3 political newcomers vie to represent Portland’s west side in Oregon House
Three political newcomers are vying to represent Portland’s west side in the Oregon House, a seat currently held by Rep. Maxine Dexter, who is running for Congress.Doctor Bryan Duty, environmental lawyer Peter Grabiel and health care clinic CEO Shannon Isadore will face off in the May 21 Democratic primary for House District 33, which includes downtown and much of Northwest Portland. Whoever wins the primary is expected to coast to victory in November, as registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans more than seven-to-one in the district.Each candidate has received an endorsement from a previous Oregon governor, but Duty has raised about $96,000, nearly double what his competitors have received combined. The state’s most powerful public employee unions have also weighed in on the race, splitting their endorsements between Duty and Isadore.Duty, a urology professor and surgeon at Oregon Health & Sciences University, said his top priorities in the Legislature would be boosting the capacity of Oregon hospitals, expanding behavioral health services and increasing health care workforce retention. He said his medical expertise would make him a strong choice for the Behavioral Health and Health Care Committee.Duty has received endorsements from former Gov. John Kitzhaber, Metro President Lynn Peterson, the Oregon League of Conservation Voters and several unions, including the Oregon chapters of the Service Employees International Union. He has raised more than $96,000, including $10,000 from former Nike CEO Mark Parker and his wife and $10,000 from the wife of former top Nike advisor and negotiator Howard Slusher, campaign finance records show. He has also donated $11,700 to his own campaign.“If elected, I will alleviate our health care system’s strain by increasing hospital capacity, enhancing medical training, retaining the best health professionals and addressing the shortfall in health service investments,” Duty wrote in response to an Oregonian/OregonLive questionnaire.Grabiel, a lawyer who has advocated for major international efforts to curb the effects of climate change, said his top priorities would be enacting environmental legislation and addressing Oregon’s public defender shortage. Grabiel spent several years negotiating climate policy for the United Nations as a senior lawyer for the African Union, according to his LinkedIn profile. He was part of a team that negotiated the 2016 Kigali Amendment, an international agreement to reduce the use of certain greenhouse gasses commonly used in air conditioners and refrigerators.If elected, Grabiel would be the first Latino to hold the District 33 seat, according to his campaign website. Grabiel has received endorsements from the Portland Metro Chamber, former Gov. Barbara Roberts and international climate expert Durwood Zaelke. He has raised about $34,000, including a $10,000 loan he made to his campaign, campaign finance records show.“I am the only candidate who has built a broad-based coalition to achieve a significant policy goal — which I did at the United Nations over a nine year period culminating in the adoption of a landmark international climate change law [in 2016],” Grabiel wrote. “I also know how to draft legislation that accomplishes a chosen policy goal, as I have done throughout my career as an environmental lawyer.”Environmental lawyer Peter Grabiel is vying to represent Portland's west side in the Oregon House. He said his top priorities in office would be enacting environmental legislation and addressing Oregon’s public defender shortage.Pete Grabiel campaignIsadore, a U.S. Marine veteran and founder of the Oregon Change Clinic, a culturally specific behavioral health clinic, said her focus in the Legislature would be creating affordable housing, supporting behavioral health initiatives and addressing Portland’s downtown office vacancies. If elected, Isadore would become the only Black woman serving in the Legislature with the departure of Rep. Janelle Bynum, D-Happy Valley, who is running for Congress.She is endorsed by former Gov. Kate Brown, five Democratic lawmakers from the Portland area and several unions, including the statewide teachers union and the Oregon chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Isadore has raised about $15,000, including a $5,000 contribution from the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association’s political action committee.