6A — THE OBSERVER
SaTuRday, NOVEmBER 14, 2020
STATE/NORTHWEST
Democrats won’t reach 2/3rd supermajority in Legislature
Oregon coastal areas flipped three seats
with no Democratic incumbent running
SALEM — Oregon’s
Democratic lawmakers
will fall short of winning
enough state legislative
seats to prevent Republi-
cans from staging walkouts
that have halted action at
the Capitol in recent years.
Following the unoffi-
cial results of the 2020 elec-
tion, Oregon Democrats
are predicted to hold onto
their three-fifths superma-
jority in the state Senate
and House. However,
the party did not pick up
enough seats to expand to
a quorum-proof majority,
which would prevent work
from ceasing in the Capitol
if Republicans leave Salem
again.
“It looks to me like
the Democrats performed
almost exactly as expected
but not quite up to their
hopes,” said Christopher
McKnight Nichols, an asso-
ciate professor at Oregon
State University’s School
of History, Philosophy, and
Religion. “Republicans held
just enough seats to not
become functionally irrele-
vant in Salem.”
Democratic lawmakers
easily won in reliably blue
areas such as Portland and
comfortably held onto seats
in the suburbs.
But along the coast
three Democratic seats had
flipped, according to unof-
ficial vote counts published
on Oregon’s Secretary of
State website. None of the
three seats had a Demo-
cratic incumbent candidate
running.
Despite Democrats and
supporters pouring more
than $400,000 into ads,
in an effort to keep House
District 32, which has been
held by Democrats for
three decades, Republican
Suzanne Weber won the
seat.
In the Coos Bay area,
Republicans Dick Anderson
won Senate District 5 seat
and Boomer Wright earned
the seat for House District
9.
“Oregonians voted for
Republican legislators
because they want their
voices to be heard at the
table, to address the chal-
lenges facing our state,
including the underlying
weakness in our economy
and its impact on fami-
lies, communities, schools
and safety net services,”
said Rep. Christine Drazan,
the leader of the minority
Republicans in the House.
Anderson and Wright
both ran on the platform
that they will bring the
voices of residents on the
coast to the Capitol, where
they say lawmakers have
long “ignored” them.
Although Democrats lost
three seats, observers say it
seems the party will keep
their power balance in the
House by 37 to 23 margin
by winning a seat in Bend,
and in the Senate 18 to 12.
House Speaker Tina
Kotek, told The Oregonian
that “the goal in the House
was to defend our superma-
jority. And we did that.”
But Democrats missed a
rare opportunity.
If the party was able to
gain enough new seats in
the House and Senate to
become a two-thirds super-
majority it would have
made Republican walk-
outs ineffective, as Dem-
ocrats would be able to
meet quorum to vote even
if Republicans were not in
attendance.
In May 2019, a series
of walkouts by Republican
senators began to block a
school funding tax. They
returned after Democrats
scrapped bills on gun con-
trol and another that would
have limited religious
exemptions from vaccines.
The next month, Repub-
licans again did not show
Andrew Selsky/Associated Press, File
Lawmakers convene at the Oregon Senate in Salem on June 29, 2019, after the minority
Republicans ended a walkout over a carbon-emissions bill they said would harm their ru-
ral constituents. Oregon’s Democratic lawmakers will fall short of winning enough state
legislative seats to prevent Republicans from staging more walkouts.
up to the Capitol in order
to stop a cap-and-trade
bill designed to institute
a carbon tax in the state.
During that time Gov. Kate
Brown sent state police to
bring the absent Republican
senators back to the Capitol,
and in response some sena-
tors fled the state.
Walkouts continued in
2020 when Republicans
from both the House and
Senate did not attend short
sessions. In the wake of the
walkouts, hundreds of bills
failed to advance.
And while some believed
that Republicans would be
punished on the ballot for
their strategies in the Cap-
itol, that has not been the
case.
“Though it seems that
the voters in the state,
overall, disliked the walkout
strategy it didn’t hurt
Republicans as much as
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News briefs
20 farms fined
for not protecting
workers from
COVID-19
Oregon man arrested
in 2004 killing of
Arkansas woman
MELBOURNE, Ark.
