This session, Democrats in the state House are like sixth
graders in middle school: invisible and powerless. Few
Democratic proposals make it past House Speaker Lynn Snodgrass
or her handpicked committee chairs.
So you'd think Rep. Ryan Deckert would be elated. The
Beaverton Democrat's latest proposal not only has the
Snodgrass stamp of approval but is being helped along
by one of the most powerful special-interest groups
in the Capitol. Deckert isn't celebrating, though. He's
wondering if he's sold his soul to the devil.
Deckert's angst stems from House Bill 2806, which would
prohibit local governments from banning smoking in bars.
He sponsored the bill after a trip to San Francisco.
In California, it's been illegal to smoke inside public
buildings--even bars--since January 1998. Although the
ban has been hailed by public health organizations,
the sight of smokers huddled outside a Bay Area bar
triggered some unexpected empathy from Deckert. Until
then, he says, he supported the idea of smoking bans.
But now he thinks it would be better to let market forces
rule. He says there are already plenty of places in
Oregon where he can drink without being being exposed
to second-hand smoke. "Maybe it's a personal-freedom
thing," says Deckert, who doesn't smoke, "but I think
it's an example of political correctness going too far."
House Bill 2806, which he introduced in March, would
prohibit local jurisdictions in Oregon from banning
smoking in bars. It wouldn't affect Corvallis, which
instituted a ban last year, but it would prevent other
cities and counties from following the city's lead.
Deckert's sentiments echo those of the Oregon Restaurant
Association, one of the loudest voices in Salem. It
shelled out $379,215 during the last election season
and has five lobbyists prowling the halls. The ORA has
been lobbying hard for Deckert's bill on the premise
that smoking bans hurt bar and tavern owners.
The association predicts it has the votes to pass the
measure. That's bad news for Tom Novick, lobbyist for
the Oregon Health Leadership Against Tobacco. Novick
says it's odd that the ORA, which typically relies on
GOP legislators to push its bills, is being aided by
Deckert. "It is one of those pairings that raises eyebrows
and makes people wonder," says Novick, a former Democratic
lawmaker himself. "It's not something you would normally
see."
The alliance between Deckert and the ORA has also raised
the ire of fellow Democrats who perceive his proposal
as the bidding of not only the state restaurant lobby
but the tobacco industry as well.
"There are a lot of us not happy with him," says House
Democratic Leader Kitty Piercy.
Deckert, at 28 the youngest member in the Legislature,
says he is no water boy for the Oregon Restaurant Association.
He notes, for example, that he opposes its top priority:
a rollback of the minimum wage. "I've never been a good
vote for ORA," he says.
Deckert has introduced a slew of bills this session,
some that have been widely criticized, gutted and stalled.
But thanks to the ORA, HB 2806 is moving quickly through
the process. "They have a lot more power in this building
than I do," he says.
That power, however, gives him pause.
Last week, HB 2806 came up before the House Commerce
Committee. Until hours before the committee vote, opponents
believed that Republicans Bob Montgomery and Jerry Krummel
would join the Democrats on the panel and kill the bill.
Instead, both lawmakers voted for it, even though they
said they didn't support the bill. It's clear to Deckert
that those votes changed because of the influence of
the ORA.
"If Montgomery and Krummel don't think [the bill] is
a good idea, they shouldn't vote for it," he says. "That's
the part I'm uncomfortable with." So uncomfortable,
he says, that it's making him wonder if he should come
back to Salem next session.
Deckert is the only Democrat representing Washington
County in Salem, and he's the first of his party ever
elected in his district, which stretches from Southwest
Portland through Garden Home and Raleigh Hills to downtown
Beaverton.
Deckert sees himself as a lawmaker of ideas, and he
doesn't mind going against the grain for his mostly
white, conservative, middle-aged district.
Some of his proposals, like the smoking bill and a
plan to repeal city rules that require voter approval
on any annexation, are pro-business. But Deckert is
tough to pigeonhole. He also sponsored a bill aimed
at limiting the service fees that ticket sellers like
Ticketmaster and Fastixx can charge. And he voted against
the repeal of Eugene's toxic-right-to-know law.
His ideas stem from his personal experiences. He introduced
the service-fee bill after getting gouged buying tickets
to a Lucinda Williams concert earlier this year. His
proposal to regulate sweepstakes solicitations came
about after his girlfriend's grandfather fell victim
to an unscrupulous mail-order company.
While some folks say he's grabbing headlines, Deckert
says he simply likes a good debate. That's what attracted
him to the House in the first place. "I like the idea
that this is a marketplace for ideas, and you throw
them on the table and debate them."
What he's finding, however, is that it's the lobbies,
campaign contributors and party leaders who have the
most push, not the idealists. His ticket-sales bill
was gutted after powerful opposition from Ticketmaster,
which hired the savvy lobbyists from Conkling, Fiskum,
McCormick to kill it.
"If I were king for a day, I'd reform the way campaigns
are financed, and I'd get rid of the caucus system,"
he says.
Deckert has been pegged as an obvious successor to
state Sen. Eileen Qutub, who has talked about stepping
down after this session to run for secretary of state.
But he says he hasn't decided yet whether to run for
her seat, stay in the House or get out of the game altogether.
He's been discouraged by the brouhaha over the smoking
ban and the suggestion that he pushed the bill on behalf
of the ORA, which contributed $1,000 to his 1998 campaign.
"I'll never take a dime from them again," he says.
"If it will help put this to rest, I'll make that statement."
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Willamette Week | originally
published May 12, 1999
