Republican Leader Charges Governor with ‘Doubling Down on Status Quo’
Governor Kotek’s State-of-the-State speech this week cited continuing challenges in housing, behavioral health, public schools and fighting wildfires. She said there is far too much pain on Oregon’s streets and in schools and homes, but also signs of resilience and optimism.
Minority Republicans criticized Kotek’s speech as uninspiring and “doubling down on the status quo”.
Kotek’s speech comes a week before state lawmakers get to work. Senator Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, and Rep. Julie Fahey, D-Eugene, were re re-elected to lead their respective chambers in the 2025 regular session and all 90 legislators were sworn in.
Kotek, who is entering her third year in office, conceded tough challenges lie ahead while noting “fragile progress” on housing and homelessness. “We are making progress, despite entrenched challenges, but that progress is fragile and requires all of us to be persistent and not get distracted,” she said. “We are beginning to see a glimpse of a brighter horizon ahead. Let’s focus on that horizon – and be sure to keep our feet firmly planted on the road of hard work and partnership.”
Department of Housing and Urban data indicates there 22,875 homeless residents in Oregon as of January 2024, an increase of 13 percent from the previous year.
Frustration Over Mental Health and Addiction
The governor expressed frustration with the pace of addressing mental health and addiction treatment. “We didn’t get here overnight, and it’s complex. In my visits around the state and through many conversations with people doing the work, it’s clear there are things that are making a difference – we just need more of them in more places,” Kotek said. “I know the herculean efforts that community providers are making to meet the health care needs of Oregonians with serious mental illness.”
Kotek pointedly tied her proposed increase in K-12 school funding to demonstrable improvement in student proficiency in language arts, science and math. Instead of a blank check, she said school districts would be required to demonstrate increased accountability.
“The bottom line is this: When a district’s numbers show failure for their students, there will be help and attention — not voluntarily requested but required, direct assistance to make sure all resources are pointed toward better student outcomes,” she said.
And, Kotek urged lawmakers to set aside money from the state’s Rainy Day Fund to cover the increasing cost of fighting wildfires, which she referred to as “money for a Very, Very Bad Smoky Day.”
No Specifics on Transportation Budget Hole
Kotek was less specific about how to close a projected $354 million budget hole at the Department of Transportation, calling it one of the session’s top debates. She also pointed to the shortage of public defenders and troubled foster care for kids program as important issues to tackle.
Her speech closed with this admonition: “The choices we make as leaders will have a ripple effect on generations to come. We do not always agree on what those choices are, but I encourage each and every one of us to rise above the maze of politics – its false starts, circles and dead ends – and see the path forward.”
As Speaker, Fahey described her priorities as cutting costs on housing, health care and utilities; funding transportation; increasing legislative oversight of state agencies; and fending off overreach by the incoming Trump administration.
Republicans See Policy Failures
Senate Minority Leader Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles, said Kotek had failed to improve housing and homelessness as he promised Republicans lawmakers would come to Salem “to fight”.
“If you listen to just the words that were presented today, Tina Kotek paints a very flowery picture of Oregon, one full of hope and optimism and a bright vision for the future,” Bonham said. “But if you look at her 10 years as Speaker of the House and first two years as governor, what you’re faced with is abject failure.”
House Minority Leader Christine Drazan, R-Canby, accused Kotek of “doubling down on the status quo and the failed policies of the past.” She pointed to education policies that have added layers of regulations while hurting students and failing to help teachers.
Legislative Footnotes
Democrats hold three-fifth supermajorities in both the House and Senate that allows them to pass tax increases without Republican votes.
The 2025 regular legislative session is expected to extend into June. Lawmakers must approve a biennial budget that covers expenditures from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2027.
Kotek is in her first term as governor and would face re-election in November 2026. She has not indicated whether she will seek another term. Kotek defeated Drazan in the 2022 general election in a three-way race that also included Betsy Johnson running an independent. To run for governor, Drazan gave up her House seat, which she retook in the 2024 general election. She is on a glidepath to be the most prominent Republican officeholder in Oregon heading into the 2026 election cycle.
The state has a new chief economist, Carl Riccadonna, who was hired to make more accurate revenue projections, thus avoiding future income tax kicker refunds. Oregon income taxpayers will receive kicker refunds nearing $1.8 billion when they file tax returns next year because revenue collections have exceeded projections so far this biennium.
Oregon has a new set of statewide officers, all of them Democrats. Tobias Read, the former Treasurer, is now Secretary of State. Dan Rayfield, the former House Speaker, is attorney general. Elizabeth Steiner, formerly a state senator from Portland, has replaced Read as Treasurer.
