The Nov. 5 election will include three measures that the 2023 Oregon Legislature referred to voters. Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, appointed Senate Majority Leader Kathleen Taylor of Portland to the Joint Committee on Ballot Measure Arguments for the three referrals. House Speaker Julie Fahey of Eugene appointed House Majority Leader Ben Bowman of Tigard and Rep. Kim Wallan, R-Medford. Referral 401 allows impeachment of statewide elected officials who are part of the executive branch. Referral 402 creates the Independent Public Service Compensation Commission for setting officials’ salaries. Referral 403 establishes ranked choice voting for elections.

Carlos Rodriquez, deputy director of the Oregon Youth Authority, is on a six-month job rotation as special assistant to the director of the Department of Administrative Services.

Trilby de Jung retired as deputy director of Health Policy and Analytics at the Oregon Health Authority. Nikki Olson is serving as interim deputy director.

Brittany Wake is interim director of Equity and Community Partnerships for OHA’s Behavioral Health Division. Wake fills the vacancy created when director Alfonso Ramirez was appointed interim director of the Equity and Inclusion Division.

Matt Donegan is the new chair of the state Environmental Quality Commission. He previously chaired the Governor’s Council on Wildfire Response and the State Board of Higher Education. He also was a founding member of the Oregon Global Warming Commission, Oregon Innovation Council and Oregon Education Investment Board.

Matt Mills and Kat Bethea joined the Oregon Department of Forestry last week as support specialists dealing with emerald ash borer. Mills was with the state Department of Agriculture and Bethea with the city of Portland Urban Forestry. They replace Lilah Gonen and Evan Elderbrock, who moved into permanent community assistance forester positions in ODF’s Urban and Community Forestry Program.

David Jarvis, who spent nine years as a policy and fiscal analyst for the Oregon Higher Education Commission, moved to Portland Community College as a financial management analyst.

The Oregon School Activities Association hired Lauren Brownrigg, senior associate athletic director at Pacific University, as an assistant executive director. She replaces Monica Maxwell, who will join the National Federation of State High School Association on Aug. 1 as director of sports. At OSAA, Brownrigg will administer state championship events in soccer, cheerleading, dance/drill, band/orchestra and tennis.

Oscar Arana was named CEO of the NAYA Family Center in Portland. A former journalist and field director for Sen. Ron Wyden, Arana has worked the Native American Youth and Family Center on and off since 2008. For the past year, he has been interim CEO.

Jeb Bladine, publisher of Yamhill County’s News-Register, and Les Zaitz, editor and publisher of the Malheur Enterprise, were inducted into the Oregon Newspaper Hall of Fame by the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association. (Zaitz also is editor of Salem Reporter and was founding editor of Oregon Capital Chronicle.)

If you have an update on who’s coming or going – or taking on a new assignment – in state government or organizations involved with it, email Dick Hughes at TheHughesisms@gmail.com.