Capital Chatter: All sides waiting for Brown to lead

Oregon’s sole Republican member of Congress, Greg Walden, chairs the U.S. House committee in charge of repealing and replacing Obamacare. At the Dorchester Conference last weekend, Walden emphasized that Republicans would not kick anyone off Medicaid in replacing Obamacare — officially called the Affordable Care Act — with a new health plan. But he warned that Oregon must figure out how to pay for its Medicaid program, the Oregon Health Plan.

Indeed, the Republican plan released this week does reduce federal funding for Medicaid, including the Oregon Health Plan.

• The return of Bob Packwood: Bob Packwood, then a state representative, founded the Dorchester Conference more than a half-century ago. At age 84, the former U.S. senator was at the grassroots Republican conference last weekend in Salem, swapping political anecdotes over dinner.

• Is Oregon turning Republican? Dorchester 53 was the conference’s first time in Salem, after launching in Lincoln City and later switching to Seaside. The move to the Salem Convention Center may have re-energized the conference. Last fall’s election results certainly did. About 375 people attended, a substantial increase from 2016, and the mood was both triumphant and challenging.

Rep. Walden remains a powerful national figure. Secretary of State Dennis Richardson is the first Republican elected to statewide office in Oregon in years. Republicans picked up a state Senate seat. Those changes had some Republican lawmakers talking of Oregon eventually becoming a Republican state again; however, voter registration statistics do not foreshadow that trend.

• Not speaking like a Republican: Richardson gave a speech Friday night that was mostly nonpartisan even though he was speaking to a Republican crowd. The next day, I asked him about that.

“The message I was trying to convey to the Republicans at Dorchester was that it is more important that we focus on doing what is best for the state than being too worried about the party. The party grows when you have principles that are good for the state,” he said.

Even when partisan, his speech set a tone of inclusivity for the Republican Party, instead of applying litmus tests. “I welcome all voters who substantially agree” with Republican principles, he said. “Our party is the party of freedom, of government that is effective and efficient.”

As he described the functions of the Secretary of State’s Office, he conceded that he held outsized goals when running for the office. “I remember saying on the campaign trail, ‘We’re going to audit DHS,'” Richardson said, referring to the Oregon Department of Human Services. “Boy, was I naive. DHS is huge.”

Instead, the Audits Division will start with one aspect of DHS: the foster care system.

• The Republican pitch at Dorchester: Oregon House Republican Leader Mike McLane, of Powell Butte, pledged, “We can veto any tax increase [in the Legislature], and let me tell you that we’re here to do just that.”

Senate Republican Leader T ed Ferrioli, R-John Day, thanked former President Barack Obama for the Republicans’ national surge: “He’s put more Republicans in office than in any election cycle since the 1920s.”

Ferrioli described the Oregon Legislature as a combination of the “Groundhog Day” movie and the Whack-A-Mole carnival game. Democrats introduce the same bad bills every session and Republicans keep knocking them down.

• Musical message? “Star Wars” was the theme music as Republican state senators were introduced at Dorchester. For Republican state representatives, the music was “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”

• Can you spare a dime? 10 grand? Richardson has reinvigorated the statewide fundraising drive, which then-Secretary of State Kate Brown started, to restore the original document of the Oregon Constitution and display it in a climate-controlled case. His goal is to raise $100,000 by April 1.

He offered to come to Oregonians’ houses to pick up donations. “For 10 grand, I’ll bring dinner,” he quipped.

But he vowed to meet the April 1 deadline, hitting up his campaign donors if necessary: “Normally, Republicans give until Election Day and then quit. Why? Because you lose. Well, we didn’t lose.”

He went on to say, “With victory comes responsibility.”

• Here a forest, there a forest: The 2011 management plan for the Elliott State Forest says it contains more than 500 miles of roads. Playing tourists on Monday, my wife and I could not identify any of them. We saw gated logging-type roads — presumably leading to the Elliott — but nary a sign that indicated where the forest is. That contrasts with the Tillamook and Santiam state forests, which we’ve visited on other outings.

We did see a few “Save the Elliott” signs. But no directional signs for the Elliott. Neither have I found anything on the state government websites about how to access the Elliott.

The steep, rugged forest has no campgrounds or other amenities. As Richardson said at Dorchester: “This is not Yosemite. It is not Yellowstone. It is not even Champoeg.”

This is relevant because state officials are debating whether to sell the Elliott to fulfill its legal obligation to provide funding for Oregon public schools. That got me wondering how many Oregonians had visited the Elliott, hence our Monday trip.

Gov. Kate Brown has reversed position and now wants to keep the Elliott in public hands. The other two members of the State Land Board – Richardson and State Treasurer Tobias Read – want to proceed with the sale.

Having been on the losing side at last month’s Land Board meeting, Brown said Wednesday that she is trying to get the Legislature to take up the issue. Senate President Peter Courtney has supported public ownership but not by issuing general-obligation bonds.

• Going nowhere: Rep. Sal Esquivel, R-Medford, confirmed that his three bills related to immigration will not receive a hearing in the Democrat-controlled Legislature. The measures would have overturned Oregon’s status as a “sanctuary” state, required the use of E-Verify to determine a person’s eligibility to work, and made English the official state language.

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