PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE:  This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

There’s that word again – “take-ways.”

No problem with it (notice that I like a hyphen in it), but headline writers and journalists love to use the word to convey overarching results of an election such as the one we just had – or, better put, “are still just having.”.

I will avoid postulating – proposing take-aways – for the national election, for there are enough prognosticators to go around without adding my words to the mix.

But I will propose some take-aways to glean from Oregon’s election, which is essentially over.  I do so because I always think it’s good to take an overall look at election results rather than just tabulate totals in individual races.

Implications are important in the aftermath of any election.  Here are mine.

VOTE-BY-MAIL WORKS

The process worked very well again in Oregon – and that is no doubt a result of the process having worked well here for 20 years.  It was designed initially to produce higher turnout and that, too, has worked. 

The turnout a record 2.3 million-plus Oregon voters when to the polls, or, it could be said, sat at a kitchen to fill out their ballot.  The total exceeded 2016 at about 80 per cent.  Here are two amplifications of vote-by-mail success.

As the Oregonian newspaper put, “unlike nationally, few Oregon races are undecided after election night.”

“Oregon’s well-oiled vote-by-mail system delivered decisive results in the vast majority of contests Tuesday night.  Oregon’s six contested seat in Congress, its three races for statewide state office, nearly all legislative races and key money measures — all were decided shortly after the balloting deadline, thanks to swift action by voters and election officials.”

DEMOCRATS REMAIN IN CHARGE NEARLY EVERYWHERE, THUS AGGRAVATING THE URAN-RURAL SCHISM

Again from the Oregonian newspaper:  “Oregon has tilted blue for some time.  But this year’s election results reinforced the state’s Democrat voters’ dominance.  The statewide votes for former Vice President Joe Biden to become president and incumbent Senator Jeff Merkley to serve another term were overwhelming, as were the votes to install the three Democrat candidates in statewide offices — incumbents Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum and Treasurer Tobias Read and newcomer Shemia Fagan as Secretary of State.”

And, with Democrats preserving super-majorities in both the House and the Senate, the Ds can raise taxes on their own, without any Republican votes, if they choose to do so.  They have not yet announced any tax increase proposals, but you can bet supermajorities will provide a major incentive.

The Ds charge come almost exclusively from urban Oregon which means the urban-rural divide will continue to be a dominant issue in Salem.  Not just the divide, but rural Republicans claim Ds don’t even listen as they pass bills that harm or could harm rural Oregon.

In my past, both as a lobbyist and deputy director of the Oregon Economic Development Department, I have see that to be true more often than not.

The Ds wanted to expand super-majorities by two votes in each chamber to avoid Republican walk-outs when the Rs wouldn’t provide a quorum.  The Ds did not succeed, so walking out remains an option for the Rs when they feel that doing so is a last resort.

One of my friends the other day claimed that walking-out shirked the duties of those who were elected.  I responded yes, that’s true, most of the time.  But, if you represent rural Oregon and urban leaders want to pass bills that would harm your constituents, walking-out could be your only option.

Those you represent in rural areas likely would applaud your action.  And, whatever is the case, both Rs and Ds have walked-out in the past, so, if disdain is warranted, it goes to both sides.

OREGON VOTERS PORTRAYED INDEPENDENT STREAKS

The two best examples are the votes to decriminalize possession of most street drugs and the other to allow supervised use of psilocybin from mushrooms.  Both are nationally notable, as they mark the first time any state has permitted the non-prosecuted possession or use of substances.

To be fair, the Oregonian newspaper says “backers of the measure to decriminalize drugs, many of whom are former addicts with long records of hard-won sobriety, said they want people caught with small amounts of heroin, meth and other drugs to get assessed and treated to end their addiction, not to keep using.  But it would not be a crime for them to do so.”

Another independent streak occurred when Multnomah County voters endorsed tax increases or keeping property taxes at current levels to aid kids, library users, parks-goers and the like.

No bottom-line perception here.  Just recognition that, from a process standpoint, the election went well in Oregon.  And that is not true in some parts of the country.

Now, for Oregon, it’s on to the long regular legislative session at the Capitol and the major issue is whether the process will allow members of public to participate, given the pandemic.  If not, that will be a blot on the Legislature, which holds itself out as a beacon of democratic light.  Not always true.