“I know what it takes to provide culturally specific behavioral health and substance use disorder services to BIPOC people and veterans,” Isadore wrote. “Oregon taxpayers are investing $211 million in treatment and recovery. They deserve the expertise of a treatment provider with the financial background I have to ensure it’s well spent.”Housing, tolling, climate changeEach of the candidates said they would take steps to ensure that the $376 million housing and homelessness package approved by the Legislature earlier this year would be effectively carried out. However, they outlined different steps they would take to build on the package’s major initiatives.Isadore said she would ensure that the state’s housing and development-focused agencies have sufficient money and resources to help cities promote development and ensure that cities use their state dollars effectively. She also said “we need to streamline the siting of recovery housing to hold local jurisdictions accountable for building the entire continuum of housing.”Duty said he would prioritize making sure housing development dollars lead to new housing quickly. “If we do not see a substantial increase in affordable units,” he said, “we should revisit subsidies and incentives to further reduce the cost of development.”Grabiel said he would promote dense urban growth instead of sprawl and support legislation that reduces the amount of regulatory red tape that slows down housing development. He said he would also support the creation of large shelters to reduce unregulated camping in Portland.Lawmakers next year plan to take up a major transportation package to help maintain and build roads and necessary infrastructure. The three candidates said they wouldn’t support road tolling in their district to fund roads because it puts too high of a financial burden on working class and low-income individuals. Grabiel, however, did say he would support a toll on Vancouver residents who drive into Portland because they “pay far less taxes than Portlanders do to maintain our shared metropolis.”The three candidates also said they support the Department of Environmental Quality reestablishing the state’s Climate Protection Program, which would cap greenhouse gas emissions produced from burning fossil fuels. Last year, the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled that the program did not meet certain disclosure requirements and was legally invalid.Doctor Brian Duty, candidate to represent Oregon's District 33 in the House, speaks with campaign supporters. Duty said his top priorities in the Legislature would be boosting the capacity of Oregon hospitals, expanding behavioral health services and increasing health care workforce retention.Courtesy of Brian Duty campaignGrabiel said he supports the environmental agency’s efforts to revive the program and would work to ensure that the program couldn’t be easily overturned by a future governor.Additionally, Grabiel said lawmakers should explore a cap-and-trade system similar to those of California and Washington, which incentivize the use of clean energy by requiring major polluters to buy state-issued allowances on every ton of greenhouse gas they produce. In Oregon, Republican lawmakers have adamantly opposed and killed Democrat-backed bills that would create a cap-and-trade system by boycotting legislative floor sessions and denying Democrats a quorum to pass those bills, most recently in 2020.Isadore said she strongly supports the reintroduction of the state program and applauded the Legislature’s recent move to order the state treasury to drop all fossil fuel investments in its investment portfolio.Duty said the climate protection program is a win-win for all Oregonians because it creates jobs, reduces carbon emissions, lowers energy prices and encourages clean energy investment.He said lawmakers should take further environmental action, including “restoring long-term funding for the electric vehicle rebate program, continuing the fight against wildfires through prevention and reforestation and expanding solar and wind projects.”All three candidates said they would support an update to the State School Fund formula, which has not been revised in 30 years. They agreed that the state should provide more funding to schools but had different views on how much say the state should have on the spending by individual districts.Duty said the situation is complex and that he supports Gov. Tina Kotek’s call for a work group to explore school funding. “I think the state should take more accountability for funding failures,” Duty said. “The evidence suggests that mandates on districts have not often been successful and should be reviewed.”Grabiel said the state should have a say in certain classroom issues, such as class sizes or programs for students who exhibit disruptive behavior. That would mark a huge policy change in a state with a long history of local control that is carefully guarded by school boards, superintendents and teacher unions.“Schools that are not meeting educational standards should be subject to additional guardrails and given additional resources to meet the state’s and citizens’ expectations,” Grabiel said.Isadore said she would oppose more state-imposed guardrails on how school districts can use their funding.Duty said the state should take more accountability for funding failures in the state’s employee pension fund, and Isadore said the state should take over paying the pension fund’s highest costs, instead of leaving that to school districts.“I would lift the voices of education experts about what would be most effective and equitable,” Isadore said. “I believe we should not only look at how we’re doling out dollars but whether the pot itself is big enough.”— Carlos Fuentes covers state politics and government. Reach him at 503-221-5386 or cfuentes@oregonian.com.Our journalism needs your support. Subscribe today to OregonLive.com.
Each candidate has received an endorsement from a previous Oregon governor.
