Tina Kotek Is Accomplishedand Struggles to Gain Traction With Some Democrats. Why? – Willamette Week

With less than two months to go until the May 17 primary, Tina Kotek is the Democratic front-runner to be Oregons next governor.

Yet she faces an unusually challenging path to an office her party has held for nearly four decades.

As the longest-serving speaker of the Oregon House, Kotek, 55, delivered on an ambitious agenda with steely efficiency.

But for some reason, nobody whos done the job Kotek now seeks is endorsing her. Nor is her counterpart in the Senate.

Not former Govs. John Kitzhaber, Ted Kulongoski or Barbara Roberts. Not Senate President Peter Courtney (D-Salem), who led the Legislature alongside Kotek since 2012. (Kitzhaber and Roberts have endorsed State Treasurer Tobias Read, Koteks chief opponent in the primary. The others are staying on the sidelines.)

And all are Democrats.

Of that group, only Roberts would discuss her reasoning.

But interviews with legislators, staffers and lobbyistspeople who love and fear Kotekreveal a complex portrait of a formidable operator and help explain why some Democrats feel uneasy about her.

For many elected officials, the best way to succeed is to do little and advance through attrition.

Not Kotek. Under her leadership, House Democrats won passage of a progressive wish list ranging from a minimum-wage increase and health care for nearly all to criminal justice reform and the nations most aggressive housing legislation.

Kotek led the way in a calculating, sometime ruthless fashion, pushing hard to the left. Her success made her both the favorite of most progressive interest groups and perhaps Oregons most beatable Democratic front-runner for governor in decades.

The prospect of challenging Kotek enticed the most formidable unaffiliated candidate in 90 yearsformer state Sen. Betsy Johnson (D-Scappoose)and an unheard of 19 GOP contenders to enter the race.

Heres what makes Kotek effectiveand vulnerable.

Tina Kotek (Brian Brose)

SHE CUTS DEALS

During her tenure as House speaker, Kotek successfully engineered an ambitious agenda with the precision of a Swiss watchmaker. She passed massive new taxes, yesbut also pushed the envelope on abortion, housing, the environment and workplace laws.

Shes been a very strong and very effective speaker, says former Senate President and Secretary of State Bill Bradbury. Shes shown over a long period of time that she can deliver on key Democratic priorities.

Kotek has been so effective in part because of her willingness to cut deals.

After a failed attempt to raise Oregons minimum wage in 2015, Kotek agreed to a compromise that some Democrats opposed: lower minimum wages for rural Oregon. The bill passed in 2016.

And in 2017, Democrats passed the biggest single tax increase in state history, a massive $5.3 billion transportation funding bill, with significant concessions to Republicans, such as a new rail terminal near Ontario and the widening of Interstate 205 near West Linn.

The transportation package in 2017 was incredibly difficult, says Oregon Labor Commissioner Val Hoyle, who was then House majority leader. It was something that people didnt think we would be able to pass.

Koteks partisan rivals appreciated her pragmatism.

No speaker can be effective without being transactional, says former House Minority Leader Mike McLane (R-Powell Butte), who often battled Kotek. I counted on that. I needed her to be that way.

But the dealmaking that clinched the most consequential bill of Koteks career required her to betray a central segment of her partys base: public employee unions.

In 2019, Kotek spent months navigating between business interests, who wanted to scale back the states underfunded Public Employee Retirement System, and progressives, who wanted a big corporate tax increase for schools, called the Student Success Act.

She was able to achieve both, even though it meant strong-arming Democrats, including Reps. Mitch Greenlick (D-Portland) and Andrea Salinas (D-Lake Oswego)who came to the House floor in tears after Kotek persuaded her to vote yes on the pension cuts.

Theres no way that the Student Success Act would pass without [the PERS cuts], says then-state Rep. Alissa Keny-Guyer (D-Portland). I give Tina huge kudos for standing up to the labor unions. They made it incredibly painful for all of us who voted for the bill.

That grudge persists.

Some of our folks are still really upset about that vote, says Joe Baessler, political coordinator for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 75, which joined the United Food and Commercial Workers in not endorsing Kotek in the May primary.

Kotek says when she made hard choices, it was always for better outcomes.

I bristle at the word transactional because it does seem to imply that youre making choices to get things done that arent good choices, she says. When people ask for things and I think theyre a bad idea, I dont do them.

Koteks transactional nature also cost her the support of former Gov. Roberts, who for years has bestowed the individual endorsements most coveted by Democrats.

Roberts says shes backing Read because of the broad perspective he gained in six years as a statewide official. But her choice rekindled chatter about what both women acknowledge is some history.

In 2017, Special Olympics Oregon needed a financial bailout. Roberts, a longtime supporter of the organization who left office in 1995, approached Kotek for help.

The conversation went badly. According to people familiar with the exchange, Kotek said shed consider an appropriation, but only if Roberts would help convince a reluctant Democratic lawmaker to support a crucial housing bill. That annoyed the ex-governor, who left Koteks office empty-handed.

