Progressives rule Oregon’s Democratic party, and they won big this week. 

In the courts, a judge’s initial report indicates that Oregon Republicans stumbled badly in how they challenged the new boundaries for Oregon’s congressional districts, which were created by legislative Democrats.

At the State Capitol, moderate Democratic Sen. Betsy Johnson of Scappoose was bounced from her role as co-chair of the powerful Joint Ways & Means Committee, which handles money issues and writes the state budget. That move apparently was in response to her announcing she would leave the party next year to run for governor as an independent. 

Let’s start with the second item, although it is not surprising that Johnson would be removed – “canceled,” in her words – as a co-chair. Johnson has been a reliable Democratic vote on procedural issues in the Senate. But she has remained fiercely independent on policy legislation, including firearms, natural resources and environmental regulation – to the consternation of progressive Democrats. At times that has publicly put Johnson at odds with House Speaker Tina Kotek of Portland, who at this point arguably is the Democrats’ leading contender for governor and the most influential person in the Capitol.

Senate President Peter Courtney of Salem announced the committee changes Thursday afternoon. Himself a moderate Democrat, Courtney first appointed Johnson and progressive Elizabeth Steiner Hayward of Beaverton in 2018 to jointly serve as Senate co-chairs of Ways & Means. The pair proved a good team. Yet Courtney also later sidelined Johnson when she stood in the way of progressives’ legislation to limit greenhouse gas emissions. 

As progressives have increased their numbers in the Senate Democratic caucus, they have pushed Courtney leftward. He has not said whether he will seek re-election to the Senate next year. He already is both the longest-serving legislator and the longest-serving Senate president in Oregon history. Once Courtney left the presidency, whether by retiring or by being supplanted by progressives, Johnson was unlikely to retain her Ways & Means role.

Gallup recently reported that nationally, “The Democratic rank and file has long encompassed a wide diversity of perspectives, but the power center has shifted from moderates – who were the largest group in the early 2000s – to liberals, who are the largest group today.” That rings true in Oregon. 

Johnson, who brought a rural perspective and business sense to budgeting, will remain on Ways & Means but not in leadership. Steiner Hayward is the Senate co-chair. Progressive Rep. Dan Rayfield, D-Corvallis, is the House co-chair. Sen. Fred Girod, R-Lyons, who recently stepped down as the Senate Republican leader, remains the Senate co-vice chair.

Back to redistricting: Senior Judge Henry Breithaupt, a retired Oregon Tax Court judge acting in this case as a “special master,” is to issue his final findings of fact on Friday, Nov. 5. His report then goes to the panel of five retired judges whom Supreme Court Chief Justice Martha Walters appointed to handle the Republicans’ lawsuit. 

Breithaupt’s tentative findings were that the congressional districts, passed during an acrimonious special legislative session in September and signed by Gov. Kate Brown, generally met legal criteria. He could be right – I’m not a lawyer – but his findings suggest that Republicans mounted a weak challenge. 

The state Department of Justice, in defending the plan, brought in three expert witnesses to one for the Republicans’ side, Dr. Thomas Brunell of the University of Texas at Dallas. Breithaupt was not impressed with Brunell, writing:

“While I find Dr. Brunell generally to be a credible witness, the methodology he employs, and therefore the conclusions he reached, lack credibility and are therefore unreliable. 

“Several of Dr. Brunell’s conclusions lack even a minimum of academic or methodological rigor. He was unprepared to testify about several components of his submissions.”

Breithaupt also said the Republican petitioners provided insufficient evidence that their alternative map complied with statutory criteria.

State law states, “No district shall be drawn for the purpose of favoring any political party, incumbent legislator or other person.” Independent analyses have indicated that the new congressional boundaries benefit Democrats to varying degrees. However, Breithaupt accepted the statistical argument from the state’s experts that any Democratic advantage would not be significant. 

Hmm. Why then, was the state’s Democratic congressional delegation – with a vested interest in the new boundaries – exerting so much pressure on Democratic legislative leaders? The congressional and legislative district maps were not put together in public, so what was being said behind closed doors? 

We might never know. Apparently, Democratic legislative leaders could not be forced to testify in this case. A legislative provision in the Oregon Constitution states, “Nor shall a member for words uttered in debate in either house, be questioned in any other place.”

“Salem’s success at the Legislature in recent years reflects a concerted effort to rebuild Capitol relationships.”