Portland, obviously, the largest city in our state, has been in the news a lot lately, and certainly with the idea of the potential for National Guard troops to be mobilized. I wanted to get your reading. If you were Governor right now, how might you handle that? How might you have handled that situation?
CHRISTINE DRAZAN: Yeah, if I was governor, there would not be any conversation about the possibility of needing to have any federal engagement at all, because we would govern ourselves well and for the people that live in the neighborhood around that facility, they have been set aside and ignored by political leadership in Portland, and they sued the city. They didn't get very far with their lawsuit, but that was an expression of their own frustration of just feeling like the laws were not being enforced uniformly across that city, and because they happened to live somewhere that was adjacent to a very, you know, highly charged political issue that the police wouldn't engage in the same way. And I think that that's not fair to the members of the folks that live in those communities. I think no matter where you live across the state, and in particular in Portland, that the laws ought to be applied fairly and uniformly, regardless of the other political issues at play, and that was not what was happening there. And so, I was encouraging the mayor, I was encouraging the chief of police to do their job on those streets and make sure that the community members could, you know, drive their cars and go to their apartments and they're in their places there, and that the businesses could operate and people could come and go freely. If it's a protest, that's fine. You know, absolutely support first amendment rights, but if it's an encampment, and people are choosing to prevent people from accessing their own neighborhoods, that should not be allowed to continue.
MICHAEL DUNNE: If you win, you'd be bucking a trend. It's been a while since a Republican won the governor's office in Oregon. I'm wondering, as you look out, do you think the electorate has changed a bit that might make it more favorable for someone of your party to win the governor's office?
CHRISTINE DRAZAN: You know, I'm an Oregonian first, and I will always come to Oregonians as a fellow Oregonian first, and I would be honored to have the privilege and the opportunity to serve as their governor and be accountable to them. And I understand that we're divided right now. Party politics are hard for all of us, but I think that Oregonians are also a little exhausted by that, a little tired of having to, you know, check your party affiliation at the door to determine whether or not you're going to be friends. I just said it is not, it's not the Oregon way, and so I, over the course of this campaign, look forward to, you know, having conversations in. Coffee shops and neighborhood meetings and, you know, in parks and businesses across our state, to be able to have conversations with Oregonians directly about what they want for the future of the state, of their state, and let them get to know me as a leader and share my vision for the future of our state and ask for their support.
MICHAEL DUNNE: Okay, transportation, specifically, the transportation funding that caused, or was a big reason for the special session. Just wanted to get your read on how that all transpired, both the need for the special session and what came out of it?
CHRISTINE DRAZAN: Yeah, this is another example of failed leadership on the part of Tina Kotek. Unfortunately, she went into this long session saying that she didn't that she was not going to do business as usual, but when it came to the transportation taxes, she was very clear that she had no use for Republicans in those negotiations, and they were going to get this done on the Democrat side of the aisle. It turned out that her fellow Democrats weren't bought into a $15 billion transportation tax, which was the original proposal. I'm incredibly grateful for that. I think that's a common-sense response to the times we're living in. Oregonians can't afford that. In the end, she didn't get her transportation tax across the finish line, and called us all back into that for the special session. As everybody knows now, the issue with all of this that I think Oregonians should, should, should hear loud and clear, is that after that tax was passed, she declined to sign the bill. It's her signature tax. It was her proposal. The entire thing is her proposal. It did pass, but rather than letting Oregonians have the opportunity to gather signatures, to send it to voters, to have the final word, she dug her feet to almost the last day of her legal authority to sign that bill. And while it was an emergency and we all spent our Labor Day in Salem to get that passed, she waited until the last possible minute, nearly the last possible minute, to sign it, in an effort to prevent Oregonians from having the last say. That is not leadership. If she believed in the tax, if she thought that was the right thing to do, she should have allowed that process to move forward in a timely fashion, like every other bill she signs, and give Oregonians the opportunity to side for themselves, make your case, get out in public and make your case and convince Oregonians that paying more at The pump, paying more in their weekly paychecks in the in the form of the payroll tax, paying more when they go to register their car, if she believes that that is essential, go and make your case. But do not disenfranchise Oregonians. Do not prevent them from having access to their constitutional rights to refer that tax measure to the voters.
MICHAEL DUNNE: I want to be cognizant of your time. I know how busy you are. Last question is, if you win, what would be maybe the top two or three things you do once you're installed in office.