Three political newcomers are vying to represent Portland’s west side in the Oregon House, a seat currently held by Rep. Maxine Dexter, who is running for Congress.
Doctor Bryan Duty, environmental lawyer Peter Grabiel and health care clinic CEO Shannon Isadore will face off in the May 21 Democratic primary for House District 33, which includes downtown and much of Northwest Portland. Whoever wins the primary is expected to coast to victory in November, as registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans more than seven-to-one in the district.
Each candidate has received an endorsement from a previous Oregon governor, but Duty has raised about $96,000, nearly double what his competitors have received combined. The state’s most powerful public employee unions have also weighed in on the race, splitting their endorsements between Duty and Isadore.
Duty, a urology professor and surgeon at Oregon Health & Sciences University, said his top priorities in the Legislature would be boosting the capacity of Oregon hospitals, expanding behavioral health services and increasing health care workforce retention. He said his medical expertise would make him a strong choice for the Behavioral Health and Health Care Committee.
Duty has received endorsements from former Gov. John Kitzhaber, Metro President Lynn Peterson, the Oregon League of Conservation Voters and several unions, including the Oregon chapters of the Service Employees International Union. He has raised more than $96,000, including $10,000 from former Nike CEO Mark Parker and his wife and $10,000 from the wife of former top Nike advisor and negotiator Howard Slusher, campaign finance records show. He has also donated $11,700 to his own campaign.
“If elected, I will alleviate our health care system’s strain by increasing hospital capacity, enhancing medical training, retaining the best health professionals and addressing the shortfall in health service investments,” Duty wrote in response to an Oregonian/OregonLive questionnaire.
Grabiel, a lawyer who has advocated for major international efforts to curb the effects of climate change, said his top priorities would be enacting environmental legislation and addressing Oregon’s public defender shortage. Grabiel spent several years negotiating climate policy for the United Nations as a senior lawyer for the African Union, according to his LinkedIn profile. He was part of a team that negotiated the 2016 Kigali Amendment, an international agreement to reduce the use of certain greenhouse gasses commonly used in air conditioners and refrigerators.
If elected, Grabiel would be the first Latino to hold the District 33 seat, according to his campaign website. Grabiel has received endorsements from the Portland Metro Chamber, former Gov. Barbara Roberts and international climate expert Durwood Zaelke. He has raised about $34,000, including a $10,000 loan he made to his campaign, campaign finance records show.
“I am the only candidate who has built a broad-based coalition to achieve a significant policy goal — which I did at the United Nations over a nine year period culminating in the adoption of a landmark international climate change law [in 2016],” Grabiel wrote. “I also know how to draft legislation that accomplishes a chosen policy goal, as I have done throughout my career as an environmental lawyer.”
Environmental lawyer Peter Grabiel is vying to represent Portland's west side in the Oregon House. He said his top priorities in office would be enacting environmental legislation and addressing Oregon’s public defender shortage.Pete Grabiel campaign
Isadore, a U.S. Marine veteran and founder of the Oregon Change Clinic, a culturally specific behavioral health clinic, said her focus in the Legislature would be creating affordable housing, supporting behavioral health initiatives and addressing Portland’s downtown office vacancies. If elected, Isadore would become the only Black woman serving in the Legislature with the departure of Rep. Janelle Bynum, D-Happy Valley, who is running for Congress.
She is endorsed by former Gov. Kate Brown, five Democratic lawmakers from the Portland area and several unions, including the statewide teachers union and the Oregon chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Isadore has raised about $15,000, including a $5,000 contribution from the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association’s political action committee.
“I know what it takes to provide culturally specific behavioral health and substance use disorder services to BIPOC people and veterans,” Isadore wrote. “Oregon taxpayers are investing $211 million in treatment and recovery. They deserve the expertise of a treatment provider with the financial background I have to ensure it’s well spent.”
Housing, tolling, climate change
Each of the candidates said they would take steps to ensure that the $376 million housing and homelessness package approved by the Legislature earlier this year would be effectively carried out. However, they outlined different steps they would take to build on the package’s major initiatives.
