The Oregonian slams Kotek, lays out ODOT disaster

By Taxpayers Association of Oregon
OregonWatchdog.com

The Sunday Oregonian Editorial laid out all the blame, problems, and mistakes of the year-long transportation debate — which resulted in an epic gas tax battle and petition referendum campaign:

The Oregonian calls out Governor Kotek for not taking responsibility and botching the 2025 Legislature effort;

“But nowhere did she take accountability for her role in creating the mess Oregon now faces. While her fellow Democrats dropped the ball first, unveiling a ridiculously large transportation package less than three weeks before the legislative session was to end, Kotek did no one any favors by staying on the sidelines until the session’s dwindling days.”

The Oregonian faults her for not listening:

“listening to only one side of the aisle in crafting a massive tax increase is a recipe for severe voter backlash — a lesson she soon learned.”

The Oregonian faults her for trying to block voters by delaying the bill:

“…the governor delayed signing the bill into law, significantly limiting how long opponents had to collect the signatures needed to refer portions of House Bill 3991 to the November 2026 ballot. It did not matter; arguably, the stalling tactic backfired. A quarter million Oregonians signed the petition in a shockingly short amount of time”

The Oregonian says Kotek should pay attention to voters:

“It makes sense to repeal the taxes and fees that were referred to the ballot — a 6 cent-per-gallon increase in the gas tax; a 181% increase in title costs; a doubling of the payroll tax and several other hikes — even if Republicans may prefer to keep the referendum on the ballot for political advantage. Certainly, legislators and the governor should have paid much more attention to Oregonians’ voices before passing the bill.” 

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