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9Local politics, the county, and the world, as viewed by Tammy Maygra Tammy’s views are her own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bill Eagle, his pastor, Tammy’s neighbors, Wayne Mayo, Betsy Johnson, Brad Witt, Former President Trump, Henry Heimuller, Joe Biden, Pat Robertson, Ted Cruz, Joe Biden’s dogs, or Claudia Eagle’s Cats. This Tammy’s Take (with the exception of this disclaimer) is not paid for or written by, or even reviewed by anyone but Tammy and she refuses to be bullied by anyone. See Bill’s Standard Disclaimer
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Betsy Johnson refuses to show the public her tax returns, is she afraid people will see that she is not the ordinary Oregonian she claims to be?
Betsy Johnson - Candidate or Spoiler?
Betsy Johnson a former Republican and a former Democrat decided that she wanted to be Oregon’s next governor. But Betsy thinks she is very clever and decides to run as an Independent. The Independent party of Oregon has about 100,000 voters which are scattered about the state. So far, the Independent party has not been the party to sway an election. But if the Independents decide to back Betsy, she might have a good chance to win the governor’s race. Past elections the IPO does not usually nominate its own candidates, but polls show independents sway more to the right than the left. Or at least get enough independent votes and Betsy could be the spoiler which might throw the election to the republicans.
Much of Johnson’s fundraising and big-name support so far comes from Republicans. Phil Knight, Stimpson Timber Company, Global partners, Columbia Sportswear CEO Tim Boyle, many rich private parties, and a lot of other out of state money. You can find out the names and amounts on ORSTAR.
She has labeled Oregon’s largest city, Portland, as filthy, crime ridden and too tolerant of homelessness, Betsy has made homelessness a centerpiece of her campaign. She claims she will solve the problem but doesn’t really say how. She recently called Portland the “city of roaches.” Maybe she didn’t mean that all residents were roaches. Maybe she just meant the homeless inhabitants of Portland’s tent cities were. Maybe she meant that dirty, homeless people attracted roaches. And said she hears a “clarion call” by members of the Greater Idaho movement that Oregon is headed in the wrong direction. I say if you don’t like the way Oregon is move to Idaho. These freaks who wants Oregon to succeed are bat crap crazy and cant stand the fact that majority is ruling. Maybe her solution means sweetheart real estate deals, or maybe it means just pushing the homeless off into some forgotten corner. Tagging Oregon’s major city the “city of roaches” doesn’t seem like a good way to correct the negative impression that the rest of the country has about our state. How does that attract business or reduce our divisions? Given her long years in office, maybe Betsy is part of the problem.
Republican Christine Drazan’s anti-abortion stance is too far right, she says, while Democrat Tina Kotek is too soft on homeless people camping on public property. Betsy is pro-choice and pro-gun, for gay rights but voted no on higher minimum wages. She likes less of land Use laws, faster permitting for corporations.
Yet Johnson has No- I repeat NO- ideas of how to clean up Portland, or address the homeless issue. Johnson has spent decades in the legislature and she has not brought forth a bill to solve any of these issues. She says throughout her campaign that she will take ideas from the Democrats and the Republicans to solve these problems. I would like to see what her ideas are. After all, if you want to be the Governor of Oregon show some forward thinking.
I will say this, Betsy has the ability to get things done as a legislator and a decades long pattern of aid to large corporations and wealthy individuals, often at the expense of the environment. And while her environmental voting record is poor—the Oregon League of Conservation Voters scored her at 41% in 2021, lower than then-Senate Minority Leader Fred Girod (R-Stayton)—it’s her direct intervention in state agencies outside her work in the Senate that critics find more troubling.
Us older folks who has followed Johnsons voting record, listened to her speak on issues, her involvement on corporations shows her interest has always been to lighten the hand of government on businesses in terms of regulation and public health.
DEQ spokesman Harry Esteve says, “Sen. Johnson has had a strong interest in DEQ’s work and has engaged more frequently with DEQ than most lawmakers.” As for whether Johnson ever came to the agency seeking tougher regulation, Esteve says, “Not that we recall.”
Donations from extraction companies. Forest Products: $1.06 million, led by Sierra Pacific Resources ($200,000) and Hampton Lumber ($150,000) Mining/Excavation: $1.05 million, led by Papé Group ($750,000) and CalPortland ($150,000) Fishing: $290,000 from Pacific Seafood and affiliates, Petroleum: $160,000 from Global Partners.
Betsy tried to get out of a car crash which she was at fault. Johnson rear-ended another driver at a red light in Scappoose in 2013, when she was serving in the Oregon senate. Both Johnson and the person in the other car, a 42-year-old woman named Melissa Gallentine, suffered serious injuries due to the crash. But when Gallentine filed a lawsuit against her to recover money for her medical expenses, Johnson tried to shirk responsibility by claiming legislative immunity. (In a statement to Willamette Week, Johnson said she was ‘thinking about a bill’ she was on her way to Salem to introduce, and ‘didn’t notice that the intersection light had just changed.’) Johnson and her lawyers were “attempting to create a sort of Catch-22 that would have allowed Johnson and her insurance company to escape all responsibility.” Johnson also attempted to put the financial onus for Gallantine’s injuries on Oregon taxpayers, claiming the state should be responsible for footing the bill since she was serving legislative duty at the time of the crash. Johnson may not have overstepped the law. But her effort to exempt herself may prove embarrassing for a candidate who has made accountability and transparency bywords of her gubernatorial campaign.
A new campaign ad showing her driving past homeless encampments in downtown Portland and talking about her strategy for the city’s homelessness crisis. In the video, she’s shown taking her eyes off the road to directly address a camera in the passenger seat as she’s operating the moving car. You would think she would have learned from her first accident that it pays to pay attention when operating a motor vehicle.
Betsy claims to be just an ordinary Oregonian, a “can-do type that will get things done. Her criticizing against politicians creates the false impression she is an independent new to the game. All this is misleading bull crap. Betsy grew up in a GOP political family and has been playing politics for over 30 years. She actually inherited some big money. The huge amount of campaign money she has raised comes mostly from GOP mega-donors. Betsy is hardly just another ordinary Oregonian struggling to get by.
From her refusal to reveal her tax returns, Betsy is the image of Trump. For all her talk about telling it like it is, is deceptive and ambiguous. Her truck stop waitress brashness and logger talk is phony to the core.
If you shake her hand I would count your fingers, if you understand what I mean. Betsy is the friend of the rich not the ordinary Oregonian as she falsely claims.
Tammy
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