Isadore said she would ensure that the state’s housing and development-focused agencies have sufficient money and resources to help cities promote development and ensure that cities use their state dollars effectively. She also said “we need to streamline the siting of recovery housing to hold local jurisdictions accountable for building the entire continuum of housing.”
Duty said he would prioritize making sure housing development dollars lead to new housing quickly. “If we do not see a substantial increase in affordable units,” he said, “we should revisit subsidies and incentives to further reduce the cost of development.”
Grabiel said he would promote dense urban growth instead of sprawl and support legislation that reduces the amount of regulatory red tape that slows down housing development. He said he would also support the creation of large shelters to reduce unregulated camping in Portland.
Lawmakers next year plan to take up a major transportation package to help maintain and build roads and necessary infrastructure. The three candidates said they wouldn’t support road tolling in their district to fund roads because it puts too high of a financial burden on working class and low-income individuals. Grabiel, however, did say he would support a toll on Vancouver residents who drive into Portland because they “pay far less taxes than Portlanders do to maintain our shared metropolis.”
The three candidates also said they support the Department of Environmental Quality reestablishing the state’s Climate Protection Program, which would cap greenhouse gas emissions produced from burning fossil fuels. Last year, the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled that the program did not meet certain disclosure requirements and was legally invalid.
Doctor Brian Duty, candidate to represent Oregon's District 33 in the House, speaks with campaign supporters. Duty said his top priorities in the Legislature would be boosting the capacity of Oregon hospitals, expanding behavioral health services and increasing health care workforce retention.Courtesy of Brian Duty campaign
Grabiel said he supports the environmental agency’s efforts to revive the program and would work to ensure that the program couldn’t be easily overturned by a future governor.
Additionally, Grabiel said lawmakers should explore a cap-and-trade system similar to those of California and Washington, which incentivize the use of clean energy by requiring major polluters to buy state-issued allowances on every ton of greenhouse gas they produce. In Oregon, Republican lawmakers have adamantly opposed and killed Democrat-backed bills that would create a cap-and-trade system by boycotting legislative floor sessions and denying Democrats a quorum to pass those bills, most recently in 2020.
Isadore said she strongly supports the reintroduction of the state program and applauded the Legislature’s recent move to order the state treasury to drop all fossil fuel investments in its investment portfolio.
Duty said the climate protection program is a win-win for all Oregonians because it creates jobs, reduces carbon emissions, lowers energy prices and encourages clean energy investment.
He said lawmakers should take further environmental action, including “restoring long-term funding for the electric vehicle rebate program, continuing the fight against wildfires through prevention and reforestation and expanding solar and wind projects.”
All three candidates said they would support an update to the State School Fund formula, which has not been revised in 30 years. They agreed that the state should provide more funding to schools but had different views on how much say the state should have on the spending by individual districts.
Duty said the situation is complex and that he supports Gov. Tina Kotek’s call for a work group to explore school funding. “I think the state should take more accountability for funding failures,” Duty said. “The evidence suggests that mandates on districts have not often been successful and should be reviewed.”
Grabiel said the state should have a say in certain classroom issues, such as class sizes or programs for students who exhibit disruptive behavior. That would mark a huge policy change in a state with a long history of local control that is carefully guarded by school boards, superintendents and teacher unions.
“Schools that are not meeting educational standards should be subject to additional guardrails and given additional resources to meet the state’s and citizens’ expectations,” Grabiel said.
Isadore said she would oppose more state-imposed guardrails on how school districts can use their funding.
Duty said the state should take more accountability for funding failures in the state’s employee pension fund, and Isadore said the state should take over paying the pension fund’s highest costs, instead of leaving that to school districts.
“I would lift the voices of education experts about what would be most effective and equitable,” Isadore said. “I believe we should not only look at how we’re doling out dollars but whether the pot itself is big enough.”
— Carlos Fuentes covers state politics and government. Reach him at 503-221-5386 or cfuentes@oregonian.com.
Our journalism needs your support. Subscribe today to OregonLive.com.