• Brown practices forgiveness: Gov. Kate Brown granted clemency — which can be full or partial legal forgiveness for committing a crime — to three Oregonians last week. Since taking over as governor in 2015, Brown has received nearly 200 requests for pardons, commutations or reprieves. These are the first she has granted. More than 40 have been denied. The rest are in the process of being reviewed.

The common thread among the three: “Each demonstrated not only learning from their past mistakes, but have also shown a commitment to serving their communities,” Press Secretary Bryan Hockaday told me. All received pardons, “which offer full forgiveness and essentially erase both the occurrence of the crime and all of the consequences it brings to the person who committed the crime.”

The three are Timothy N. Haner of Beaverton, Brandon S. Buschbach of Gladstone and Abbas Moradi of Clackamas. Their compelling stories are on the governor’s website.

• Richardson courts the media: Incoming Secretary of State Dennis Richardson is making the most of being the first Republican elected to statewide office in years. His campaign team offered to arrange local and national media interviews this week with Richardson in person or by phone, Skype or — through network affiliates in Portland — satellite.

Richardson is both politically quotable and personally charming. Oregonians can expect him to get more media play than his Democratic predecessors Brown and Jeanne P. Atkins, who was appointed to finish Brown’s term after she became governor.

• Risk your life in the Oregon Capitol: The Oregon Capitol today is in such sad shape that signs at some faucets warn against drinking the water. And, despite some retrofitting after previous earthquake damage, the stone building is likely to collapse in a big quake. But Senate President Peter Courtney, the leading proponent of rebuilding the Capitol, is unlikely to push that issue in the 2017 Legislature.

Courtney, a Salem Democrat, was shot down at the last minute in the 2015 Legislature by House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, and other key lawmakers. They refused to go forward with a massive, expensive rehab of the Capitol that have included seismic upgrades similar to the work done at the Utah Capitol.

The Legislature has since approved $33 million for infrastructure upgrades. But no seismic retrofitting. As part of the planned $50 million project, major mechanical changes are in the works, along with such safety items as new stairways so people can more quickly exit the third-floor galleries and other areas in case of an emergency.

• An Oregonian says goodbye to Obamacare: Modern Healthcare reported that, according to CQ Roll Call, a memo from Oregon Congressman Greg Walden said a budget resolution for dismantling the Affordable Care Act would go to a House vote the week of Jan. 9. “That means the Senate could take up and pass the budget resolution during the prior week,” Modern Healthcare said.

Walden is the incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has wide-ranging jurisdiction over legislation. He is the first representative from the Pacific Northwest to hold that position.

He will be the keynote speaker at Dennis Richardson’s swearing-in as secretary of state on Friday. Will Walden mention Obamacare?

• Why, yes, politics is partisan but …: Over the years, partisan rhetoric ramped up in the Oregon Capitol as lawmakers hired aides who came from highly partisan states and roles. That is true among both Democrats and Republicans.

Among the latest aides to join the Capitol is Jonathan Lockwood, whom Senate Republican Leader Ted Ferrioli of John Day hired this month as communications director for the Senate Republican caucus.

The Legislature’s partisan offices — including those of the majority and minority leaders — often send out partisan press releases that range from the dull to the incendiary. To their credit, Oregon media just as often ignore these press releases, unless they contain actual news. There is little interest in fueling wars of words.

It will be interesting to see what approach Lockwood brings. The press release heralding his arrival gave this background: “Lockwood joins the Senate Republicans after departing his role as executive director of Advancing Colorado, a free-market advocacy group that made international headlines with an explosive ad campaign criticizing the Iran deal. The group spearheaded the opposition coalition to, and defeated 80 to 20 percent, a single-payer health care proposal backed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Lockwood debated state senators, public figures, and documentary filmmakers in his role at Advancing Colorado. …

“Prior, Lockwood served as a director for Generation Opportunity, a millennial advocacy group, and led a state-wide grassroots GOTV campaign, and he participated in two fellowships at the Charles Koch Institute, including a crisis communication program and a management program. Lockwood served as the communications director for Coloradans for Real Education Reform, which defeated a tax hike 65 to 35 percent, the communications director for conservative advocacy group Compass Colorado, and as the press secretary for the Colorado House Republicans.”

Dick Hughes has been covering the Oregon political scene since 1976. Contact him at TheHughesisms@Gmail.com.