To be honest, I had had a long day, Kotek recalls. I made a flip comment that she mistook as transactional. It was not. And I thought we had lunch and made up and had resolved our conflict.

Tina Kotek (Brian Brose)

SHE IS VERY LIBERAL

During the course of Koteks tenure, Democrats consolidated power and moved aggressively on such measures as granting drivers licenses and publicly funded abortions to undocumented immigrants and one of the nations most aggressive green energy mandates. They also passed statewide rent control and abolished single-family residential zoningfirst-in-the-nation policies aimed at relieving the states housing crisis.

Such policies played well in deep-blue Portland. Shes done more than any other leader in the state, maybe the country, on housing and homelessness, says Keny-Guyer, who represented a liberal Southeast Portland district.

But some Democrats say Koteks prioritization of social justice and environmental issues put her to the left of the average voter in a statewide race.

In 2021, Kotek was chief sponsor of House Bill 3115, which enshrined in state law the right to camp in public spacesover pushback in Salem from critics who saw the bill as exporting Portlands policies to the rest of the state.

In 2018, Kotek abruptly removed a longtime moderate as chair of the House Judiciary CommitteeRep. Jeff Barker (D-Aloha)to achieve a top progressive priority: criminal justice reform, including the abolition of Oregons death penalty.

We used to get along well, says Barker, a retired Portland police lieutenant and ex-president of the Portland Police Association. We were very aligned on abortion and organized labor. I supported her for speaker, and she came out to my house for dinner.

But Barker opposed lawmakers overturning the death penalty without a vote of the people. (The public had approved the death penalty with a 1984 ballot measure.) So Kotek yanked Barkers gavel as chair of House Judiciary Committee, a position he had held for 15 years. I was shocked, says Barker, who retired from the Legislature in 2021.

Barker was not interested in entertaining criminal justice reform in a moment where we had to have different conversations, Kotek says. And so Jennifer Williamson took over.

And in the 2019 session, Williamson and Senate Judiciary Chair Floyd Prozanski (D-Eugene) effectively ended the states death penalty.

As we gained more seats, she went back to her true philosophical positions, says former state Rep. Brian Clem (D-Salem), who served with Kotek for 15 years. She started her career as a lobbyist for hungry kids, and she went back to her rootsprogressive activist Tina. (See Hammer of the Gods, below.)

Tina Kotek (Brian Brose)

SHE DOESNT ALWAYS KEEP HER WORD

The two most common criticisms of Kotekthat shes too pragmatic and at the same time too liberaldont really square. What kind of inflexible leftist ideologue cuts a deal that outrages public employee unions?

What the two conflicting characterizations reflect is how often Kotek got what she wanted, and how many egos she left bruised in the process. Like Michael Jordan on the basketball court, shes more revered than lovedbecause she would do anything to win.

If you are in her way, McLane says, you are going to be roadkill.

Supermajorities in her last two sessions as House speaker gave Kotek the power to dictate terms. She wasnt shy about using it. Over time, Kotek gained a reputation as a politician for whom the ends justified the means.

I dont think thats a very helpful way to learn leadershipto have absolute power, says Roberts. I just dont think its healthy.

Some adversaries she bested even feel she lied to them.

In January, she alienated state Rep. Janelle Bynum (D-Clackamas), one of the states few Black lawmakers. In the wake of George Floyds murder in 2020, Bynum led her colleagues in passing a package of police reform measures. Afterward, she told Kotek she thought it was time for a person of color to be House speaker.

Bynum left the conversation believing Kotek had pledged to support her for speaker in the future if Bynum didnt mount a bid to challenge Kotek for the post in 2021.

It didnt work out that way. After Kotek announced she would run for governor, Bynum put her name forward as a candidate for speaker. But the Democratic caucus that Kotek ran with iron discipline for almost a decade fell in behind now-Speaker Dan Rayfield (D-Corvallis) instead. Bynum told WW at the time she felt betrayed.

Kotek says Bynum (who declined to comment for this story) misunderstood Koteks intentions. I believe shes a strong leader, and I have a lot of respect for her, but I dont believe I made the commitment that she thinks I did, Kotek says.

In 2021, Kotek irked Democrats in April when she gave Republicans an equal say in the once-per-decade process of redistricting to keep the GOP from blowing up the session.

Then, in September, Kotek infuriated Republicans by reversing herself and telling House Minority Leader Christine Drazan (R-Canby) she was changing the deal to give Democrats a majority on the panel drawing congressional maps.

They didnt hold up their end of the bargain, Kotek says. So, having convinced Republicans not to block their agenda, Democrats now got the congressional district maps they wanted too.

Former state Rep. Margaret Doherty (D-Tigard), whose gavel as chair of the House Education Committee Kotek yanked in 2020, says the Bynum and redistricting episodes reflect Koteks willingness to say anything to get what she wants.

I worked with both of them [Kotek and Read], says Doherty, a retired teachers union official who served with Kotek for a decade, and Im endorsing Tobias because I want somebody in that office who has integrity.