CHRISTINE DRAZAN: I absolutely am committed to making Oregon the number one place in the nation to raise a family, start a business, grow a business, learn a trade, and live your life. This state is an extraordinary, bountiful, beautiful place to live, and people are leaving instead. We should be the kind of state that everybody wants to find their way to, and we can be that again. I will reverse Tina's executive orders that have driven costs across sectors. I will replace agency heads that are not effective at their jobs and are not efficiently serving their core mission, and I will work with the legislature to pass a balanced budget that does not raise taxes on Oregonians. We can and must expect better from our leaders. We can and must fix the homeless crisis on our streets and get people the help that they need and get our parks and neighborhoods back. We need more cops and fewer needles, and I feel that way, really strongly, especially as we walk through the streets of some of our major cities, and I believe that we can do that together.
MICHAEL DUNNE: Senator Christine Drazan, thank you again for coming in and talking with us.
CHRISTINE DRAZAN: Thanks so much for having me.
MICHAEL DUNNE: Let's now talk with our arts and culture reporter about what's going on for the remainder of November. Kendra Schertell, our arts and culture reporter here at KLCC, thanks for coming into the studio and chatting.
KENDRA SCHERTELL: Thanks for having me.
MICHAEL DUNNE: Yeah, obviously the weather's turning, the leaves are falling. It's definitely winter, and of course, that means a lot of changes, but a lot of great events are coming up. And I think that going into November, December, there's a lot going on in the community. So we're just going to let you kind of run here a little bit, and just, why don't you, why don't you highlight, you know, things you're seeing in our community, which, again, isn't just Eugene. It's from the coast to Central Oregon and Bend you know, talk about some of the cool things that are happening. Let's start November.
KENDRA SCHERTELL: Let's start broadly at Willamette Valley. There's a wine country Thanksgiving, and basically all the vineyards have some sort of Thanksgiving special going on, Thanksgiving celebration. So, you can check out Willamette wines.com for the full calendar, and, yeah, just go to a vineyard and they'll have a pre- or post-Thanksgiving special tasting, seasonal food pairings, live music, and all that jazz.
MICHAEL DUNNE: And I think that what's great about that is talking about it, especially with relatives who might be coming in from out of state or something like that for the holidays. What a great sort of way to introduce them. Because I'm sure a lot of people, maybe they don't think about our region as being, you know, wine country, compared to, like California, other places. It is because it's fabulous and, I would argue, it's also probably even prettier than other places. And so that would be a great place to bring out of town guests. What else in November?
KENDRA SCHERTELL: So, we're going to Lincoln City Cultural Center for the tree lighting. That's Friday, November 28 and they have a little make and take ornament workshop, caroling, complimentary cookies and hot chocolate. So that sounds like, yeah, Santa will be there too.
MICHAEL DUNNE: There you go. He's awfully busy. You know, people may not realize it, but even with the inclement weather, you know, now's the time, there's great king tides going on. So, it's just wonderful to look out on the coast. And something like this at Lincoln City would be magical.
KENDRA SCHERTELL: And they also have their winter art festival going on at the same time, okay, Friday, 28th and Saturday, 29th so you can also do that. And they're just arts and crafts, live music.
MICHAEL DUNNE: Good stuff. Holiday Lights are always fun. And there's, there's a bunch, aren't there, right?
KENDRA SCHERTELL: That's a thing to do too, like just driving around looking at Holiday Lights. Or you can go to the holiday lights at shore acres State Park, which is in Coos Bay, yeah. And they have their botanical garden, and they dress it up all nice with all the lights. So that sounds really, really nice. I’ve never been but I've seen images from it, and it just looks amazing, so beautiful. I want to go, yeah, it seems like it's worth the trip. Yeah, Coos Bay. A lot of other stuff happened in there, yeah, so the Holiday Market at Coos Bay History Museum. So, you can join local artisans, crafts, people, food vendors, and you can do all your annual shopping. That's Friday, November 28 Saturday 29th and that's at the Coos History Museum.
MICHAEL DUNNE: Yeah, that's great. That's great. A lot of stuff is going on the coast, and of course, right here in the Willamette Valley, there's an awful lot going on as well.
KENDRA SCHERTELL: Yes, Corvallis Holiday Tree Lighting. So that's Sunday, November 29 and it's just joined the community for a live music festival treat. You know, all this the same stuff in Corvallis?
MICHAEL DUNNE: Yeah, of course, both my kids went to OSU. Corvallis is such a great town, and they do a terrific job, and they have some great restaurants.
KENDRA SCHERTELL: They do absolutely, absolutely but also happening in Corvallis is the Majestic Theater. They're putting on a Shakespearean holiday parody. So that sounds like a lot of fun. That's November 28 29th and the 30th, and they're doing A Christmas Story in Shakespeare style. So that'll be interesting.
