We get it, y’all are busy, and this whole election thing feels like a time-suck from some fever dream family counseling session gone wrong. You just don’t wanna talk about this stuff anymore, you’re sick of arguing, and you also know it really-really matters. So here we are, democracy ain’t easy.
Hopefully, we at The Advocate can in some small way be helpful. We pore over voting records, talk endlessly with elected-folk and generally think about this stuff more than our friends want to hear about. We argue about the candidates and the issues; we consider and reconsider.
And in the end, even if you think we have it all wrong, well hell, at least you’re thinking about it. So, let’s get on with it. For your consideration, our 2026 primary election endorsements.
FEDERAL
U.S. Senator, Jeff Merkley
Jeff Merkley is our pick for the Democratic nomination. He’s somewhat left of Wyden, but not in any extreme way that would give mainstream Democrats pause, and he still manages to churn out bipartisan legislation on occasion. This is a reliably Democratic seat; it does not appear any of the candidates seeking the Republican nomination to oppose Merkley would prevail in November’s general election.
Congressional Representative, Val Hoyle
We strongly endorse two term Representative Val Hoyle, in our experiences with her, she has been a down-to-earth presence that speaks about issues, sometimes in deservedly colorful language. Hoyle gets things done. More than some others, she willingly reaches across the aisle. And that’s been beneficial to the district she serves, which is all of us back home. We have not always seen eye-to-eye with Hoyle, but we have appreciated her mix of depth, pragmatism and downright good scrappiness. Also, if we ever entirely agreed with anyone, it would just be plain weird.
Melissa Bird is also running for this nomination, and she makes points that strike chords with us. But Hoyle’s deep well of knowledge and clear-eyed straightforwardness make her the clear choice in this race.
On the Republican side of the ledger; Monique DeSpain is the presumptive nominee.
STATE
Governor, Democratic nominee, Tina Kotek
Incumbent Governor Tina Kotek is the presumptive nominee on the Democratic side of the ledger.
Governor, Republican nominee, Christine Drazan
State Senator Christine Drazan is probably the best prospect Republicans have against Tina Kotek in the fall. And among the front runners for her party’s nomination, she would be the best qualified to take over as Oregon’s top executive. She’s served six years in Oregon’s House, and a year in the State Senate.
She is a skilled politico. As House minority leader, she led Republican walkouts that drove enough Democrats so completely nuts that they got a measure on the ballot intended to bounce legislators with 10 or more unexcused absences. That was Measure 113, which voters ultimately approved. At the same time, she still managed to work with Democrats to move a fair amount of bipartisan legislation. We do have bones to pick with her on the issues, but we’ll deal with that as the general election approaches.
Drazan’s most viable opponent is Chris Dudley. He characterizes himself as a more moderate alternative, when you dig into what he’s said over time, not so much. Also, he has no experience, having never held political office.
Oregon State Senate, District 8
Incumbent Sara Gelser Blouin is unopposed in the Democratic primary, Valerie Draper Woldeit is unopposed in the Republican primary. If this sounds like déjà vu, it’s because these two candidates faced off in the general four years ago as well.
Oregon House, District 16
Incumbent Sarah Finger McDonald is seeking a second two-year term and is running unopposed in the Democratic primary. No candidate has filed for the Republican primary.
Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries, Christina E Stephenson
We are somewhat skeptically endorsing incumbent Christina E Stephenson for another term. The Bureau of Labor and Industries, or BOLI, has been a troubled beleaguered mess since the days of Commissioner Brad Avakian. It’s been egregiously underfunded. It can take years to resolve even simple cases. All of this predates Stephenson’s tenure, and even Val Hoyle’s time as commissioner before her.
So, if the BOLI commissionership sucks this bad, we are prepared to give Stephenson a little slack. We thought it was sort of badass how she wrangled new funding for the department at a time of tightening budgets. We sort of wish she’d done that earlier in her term, but she was new to the gig, so okay.
Opponent Chris Lynch is a frontline worker at the department; he’s been a Civil Rights Investigator, and Civil Rights Manager. Most observers believe he could step into the commissionership, if need be. If BOLI hasn’t sufficiently improved by 2030, it may be that he should. Until then, we don’t think it’s fair to expect BOLI to be turned around in only four years.
Judge of the Circuit Court for Benton County, Position 3, Yema Measho
Yema Measho is our choice for Benton County Circuit Court Judge. Measho receives high praise from fellow attorneys, and we believe her placement on the bench would personify our shared community’s highest values. Measho is an immigration attorney with more than 15 years experience, she brings an understanding of how state and federal law intersects at a time when that seems especially relevant.
She has served as a Benton Community Foundation Board Member; currently serves as a Corvallis Multicultural Literacy Center Board Member; and is a frequent guest speaker on immigrant rights and law. If elected, Measho would replace Judge Joan Demarest, who is retiring. And like Demarest, Measho seeks to build recovery and treatment into the system.
Measho’s opponents are Joseph Elwood and Mike Flinn.