Tina Kotek (Brian Brose)

The ultimate question about Kotek is whether the longest-serving speaker of the House in Oregon history has made the state better.

Some indicators, such as K-12 test scores, the housing shortage, and inadequate provision of mental health services, suggest the state remains deeply troubled.

Portland pollster John Horvick of DHM Research says Kotek is the strong front-runner for the Democratic nomination but also notes that Oregon voters unhappiness has reached historic levels. Were seeing the most negative numbers Oregonians have expressed in the past 30 years, he says.

We are a high-tax state with low services, adds former state Rep. Jules Bailey (D-Portland), who is endorsing Read. Shits not working.

Opponents label Kotek Kate Brown 2.0, hoping Browns low approval ratings will taint Kotek.

Both are Portland liberals who emerged from legislative leadership, both identify as LGBTQ+, and both have held power as Oregon descended into its current funk.

But Brown is endlessly consultative. Kotek, by contrast, moves decisively. Their leadership styles are wildly different, says Felisa Hagins, political director of Service Employees International Union Local 49, whose members back Kotek.

Kotek is less outgoing and more liberal than Brownand perhaps more focused on an agenda and clear-eyed about Oregons problems.

She concurs with Baileys assessment that shits not working.

I agree, Kotek says. I dont think things are working the way they should be working.

Of Democrats major accomplishments on her watch, Kotek says increases in the minimum wage have made a substantial impact, benefitting hundreds of thousands of Oregonians. Other victoriesincluding the Student Success Act, statewide zoning changes and $1 billion in new funding for housing, and a half-billion dollars in new money for mental health serviceswill take more time to show results.

Yet Kotek is on the ballot nownot when those results arrive.

She blames COVID-19 for much of the states malaise. Prior to the pandemic, we had the biggest economic numbers weve ever seen, Kotek says. We were bringing prosperity to more parts of the state, and then the pandemic hit.

COVID-19 exposed underinvestment and poor management at the Oregon Employment Department and other state agencies. Kotek says if she were to be elected governor, the skills that made her an effective speaker would make the state function better.

To treat me fairly, people should look at my record, she says. My job was to make sure the Legislature functioned and pass important legislation. And I think anybody who is going to be honest will say, thats an A+.

The Kotek Puzzle (Brian Brose)

To all but a few intimates, Tina Kotek remains a cipher.

Tina Kotek steered legislation through the Oregon House with the same no-drama efficiency that shes piloted a 2004 Honda Civicmethodicallyto Salem since first winning election in 2006.

The vehicle now has 250,000 miles on it. State Rep. Barbara Smith Warner (D-Portland), Koteks top deputy for four years, says its still in mint condition. You could eat off the floor of that car, Smith Warner says.

When the two traveled together, however, Smith Warner always drove.

Tina will not go a mile over the speed limit, Smith Warner says. Shes a very cautious driver.

Of the triumvirate that ran Salem, Gov. Kate Brown is known for her bubbly, warm nature, Senate President Peter Courtney (D-Salem) for his emotional style and reverence for tradition, and Kotek for her steely, robotic efficiency.

Kotek calls herself a private person and an introvert. Shes most comfortable sipping unsweetened Lipton black tea in her office with a small inner circle (mostly long-term staffers and labor leaders) or road-tripping around the state with colleagues, Prince or Abba on the stereo, a bag of Swedish Fish at the ready.

She grew up in York, Pa., a blue-collar town of 45,000 about 85 miles southwest of Philadelphia. (Kotek always kept a supply of York Peppermint Patties in her House office.)

In high school, Kotek played three sports, edited the yearbook and school newspaper, and graduated second in her class.

Kotek began college at Georgetown, but as an emerging lesbian from a working-class town, she says she felt out of place at the elite Catholic school.

A foray in commercial diving left her with a damaged ear and unemployed. She then worked as a travel agent for two years and enrolled at the University of Oregon in 1990, earning a degree in religious studies.

After finishing her masters in international studies and comparative religion at the University of Washington in 1998, Kotek moved to Portland and worked first as an advocate at the Oregon Food Bank and, after that, for Children First for Oregon.

In 2005, she and her now-wife, Aimee Wilson, bought a modest, 1,089-square-foot home in Kenton where they still live. A lapsed Catholic, she now attends an Episcopal church and for years was part of a Capitol prayer group along with former House Minority Leader Mike McLane (R-Powell Butte) and others.

The district she represented, HD 44, a working-class area that includes Kenton and St. Johns, contains fewer Republicans than all but two of the states 60 House districts.

Kotek loves her dogs, Rudy and Teddy, and will sip the occasional bourbon (Portlands Freeland is her favorite). She loves watching superhero movies in a darkened theater with a small group of friends, all of whom often wear T-shirts promoting the films they watch (Kotek particularly likes Thor: Ragnarok and kept a Captain America shield in the speakers office).

Once I got into office, my moviegoing was escapism, Kotek says. So thank God, Marvel decided to make a whole bunch of movies.

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Tina Kotek Is Accomplishedand Struggles to Gain Traction With Some Democrats. Why? - Willamette Week