Our “Don’t Get Drazan Duped” series focuses on the promises of the Christine Drazan campaign that have helped turn the Republican challenge to Gov. Tina Kotek’s office into a tight race. Be prepared to let friends and family know the difference between these candidates, and to not get “Drazan duped.”
By Bobby Sample
Republican candidate for Oregon Governor, Christine Drazan, aptly sets “Lower the Cost of Living” at the top of her list of promises on her website.
However, the “Drazan Plan” for this, according to her own campaign, leans heavily on attacking the Climate Protection Program and other regulations that are in place to protect Oregon and its residents.
While “lower taxes” is an easy sell in general, this agenda is designed to favor corporations, not people. The notion of addressing the cost of living by cutting taxes such as the Corporate Activity Tax (CAT) (which provides revenue for education) and other regulations aligns with the irrational belief in trickle-down economics. This is the theory that government policies that favor Wall Street will pass financial savings and benefits down to others. The trickle-down theory has been proven false in reviews of such policies over the past 50 years; trickle-down economics has instead caused the enormous economic inequality we see today. (See the 2022 study in Socio Economic Review for example.)
Obviously taxes are always subject to review and reform, but Drazan’s alignment with Donald Trump’s priorities is conspicuous in her plan. Trump’s leadership and lack thereof have been shown to severely worsen the country’s Main Street economy.
In contrast, Gov. Tina Kotek also favors tax and fee cuts to help regular people without special priorities that favor corporations or attack our climate safety. In truth, for a more complete solution down the road, we depend on many changes at the national level to further impact the Republican onslaught against affordability. Not misleading promises.
Gov. Kotek on Tackling Rising Costs
Recognizing that federal chaos and Republican priorities are the culprits of most U.S. citizens’ cost of living stresses, the Governor has gone after corporate price gouging, worked to lower housing costs, and fought to put more money back in the pockets of Oregonians.
From tinaforgovernor.com:
- Gov. Kotek called for a three-year pause on new local taxes in the Portland area, canceled proposed freeway tolls, and cut property taxes for Oregonians affected by wildfires.
- Gov. Kotek signed new consumer protection laws – shielding families from having their credit ruined by medical debt and stopping predatory auto loans.
- Gov. Kotek signed a set of new laws to rein in utility rates and prevent utility companies from price-gouging Oregon families.
- Gov. Kotek signed the Emergency Housing Stabilization and Production Package to make it easier to build homes in communities across Oregon, cutting red tape, simplifying the building process, and increasing interest-free loans to local governments – all to make housing more affordable for Oregonians.
- Gov. Kotek canceled proposed freeway tolls so that Oregonians who commute on I-205 don’t have to shoulder an unfair burden.
See also:
Bobby Sample is with the COIN Comms Team, Dunes City Indivisible, and Oregon Coast Indivisible Alliance.