— An Oregon man has
been arrested on suspicion
of first-degree murder in
the killing of a 22-year-old
Arkansas woman who was
found dead more than 15
years ago.
William Miller, 44, was
arrested Saturday, Nov. 7, in
Lane County for the 2004
killing of Rebekah Gould,
Arkansas State Police
reported Monday.
Miller had been in
the Philippines and was
arrested after investigators
learned he had returned to
the United States, authori-
ties said.
At the time of Gould’s
death, Miller had been
living in Texas but was
visiting Izard County,
Arkansas, state police said.
Gould’s body was discov-
ered on a hillside off a
highway near Melbourne,
about 95 miles north of
Little Rock.
Miller remained jailed
Monday.
— Associated Press
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RICHLAND, Wash. —
Three Mid-Columbia farms
are among those receiving
the biggest fines in the state
from the Washington state
Department of Labor and
Industries for serious viola-
tions of agriculture regula-
tions to prevent the spread
of the coronavirus.
More than 20 farms have
been cited for inadequate
COVID precautions, The
Tri-City Herald reported.
King Fuji Ranch of Mat-
tawa was fined $13,500
after L&I accused workers
assigned to different living
spaces of interacting with
others and not social dis-
tancing. The ranch owner
has 15 days to appeal.
Agriculture workers
should be assigned to work
and living groups of up
to 15 people and are not
supposed to mingle with
workers in other groups,
according to Washington
state COVID-19 safety
plans.
Evans Fruit Co. of Sun-
nyside, Cowiche and Tieton
was fined $6,600 after
inspections in all three loca-
tions found employees were
not wearing face masks,
taking temperatures or
social distancing, according
to L&I. The company is
appealing, and an additional
inspection is in progress.
Agrilabor of Benton City
was fined $5,400 after L&I
said it had worker beds that
were less than six feet apart.
Agrilabor has appealed.
While King Fuji Ranch
has been issued the largest
fine for agriculture coro-
navirus-related violations
to date, an investigation
involving workers who died
is underway at Gebbers
Farm Operations in Bridge-
port, state officials said.
Gebbers has been
fined $13,200 for workers
assigned to different living
groups interacting and no
barriers in the kitchen,
according to L&I. Gebbers
has 15 days to appeal.
L&I has conducted 384
agricultural workplace
safety and health inspec-
tions this year. Inspec-
tors have found 130 viola-
tions, including failures to
follow state rules meant to
protect workers from the
coronavirus.
Inspections efforts
increased this year because
of the coronavirus, with
Washington state L&I per-
forming more agriculture
worker safety and health
inspections and consulta-
tions than nearly any other
state in the country, said
Anne Soiza, L&I assistant
director for the Division of
Occupational Safety and
Health.
Democrats hoped it would,”
Nichols said.
But with the election
nearly concluded lawmakers
are hoping to set aside
party differences to focus
on the immediate needs of
Oregonians.
“In the coming ses-
sion, we will focus on the
basic needs facing Ore-
gonians who are on the
brink due to the corona-
virus pandemic, wildfires
TY
The Associated Press/Report for
America
N
By Sara Cline
and other structural inequi-
ties,” Kotek told The Asso-
ciated Press. “Basic needs
are not partisan issues, and
my hope and expectation is
that everyone will arrive on
opening day ready to work.”
Nichols called the
upcoming legislative session
“one of the most important
moments in Oregon politics
in several generations.”
So what are the odds
of further Republican
walkouts?
“It will be much more
difficult for Republicans
to walk out when relief
for small business, people
struggling with health and
questions regarding paths
forward with local and state
level debt are at stake,”
Nichols said. “Not taking
action is going to have much
higher consequences for
their constituents.”
The Republican caucuses
for the House and Senate
did not respond to requests
for comment about the pos-
sibility of future walkouts.
“Now that this election
is over, it’s time to come
together and govern,” Kotek
said. “There is more that
unites us than divides us,
and it’s time to get to work
on behalf of Oregonians
who need our support more
than ever.”
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