Murmurs: Drazan Seeks Comeback

DRAZAN SEEKS COMEBACK: Former state Rep. Christine Drazan (R-Canby) said Tuesday she will run this year to return to the Oregon House. (Drazan’s old seat in House District 39 was redistricted and is now District 51.) Drazan resigned from the House in 2022 to run for governor. She bested a large GOP field in the primary to challenge the Democratic nominee, former House Speaker Tina Kotek (D-Portland), and onetime state Sen. Betsy Johnson (D-Scappoose), who ran as an unaffiliated candidate. The final result: Kotek 47%, Drazan 43.5%, and Johnson 8.6%. Those totals, of course, made some people wonder whether absent Johnson’s unusual third-party candidacy, Drazan might have won. (On the other hand, Republican candidates in statewide races reliably attract a percentage of the vote in the low- to mid-40s but hit a hard ceiling above that level.) In her comeback bid in the May 21 primary, Drazan will face incumbent Rep. James Hieb (R-Canby), who won the appointment to replace Drazan when she resigned. “I’ve always said Oregon is worth fighting for,” Drazan said. “I still believe that and I still feel called to serve my community and state. That’s why I intend to file for state representative in the coming days.”

SKIP YOUR COURT DATE? THAT’LL NOW LAND YOU A MISDEMEANOR: The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office instituted a new policy last fall of tacking on additional misdemeanor charges for people accused of felonies who failed to appear at their court date. DA Mike Schmidt’s office acknowledged the new policy after WW obtained records showing the number of defendants charged with “failure to appear” has skyrocketed in recent months. It’s been used 100 times since prosecutors began employing it in earnest last September, after a pandemic pause. Reinstituting it is an effort to address a persistent problem facing Portland’s court system: People aren’t showing up, which slows the process and creates headaches for prosecutors trying to close cases. Multnomah County Circuit Court is one of the slowest courts in the state, and with strict restrictions on who can be held in jail, criminal defendants can rack up many charges before ultimately facing sentencing. Last year, shortly after his office instituted the policy, Schmidt told WW that the snail’s pace of the county’s courts was “frustrating” and blamed Oregon’s shortage of public defenders, who can prod their clients to make court appearances.

LEGISLATURE SPEEDS TO CONCLUSION: Lawmakers are rocketing toward a March 10 conclusion for the 35-day even-year session, having completed their two largest tasks: gutting Measure 110 and passing a housing package championed by Gov. Tina Kotek. Two other bills featured in WW are headed toward different fates. House Bill 4090, which would have removed state oversight of the development of new transmission and renewable energy facilities on federal land, is dead despite the strong support of NewSun Energy, a Bend developer, and several leading Democrats (“Spread a Little Sunshine,” WW, Feb. 21). House Bill 4045, which would lower the retirement age for police and firefighters and would increase retirement benefits for 911 operators, elected district attorneys, and workers at Oregon State Hospital, is sailing through the Capitol, despite Public Employee Retirement System’s large unfunded liability (Murmurs, Feb. 7). The bill’s popularity, coming only five years after wrenching PERS cuts scarred many lawmakers and outraged beneficiaries, illustrates how public opinion has shifted and, specifically, how difficult working conditions at the state’s mental hospital are. Although local governments, which will pay higher rates to cover the new costs, have opposed the bill, a lobbyist working on it says it’s a “fait accompli.”

LA MOTA OFFLOADS PINK BUILDING IN NORTH BEND: A bubblegum-pink building in North Bend went up for sale last week for $399,000. The listing describes the bright pink structure in the sleepy coastal town four hours south of Portland as a “gem” that’s a “standout in the market.” “With its strategic location and exceptional features,” the listing reads, “this listing presents an unparalleled canvas for commercial success.” The building, which WW wrote about last year (“Scorched Earth,” May 10, 2023), is owned by an LLC controlled by Aaron Mitchell, the co-founder of troubled cannabis chain La Mota. Mitchell and La Mota’s CEO, Rosa Cazares, painted the building its vibrant color and applied for a permit from North Bend to operate a sex shop there called “Jessica’s Adult Entertainment” after the city denied La Mota a dispensary permit in 2022. City staff told WW the move was a middle finger to North Bend Mayor Jessica Engelke, who was outspoken in not granting La Mota a permitting exception for the dispensary. Mitchell still owes $7,162 in property taxes on the building.

PASTRY CHEF SUES ANIMAL CONTROL FOR $800,000 AFTER DOG MAULING: Cheryl Wakerhauser, the Portland pastry chef who was brutally attacked by a pit bull while jogging on Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard, is now demanding $800,000 in compensation from Multnomah County Animal Services. The dog, “Bubbie,” was running free in the parking lot of a vacant office building and was a known nuisance in the neighborhood. A prior attack, on a poodle named Rocky, had been reported to animal control, but officials declined to impound Bubbie or cite his homeless owner, according to the legal complaint. Wakerhauser was bitten 35 times on her arms and legs, the complaint says, and has suffered permanent scarring. Amid headlines and nightly newscasts at the time, the county impounded the dog and then released him back to his owner’s mother—and later impounded him again. After significant backlash, the county has changed its policies to require dogs that bite humans to be quarantined for 10 days in an animal control facility. Bubbie was taken away from his owner for good last August, and Wakerhauser is now suing the county for negligence. The county “knew or should have known that the dog at issue in this case was a potentially dangerous and aggressive animal with a history of violent and unprovoked attacks,” the complaint says.