You know, I REALLY wanted to be done with my end-of-meeting-notes-retrospective before I wrote this voter guide. The narrative flow would have been straightforward, and this guide would have served as a symbol that I was not in fact going anywhere. But alas, the State of Oregon isn’t going to change the date of the Primary just because Analysis of Algorithms is hard. So disrespectful.
Listen, I don’t have a lot of time, so we’re going to just knock this out real quick. If you’ve been with me a while, you know the drill. This guide will cover everything on my ballot. Your ballot may look different. I’ll be using the Voter’s Pamphlet, Laura Camacho's Voting Guide, debates, my personal experience with candidates, and other resources to inform my choices.
President: Joe Biden
I am not going to pretend to be enthusiastic about voting for Joe again, but it’s okay if you feel compelled to act like you are if you want. I’m also not going to waste either of our time explaining why.
US Representative, 5th District: Sorry Jamie, Going with Bynum
This race and the Deschutes County Commissioner are the two most important sections on your ballot. As one of the handful of competitive house seats in the country, the result of the general election for this seat could be the determining factor for who controls the US House of Representatives. This year, democrats have to choose between two very similar candidates: Jamie McLeod-Skinner and Janelle Bynum. Their political platforms are basically identical. Both candidates have talked to and engaged with Bend YIMBY and are focusing on issues I think are important, like climate, housing, and abortion rights. In the absence of policy positions that significantly distinguish them in my mind, the decision moves to who I think has a better chance to oust the incumbent in the general. I think Bynum is the stronger candidate for the following reasons:
Bynum is a better debater.
City Club of Portland Primary Debate
DeRemer-Skinner KTVZ Debate 2022
While Jamie has an excellent ground game, one of her weakest points as a candidate is her consistently mediocre debate performances. This weakness is apparent in both her debate last election with DeRemer on KTVZ, and in her more recent primary debates against Bynum. Both Bynum and DeRemer are excellent debaters and have good stage presence. I worry that Jamie will struggle to convince undecided and non-affiliated voters to get on board with her campaign because of this.
Jamie is vulnerable to political attack.
In a race this competitive, it is important to consider how a candidate will be framed by their opposition, and I am very concerned about the reporting coming from the Oregon Capital Chronicle that indicates that there are at least 7 former campaign staffers and consultants willing to go on the record to criticize her management style and behavior.
“She spends so much time tearing her staff down that she neglects her duties, like fundraising and building support with voters and important allies. And, of course, her staff are unable to complete their duties when spending hours each day being berated by her,” the strategist said. “Jamie not only verbally abused her staff, she threatened retaliation when they reported her behavior. I’m not aware of any other ‘tough bosses’ in politics who cross that line.”
I do not have direct access to her campaign, and there are people who know Jamie that are enthusiastic, respect her, and are willing to stand up to disavow these claims. However, I have brought this issue up several times with different people that work with campaigns in the area, and everyone seems to know someone that has had a negative experience working with her.
Whether this issue is real or not does not change the fact that this story is going to be heavily used in attack ads and during debates by DeRemer’s campaign, and its existence is going to be something Jamie’s campaign will have to better address if she wants to succeed in the general.
Janelle has some angles that could be used to attack her as well, most notably a defamation case from 2022, related to a claim that the Bynums unfairly terminated an employee they thought was stealing. However, the case is settled between the two parties and closed. As far as I can tell, it’s a nothingburger.
This race is going to need cash.
Lori Chavez-DeRemer has 1.8 million dollars in the bank right now to use for this campaign. Janelle has 560k and Jamie has 313k. (Source) There are a few different reasons why Jamie is not keeping up with Bynum, but a large reason is their campaign’s decision to not accept Corporate PAC money. It’s one of the major ways she and Bynum are different. Ethically, I think this is great. We should have less money in politics. LISTEN. I HATE GETTING MAILERS. THEY’RE THE WORST. I also hate seeing political ad after ad on TV, but this race is going to be messy, and while I respect Jamie’s campaign for sticking to their morals, that’s not going to stop DeRemer’s campaign from having access to a disgusting amount of money coming in from all over the country to influence this pivotal election. Fight gross money with gross money, that’s what I say. Flipping this seat is going to be really hard. Why make it harder?
People I trust have endorsed Bynum.
