Perspective from the 19^th Hole 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 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.

Following the route of a proposed gas tax increase for Oregonians is difficult.

• One day it’s on.
• Another day it’s off because opponents gather enough signatures to get it to the ballot late this year.
• Another day it may be off, too, because Oregon Governor Tina Kotek, heading for a re-election vote next November, says she wants to pull the measure off the ballot, thus avoiding a vote on it at the same time as she is on the ballot.

Who knows what’s next?

I wrote a day or so ago that Kotek and her Democrat allies at the Capitol in Salem, Oregon, might be in favor of repealing a gas tax (with other transportation funding measures) before it makes it to the ballot next November.

Well, yesterday, Kotek made it official.

Here is the way the Oregonian newspaper reported the development under this headline:  “Governor Tina Kotek calls for repeal of controversial transportation package she championed.”

“Governor Tina Kotek asked lawmakers Wednesday to repeal the controversial transportation funding package they passed along party lines with her support last fall.  At the same time, she called on legislators to take ‘emergency action’ to prevent layoffs at the state transportation agency.

“Her announcement, which she made at the Oregon Transportation Forum’s annual meeting, comes weeks after a Republican-led group challenging the tax hikes in the package submitted enough signatures to delay the scheduled increase until voters could decide on the matter in November.

“The announcement means Oregonians might no longer get to vote on a 6-cent increase to the state’s 40 cents per gallon gas tax or hikes to title and registration fees in November.  It also means voters may not get to decide whether to temporarily double the state’s 0.1% payroll tax for transit.”

The words “might” and “may” above refer to the fact that legislators have not yet acted on repeal, though Kotek’s plea for repeal could be successful, given that her party, the Democrats, control both the House and the Senate.

From a political perspective, repeal makes sense if you are Kotek.

“Some Salem insiders had been speculating that Kotek would repeal the package and its unpopular tax hikes because they were set to appear on the same ballot as her re-election bid this fall.  A poll commissioned by the anti-tax campaign showed that the tax hikes were extremely unpopular among voters and likely to get nixed.”

Thus, it would be possible some voters would vote “no” on the tax and withhold their votes from Kotek, as well.

Beyond politics, the status leaves transportation funding – read, roads and bridges – in Oregon in a mess.

The Oregon Department of Transportation is facing a $242 million budget shortfall and that could result in laying off hundreds of employees – employees whose jobs involve repairing and re-building Oregon roads and bridges.

The Oregonian goes on to say that “decisions we make in the coming weeks will determine whether Oregon’s transportation system continues to decline or whether we can restore certainty in needed essential services that Oregonians rely on.”

Kotek now says she will lead an effort to finalize a more comprehensive transportation funding package for lawmakers to take up in the 2027 legislative session – after she stands for re-election at the polls.

So, if you are keeping track, the process calls for:

• A short legislative session in February 2026, could involve the Kotek gas tax repeal effort, as well as other budget issues.
• A primary election in the spring will indicate whether State Senator Christine Drazan, who ran and lost to Kotek last time around, will win the right to run again on the Republican side.
• In election next November Kotek will contend for re-election, most likely against Drazan.
• The next long legislative session begins in 2027 and transportation funding or the lack thereof will be a major issue again.

Then, after I wrote what appeared above, Drazan, Kotek’s likely Republican opponent, issued this statement:

“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and I am flattered, but Tina has proven that she can’t be trusted and that the only thing she cares about is raising more taxes.  If Tina is afraid of Oregonians voting on her gas tax this November, she’s not going to like what they have to say about her leadership.  What a flop.”

For her part, Kotek says she has set stage both for economic growth in Oregon.

So, as we watch and wait, we are in, not just for questions on transportation funding in general, but also for political fighting between the two likely candidates to be Oregon’s next governor – Kotek and Drazan.