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About The Bulletin. (Bend, OR) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (May 10, 2021)
Serving Central Oregon since 1903 • $1.50 Monday • May 10, 2021 ELECTION 2020 Kropf did not disclose $45K from teachers union By HILLaRy BoRRUd The Oregonian State Rep. Jason Kropf, d-Bend A Bend lawmaker who picked up a long-desired seat for Democrats in 2020 failed to disclose $45,000 in campaign do- nations from the statewide teachers union. Rep. Jason Kropf, a Democrat, was a dep- uty district attorney when he ran for the seat held by Republican restaurant owner Cheri Helt last year. It was one of the most conten- tious legislative races in the state. Helt reported spending nearly $1 million to hold onto the district where Democrats significantly outnumbered Republicans, and Kropf reported spending $522,000, ac- cording to state campaign finance disclo- sures. Kropf defeated Helt 60% to 38.9%. Missing from Kropf’s spending total and donor disclosures is $45,000 worth of cam- paign advertising purchased or produced on his behalf by the Oregon Education Associ- ation, according to state campaign finance disclosures reviewed by The Oregonian. The news organization discovered the discrep- ancy while reviewing the union’s political action committee donations to legislative candidates. Most of OEA-PAC’s donations to Kropf were for television and radio ads. Kropf’s campaign coordinated with do- nors to fund his advertising efforts with in-kind expenditures, Federal Communi- cations Commission records show. For ex- ample, the ad time buying company Media Analysis purchased time slots from a Bend television station on behalf of Kropf’s politi- cal action committee, “Jason for Bend.” Then OEA-PAC and other campaign donors paid Kropf’s campaign bills from Media Analysis and other vendors. The only OEA-PAC contribution Kropf disclosed in state filings was a $500 cash do- nation. Under state campaign finance rules, Kropf and his campaign staff were responsible for reporting the union’s $45,000 of in-kind do- nations at the time they knew of the contri- butions and received the advertising services. See Kropf / A4 Pandemic movers Study: People left big metros EAGLE BROOD Moves most common for higher-income earners By MIKE SCHnEIdER Associated Press A new study and data from the U.S. Census Bureau show thousands of people migrated out of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas and into smaller ones during the pandemic. The study found that many of the migrants weren’t driven by new jobs or weather — or even a fear of the virus — but a desire to be closer to family and a freedom to make it happen be- cause of remote working. Although the pattern of people moving from larger to smaller cities has been going on for several years, the pandemic exacer- bated that trend, said Peter Haslag of Vanderbilt University, who conducted the study on migrant motivations with Daniel Weagley of Georgia Tech. Their paper has not yet been published. The data adds to understanding of how the pandemic has changed where and how Americans live. The moves were most common among those with higher incomes and more job flexibility. If the trends continue, it could have long-term implications for real estate markets, tax bases and the wealth inequality in cities, according to researchers. “For us, the question is, is this a temporary blip or is it going to con- tinue?” Haslag said. “If work-from- home really is going to be a factor in job and company decisions, and by allowing work and location to be sep- arate decisions, people are going to be able to optimize their locations, if they have the right jobs.” The Census Bureau data shows that the New York metro area — which was hit early by the new coronavi- rus — declined by about 108,000 residents, or 0.5%. Roughly 216,000 residents moved out of the metro- politan area, but the natural increase from births and gains in international migration offset the departures. The New York metro area has experienced decelerated growth over the past sev- eral years, but last year’s decline was a bigger bite of the Big Apple than in 2019, when it lost 60,000 residents. The nation’s next largest metro ar- eas — Los Angeles and Chicago — also experienced greater population declines last year compared to the previous year: around 0.5% last year compared to 0.3% in 2019 for both metros. San Francisco also had a drop of around 0.5% last year compared to a 0.1% gain in 2019. By Ryan BREnnECKE • The Bulletin A trio of eaglets pop their heads up as one of their parents lands on a perch above the nest after returning from a short flight along the Deschutes River near Sunriver on Saturday. TODAY’S WEATHER Mostly sunny High 68, Low 38 Page a10 INDEX Comics Dear Abby Horoscope A7-8 A4 A4 Kid Scoop Local/State Nation/World A9 A2-3 A10 Puzzles Sports Weather A8 A5-6 A10 The Bulletin An Independent Newspaper We use recycled newsprint Monday E-Edition, 10 pages, 1 section DAILY See Movers / A4 U|xaIICGHy02329lz[