I am a Bend-first person. When looking at who to vote for, I prioritize endorsements from people locally I know and respect. A lot of people are holding off from endorsing in this primary because it is pretty contentious. Even Laura is holding off on making a recommendation. Mayor Melanie Kebler hasn’t endorsed anyone, and most of the council are also holding back, the notable exception is Mayor Pro-tem Perkins and Councilor Riley. Both have endorsed Bynum.
“Janelle Bynum is a leader, a steadfast problem solver and someone who cares deeply for the needs of Oregon’s working families,” “She’s beaten Lori Chavez-DeRemer twice before, and I know she’s the leader to do it again this November.”
- Perkins
“As a business owner, an effective and progressive legislator with deep roots serving our district and a record of winning campaigns, I’m confident Janelle Bynum has what it takes to deliver for the people of CD 5 in the halls of Congress,”
- Riley
So in summary
I am voting for Bynum because I think she is a stronger candidate that has access to more resources and the support of people I trust. I intend to get fully behind the winning candidate after May.
Secretary of State: Tobias Read
Going with Read because he is endorsed by 3 Bend City Councilors, and it’s Laura Camacho’s pick. Not much else to say, really.
State Treasurer: Elizabeth Steiner
CAMACHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Attorney General: Dan Rayfield
I don’t have a particularly strong position on this race. Both Shaina Pomerantz (a progressive Black Jewish lawyer, and Camacho’s pick) and Dan Rayfield (the current Speaker of the House of Oregon) seem well suited for the role. Going with Dan because I have a thing for nerds.
State Senator, 27th District: Anthony Broadman
I have watched 72 City Council Meetings in which Anthony Broadman did his thing, and the only reluctance I have in endorsing him as a State Senator, is that it means that Bend has to share him with more people. Anthony is absolutely amazing, and I have absolutely nothing negative to say.
State Representative, 53rd District: Emerson Levy
Emerson is a wonderful person running for her second term in office after sniping Sipe in the last election. In those two years, she’s shown herself to be a reliable advocate for affordable housing, and she did a great job hitting the house floor running. She is also focused on updating ebike legislation. Her first piece of landmark legislation, Trenton’s Law was passed unanimously. It changed State law so that it matches the Class 1, 2, and 3 federal ebike classification standards. Regrettably, the most important part of the bill, allowing kids to use Class 1 ebikes, was removed from the bill days before it was voted on. This caused Bend-LaPine schools to ban e-bikes on campus, which I am pretty bummed about. Hopefully we send her back to Salem to finish the work she started.
All the Judges are fine
County Commissioner, Position 2: Phil Chang
Phil Chang our only current commissioner with consistency and integrity. He's pragmatic, data-driven, and tries really hard to be collaborative with two of the most infuriatingly uncooperative, flippity-floppity commissioners we've ever had. I'm still mad that Deschutes County voters couldn't get it together enough to give him new coworkers last election and he's still stuck with Patti and Tony.
- Laura Camacho
Laura sums this race up well. This primary is a race to get Phil Chang more than 50% of the votes. If he gets 50% of the votes, the race is over, and we don’t need to do this circus again in November. The other three candidates on the ballot are only there to serve as a spoiler to try to prevent Phil from reaching that 50% threshold. Phil recently did a Q&A with Bend YIMBY where he spent over a half an hour talking in detail about the ways the County can improve access to affordable housing. The guy really knows his stuff. If you are tired of the stagnation of one of the most important local political positions in Central Oregon, sign the petition to expand the County Commission from 3 commissioners to 5.
9-167, 5 Year School Levy: YES
When you see a levy on the ballot to pay for our Fire Department or Schools, you really just need to vote yes without thinking too hard about it. I’m going to let the School District speak for itself here:
Passage of the levy would help the District focus on strategies that prepare students for lifelong learning and career success. The district serves over 17,000 students in 33 schools.
If approved, the levy would establish a tax rate of $1.00 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The estimated cost for a home with a median assessed value of $238,750 is about $239 a year. The levy would provide the District approximately $21.2 million in the first year.
What will the levy do?
Restore staff positions, protect and maintain current class sizes
Support staff recruitment and retention
Fund expansion of Career Technical Education and other academic programs
Expand support systems for students across the district
What if the levy does not pass?
Up to 180 positions eliminated over the next 2 years
Average class sizes increase approximately 4 students per class
Limited access to CTE and advanced academic courses
Counseling and support services stretched thin
30% reduction in building budgets
And that’s all he wrote! I hope this guide helps you make an informed decision. Be sure to mail your ballot in before May 21st!