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.

For Oregon, there is little question but that the race for governor here will be the biggest issue on the upcoming primary election ballot – and the following general election.

Expect a barn-burner of a race – and from me, a long-time Oregon lobbyist, expect a Democrat to emerge victorious as he or she takes office at the start of 2023.

Everything else pales in comparison to the high-profile race that, as usual, will pit Democrats against Republicans, but this year will have a high-profile Independent, as well.

More about the governor’s race later in this blog, including a list of those running.  But, first here is recap of other races and issues.

NO STATEWIDE INITIATIVE MEASURES:  This is atypical for Oregon, a state where advocates can get to the ballot with pet issues if they find a way to get enough voter signatures to do so.  None made it this time around.

LOCAL ISSUES WILL BE ON THE BALLOT, WITH A NOD TO OREGON PUBLIC BROADCASTING FOR HELP IN COMING UP WITH THE LIST:   Another county in Oregon will vote on the idea of moving Oregon’s border so rural counties can join “Greater Idaho” (see below).

Voters in Cannon Beach and Newport are being asked to approve a sales tax on restaurant and deli food (again see below).

A recurring theme across the Pacific Northwest this election involves aspects of the tight housing market.  County and city councils up and down the West Coast have wrestled with housing supply and affordability for years.

Now, local activists are going to voters in several places to seek stronger action.  One such place is on the central Oregon Coast and another is in Bellingham, Washington.

A coalition called People First Bellingham took inspiration from Portland to place a tenant rights proposition on the November ballot.  The measure would require landlords to provide re-location assistance equal to three- months rent for renters who are forced to move because of large rent increases — defined as anything more than 8 per cent.  

SHORT-TERM VACATION RENTALS TARGETED:  Voters on the central Oregon Coast will also get to weigh in on rental housing, but from a different angle. A group named 15 Neighborhoods collected signatures to put a five-year phase-out of short-term vacation rentals on the November ballot.  It would affect AirBnb and VRBO-type rentals in single-family residential zones of unincorporated Lincoln County.

GREATER IDAHO:  The group Move Oregon’s Border has been collecting signatures in multiple counties to allow more voters to weigh in on nonbinding initiatives to create the expanded state of “Greater Idaho.” Oregon’s sparsely-populated Harney County gets its turn to sound off at the ballot box next week.  Crook and Klamath counties, and possibly others, are in line to vote in spring 2022.

The border relocation idea is driven by conservatives who believe Eastern and Southern Oregon counties would be happier in red Idaho than stuck in blue Oregon. Nine counties have already voted on the Move Oregon’s Border proposal during prior elections, yielding seven victories and two rejections.

PREPARED FOOD TAX:  Oregon has no state sales tax, but diners in the popular beach towns of Cannon Beach and Newport may find one added to their tabs when they eat in restaurants or get takeout beginning next year.  Local voters will decide whether to fund a new city hall and police station in Cannon Beach by imposing a 5 per cent tax on prepared food. The same new tax would be used to hire additional police, fire and library staff in Newport.

Now, back to the Oregon governor’s race.

One of the earliest to file was current Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek, who appears to have a good chance to get most of the public employee union money to fund her race. 

Current Oregon Treasurer Tobias Read entered the race and could have a chance to garner votes from the left center of the political spectrum since he is not as far left as most other Democrats.

Two more filings create added interest in the race.

• Democrat State Senator Betsy Johnson filed, but will run as an Independent, which means that she moves directly to the general election, by passing the primary.

• Former New York Times reporter and columnist Nicholas Kristof filed, saying he will return to his Yamhill County home to run, though he will face questions about whether he meets residency requirements and, if the answer is yes, he will face carpet-bagger allegations on the campaign trail.

Six other Democrats have announced or filed to run:

+  Wilson Bright, a retired textile business owner from Portland

+  Peter Hall, a Haines city council member

+  Casey Kulla, a farmer and Yamhill County commissioner from Dayton

+  Dave Lavinsky, a business and strategic advisor from Bend

+  Keisha Merchant, an artist from Albany

+  Michael Trimble, a customer service representative from Portland

A couple other Ds may file, including Multnomah County Commission Chair Deborah Kafoury and State Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum.

On the Republican side, it is unlikely that any of the announced candidates will pull enough weight to counter the Democrat voter registration and money edges, especially in urban Oregon.  That includes Salem physician Bud Pierce who lost last time around to the current term-limited governor, Kate Brown.  Pierce has a bit of name familiarity, but much of it resides in Marion County, not statewide.

So, count on a Democrat to win the state’s highest political office again.  It has been true since the last Republican governor in Oregon, Vic Atiyeh, who served more than 35 years ago.