It shouldn’t be this hard for former Democratic Speaker of Oregon’s state house Tina Kotek. Kotek is running for governor in one of the bluest states in the country — a state that hasn’t elected a Republican governor since Ronald Reagan was president.
In truth, GOP candidate Christine Drazen, a two-term state representative who served as minority leader, might not remind too many people of The Gipper. But she has struck a chord with Oregon voters on “quality of life” issues and is riding that discontent all the way to the governor’s mansion.
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It’s gotten so bad for Kotek that she’s now criticizing the leader of her party for failing to deal with the homeless crisis. She released an ad called “Liar” that included current Governor Kate Brown in criticism that neither politician did anything about the homeless problem.
In the Oct. 19 debate between Kotek and her two rivals, she stated Brown “did nothing” to address the homeless crisis, and added, “I will lead where Gov. Brown couldn’t, or wouldn’t, on this issue.”
Later in the debate, Kotek pushed back on criticism from Drazan that she wanted to uphold school coronavirus lock-downs, claiming she “fought” Brown for summer school funding to help school children make up lost learning as a result of the pandemic. She didn’t, however, go into detail as to how she stood up to Brown.
Despite her newfound criticism of Brown, Kotek voted in tandem with the latter over 99% of the time while a member of the Oregon House of Representatives, and has her endorsement listed on her campaign website.
Meanwhile, Drazan’s campaign pointed out the obvious:
“Tina Kotek spent years as Kate Brown’s co-pilot, leading a one-party government that presided over massive homelessness, rising crime, failing schools, and a growing affordability crisis,” communications director John Burke said in a statement.
“Without Kate Brown, Tina Kotek would have almost nothing to run on, since there was absolutely no daylight between the two on any issue of consequence. It’s only right that Oregonians know Tina Kotek is Kate Brown’s chosen candidate as they cast their ballots in this crucial election,” he added.
Kotek can’t run away from Brown — not when she voted with the governor 99% of the time. And Oregon’s citizens can see the rot in the cities, the crime, and the homeless camps. Many of them are asking how it got this bad.
The answer isn’t far away. And she’s sitting in the statehouse right now.
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