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After releasing a list of eight possible line-item vetoes totaling $16 million on April 8, Gov. Tina Kotek announced April 17 that she would allow all of the expenditures to move forward after all.
Seven of the expenditures relate to Kotek’s priority housing bill, Senate Bill 1570, and will pay for various housing-related infrastructure projects around the state. The eighth, and only one in Portland, is $2 million in seed money for an athletic shoe manufacturing project in Old Town, and was part of the omnibus spending package in Senate Bill 5701.
Kotek, whose administration recently suffered the loss of three stop staffers over what sources say was conflict between them and first lady Aimee Kotek Wilson, is not in a position to alienate supporters right now. The governor explained her decision to greenlight all the expenditures by saying she’d received sufficient explanations after issuing the notice of potential vetoes.
“I received adequate information to have confidence in signing Senate Bill 1530 and Senate Bill 5701 in full,” Kotek said. “Additionally, I am sharing several signing letters with legislators and the public that raise specific concerns and affirm my values as we move forward on implementation.”