The attorneys we spoke with didn’t have much to say about Elwood, a common refrain being they just don’t know much about him. Conversely, Flinn has received some support, but also backlash, and not just from attorneys. Measho, however, has received the widest praise, no backlash, and plainly stated, she’s impressive.
We believe this race will result in a two-way runoff during the general.
COUNTY
Benton County Board of Commissioners, Position 1, Pat Malone
Pat Malone is our endorsement for the Benton County Board of Commissioners primary. Longtime readers may be surprised, we’ve never endorsed Malone in a primary, and it’s no secret we have some strong disagreements with him. So let us explain.
Malone personifies the idea that still waters run deep. Think about the downtown Corvallis Crisis Center. Four years ago, we challenged him about funding full staffing before it was ever built. His answer back then; he admitted it would be a problem, and that full staffing would take time. Now, four years later, it’s built, but the hours are limited, so when we hosted him in a debate last month, we asked him about it. His answer, some good news, the hours will be extended in June, 7 am to 7 pm over weekdays. He then said it would take time to open the Center during weekends and then added with a stoic confidence; “baby-steps.”
And then it struck us. Malone is a tree farmer; the idea that you plant what looks like not much, pay it mindful attention over time, and wait, comes naturally for him. Patience and continued attention may not make for an exciting campaign message, but it does make things happen. Malone is one of those people that understands the parts within the parts, and how to leverage what they’re made of.
He is championing parks, new campgrounds and bike paths. He is well respected among local budget commission geeks, which seems important in a time of fewer state and federal resources flowing into the County coffers. He’s been appointed by the governor to a solid waste task force and just happens to drop during debate, like it’s no big deal, that it appears things will be worked out that area trash will be hauled to remote regions of Eastern Oregon and Washington. In other words, an actual plan for after Coffin Butte closes. Like, still years away, but an actual plan.
Malone’s opponent is Adair Village City Councilor and Benton County Planning Commissioner John Wilson. Much has been said about both candidates sharing, for the most part, similar views. And there has been frustration that neither candidate believes the County can constructively intervene in our growing local health care crisis and diminishing schools.
But there are some subtle differences. Wilson may be more willing to litigate when state and federal requirements and policies would be harmful to Benton County residents. Malone has a better understanding of what economic development can achieve. Like we said, subtle. We do wish a more transformative approach was on offer.
Also, there is the elephant in the room. Malone initially voted to approve the Coffin Butte Landfill expansion. We at The Advocate believe he got that one wrong. Underlining that view, within a couple days of that decision we received information that the dump would likely be sanctioned by Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality for landfill gas emission violations.
Malone responded to that new information, ultimately voting to reject the expansion.
However, we are aware that some readers cannot forgive Malone for that first vote, and to them we would say we understand, and in that instance, Wilson would absolutely be a reasonable choice. Currently, the matter is with Oregon’s Land Use Board of Appeals, where it was always going to go, no matter what.
And once we put the landfill issue aside, the choice becomes clear. We think Wilson would be a good commissioner, but not a broadly visionary or transformative one. And if basic goodness at the job is the defining metric in this race, Malone is the standout choice, and most especially for some of the most pressing challenges that appear to be on the horizon.
No Republican has filed for this race.
MEASURES
State Measure 120, hell damn no, maybe okay, yes
We are barely endorsing a yes vote on this one, and we wouldn’t blame anyone for voting against it. In short, a yes vote raises DMV fees, gas taxes and payroll taxes. A no vote keeps all those fees and taxes the same as they have been.
Here’s the specifics, if you’re considering a yes vote. Oregon’s gas tax would go from 40 cents to 46 cents, raise DMV title fees from $77 to $216 and double the payroll tax used for public transit from 0.1% of a paycheck to 0.2% until 2028.
The law would also raise most vehicle registration fees. Registration for a passenger vehicle would go from $86 to $170 every two years, motorcycle registration would go up from $88 to $172 every two years, and registration for low-speed or medium-speed vehicle would go from $126 every two years to $210.
Our basic analysis is this. ODOT needs the money, but this is yet another regressive Oregon tax. Another tax that impacts lower income people more harshly than anyone else.
We know this has become a highly partisan issue with most of the players behaving, in our view, poorly. We don’t care about any of that; we just think this is bad policy, with an alternative that is also a bad idea. By press time, our position on this measure had seen three shifts. We think our lawmakers need to do better than this.
City Charter Amendment Measures, yes
Yes on all the City of Corvallis Charter amendments. They’re just good governance, and they’re all multipartisan. The local County iterations of the Democratic, Republican and Green parties are all endorsing these measures, which is weirdly sublime in a sci-fi time traveler sort of way, but let’s just move along…
Anyhoo, we promise, everything in these measures is just technical and boring and good. Basically, this is the City taking the advice of their attorney to bring their Charter language into line with what’s recommended by the League of Oregon Cities.
One last point, the Amendments are broken into four different Measures, 2-143, 2-144, 2-145 and 2-146. And we know you won’t remember those numbers until you see them again on your ballot, which brings us to our last-last-last point, please vote.
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CORRECTION: A prior version of this story included misspellings of Yema Measho’s name, and reported that she is a current rather than former Benton Community Foundation Board Member.
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