MICHAEL DUNNE: What about like, we've got something coming up in Eugene as well that's sort of well-known throughout the community?
KENDRA SCHERTELL: Yeah, the festival of trees in Eugene. So that's at the graduate and I know you've said you've been there.
MICHAEL DUNNE: Yeah, it's great. They have all these amazing displays, these holiday displays. It's not just trees, it's a whole bunch of other things. And for years it was at Valley River, but they moved it to the Graduate, which I think is great. Valley River is a wonderful place. But obviously, with the Graduate, a lot of people who come downtown can stop by.
KENDRA SCHERTELL: Yeah. And that's Wednesday, November 26, the 28th, 29th and the 30th.
MICHAEL DUNNE: Yeah, and then, of course, the Holiday Market in Eugene at the lane Event Center is well known.
KENDRA SCHERTELL: Oh, yeah, so you can do that. That's starting next weekend. So that's November 22 all the way through December 24 Yeah, and that's where you can do your regular holiday shopping.
MICHAEL DUNNE: Oh boy, yeah, exactly. If there's, like, if you don't know what to get someone, it's just a great place to just, it just sparks ideas.
KENDRA SCHERTELL: It's terrific. I have so much stuff from there that I know exactly. But if that's too mainstream for you, there's also the market for the strange in Eugene coming up, November 29 it kind of sounds a little interesting. The market for the strange. So, if you look at the pictures, it's all just kind of creepy, eerie stuff for your goth.
MICHAEL DUNNE: Okay, almost like a Nightmare Before Christmas. Type, okay, cool. I know Cottage Grove has something this year too, or something. Let's not forget about Cottage Grove down south.
KENDRA SCHERTELL: Yeah, they have a walk in a winter wonderland in Cottage Grove, which is at the Cottage Grove speedway. And that's November 26 Seventh through December 31 you got that open for a while, and you can get hot chocolate and look at their lights. It sounds really nice. Yeah. And then for the outdoors obviously, we're getting close to ski season, and so we've got some of the ski resorts who are hopefully going to open up pretty soon. Yeah, hopefully they're predicting November 28 so it's coming out pretty soon. Hopefully that's true. Do you enjoy skiing?
MICHAEL DUNNE: I feel like I do, but have to say, after several of my accidents, my wife is okay, maybe skiing is not in your future, so we'll see. But no, I mean, obviously, especially when it's a good winter, obviously, Bachelor, Hoodoo are wonderful. And you know, gosh darn it, our little Willamette Pass is a very nice place as well. I mean, you know, there's obviously skiing and snowboarding, but there's some, like, interesting things you can do too.
KENDRA SCHERTELL: There's sled dog rides, which I didn't know you could do here, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a hearty bunch. But yeah, they certainly do things like that. And of course, there's, you know, like you said, snowshoeing or just even, even if you just go up to the passes, sometimes people are just out there, just going down the hills with their sleds and whatnot, which is great. Tubing has become more popular, I think. And so, there's, like, actual dedicated tubing places, indeed, Indeed, indeed, that's pretty fun.
MICHAEL DUNNE: But then we're also, in addition to, you know, November, December, and what you might consider sort of the general holiday season. There's the Native American Heritage Month. Talk a little bit about that.
KENDRA SCHERTELL: So, that's going on all this month, and there's a bunch of different things going on. One that's coming up is the 42nd restoration celebration and pow wow, which is at Spirit mountain casino, and that's celebrating the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. So yeah, they're having their celebration November 21 and the 22nd is their powwow, and all are welcome to join.
MICHAEL DUNNE: Oh, that sounds like that would be a really neat experience.
KENDRA SCHERTELL: I love going to powwows. So, there's also one in Eugene, not a powwow, but a celebration of native Arts and Cultures. So, you can go to the farmers market pavilion, and it's open through December 14 on varying days when the Farmers Market is open, basically, and you can check out some art and stuff.
MICHAEL DUNNE: Kendra Schertell, our arts and culture reporter, thank you so much for coming in…
KENDRA SCHERTELL: And you can find all of this and more on the KLCC Shortcut.
MICHAEL DUNNE: Of course, of course. Thanks again. That's the show for today. All episodes of Oregon On The Record are available as a podcast at KLCC.org. Tomorrow, on the show, you'll hear from a ProPublica reporter on how Ice and Fox News have been exploiting protests in Portland. And we'll bring back Kendra Schertell to talk about holiday events and happenings for the remainder of the year. I'm Michael Dunne, host of Oregon On The Record, thanks for listening.
