Podcast: Jim Green on Oregon Schools at a Crossroads
Rick Metsger dives into Oregon education issues with Jim Green, former Executive Director of the Oregon School Boards Association, in this month’s Political Center video podcast.
Entries by Rick Metsger
Time to Rebuild the Oregon Department of Transportation?
The ODOT director called it quits at the end of last year and two interim directors have warmed the chair since. Sources familiar with the search say finding a permanent replacement has been — to be kind — challenging.
Oregon Government’s Secret Society
Neither the Legislature nor the public have a clue what goes on behind the closed doors of the Oregon Commission on Judicial Fitness and Disability (CJFD). In the last 10 years, more than 2,000 complaints have been filed with the Commission charging some form of judicial misconduct, though not a single public hearing has taken place on any of them.
Moneyball: The Crisis in Oregon Public Education
Oregon’s education system is spending more than ever, yet student outcomes continue to fall behind. We examine Gov. Tina Kotek’s appointments to the Quality Education Commission, the growing influence of teachers unions, and the widening gap between school funding, labor costs, and student achievement.
Podcast: Oregon Treasurer Elizabeth Steiner on Savings Plans, PERS and State Finances
In this podcast, Steiner sits down with political analyst Rick Metsger to pull back the curtain on the sometimes opaque world of the Oregon State Treasury. They discuss a new savings plan for Oregonians that Steiner plans to introduce in the next legislative session, and Metsger even floats a novel idea for eliminating the state’s multi-billion-dollar PERS debt.
The Sky Queen of Mount St. Helens
Forty-six years ago today, Mount St. Helens blew her top. Those old enough to remember recall the vivid images on their TV screen. Betsy Johnson has different recollections, ones that not only are seared in her mind but also seared her eyebrows.
There Is a Milepost Ahead. It Reads, ‘Election Day’
Earlier this week, U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read, and Dag Robinson, president of the Oregon Association of County Clerks (OACC), held a virtual town hall to talk election integrity and process. The fact that they felt compelled to even have a town hall on the subject says a lot about the times we live in.
Oregon’s Department of Recommendations
Oregon’s Department of Education was designed at statehood to lead Oregon’s students into adulthood with the educational skills necessary to succeed. But its toolbelt has neither a hammer nor a screwdriver. Instead, it leans heavily on masking tape, Gorilla Glue, and notes of encouragement.
One Race, Two Finish Lines
Danielle Bethell, a Marion Couty Commissioner, has neither the name recognition nor financial war chest to be reasonably expected to win the primary vote over her well-funded competitors. That low expectation is her advantage at this time and in this circumstance. But winning in May is not anticipated nor needed. She’s prepping for a longer race.
Off the Bench and Into the Game
This week marks 39 years since Edith Green’s passing. Few younger Oregonians likely have heard of her, but many owe their careers at least in part to the grit and determination of a woman who served Oregon for 20 years in the United States Congress.