Oregon
New Oregon US Rep. Janelle Bynum looks for 'low-hanging fruit' in divided Congress • Oregon Capital Chronicle
Janelle Bynum’s journey to Washington, D.C., to begin her work as the U.S. representative for Oregon’s 5th Congressional District was a homecoming of sorts.
The Democratic former state lawmaker, who swam against a red wave in November to flip Oregon’s most competitive congressional district and make history as the state’s first Black member of Congress, grew up in D.C. She left the Beltway three decades ago, first to seek an engineering degree in Florida, then for a job at General Motors while she earned her master’s in business administration from the University of Michigan and finally for her husband’s home state of Oregon.
She had hoped to work as an electrical engineer in Oregon’s Silicon Forest, but employers weren’t hiring in the 2002 recession. So, Bynum and her husband, Mark, took over his mother’s McDonald’s franchise and raised their four children — and when she had the chance to set policy as a member of the state Legislature, she pushed for state investments in the high tech industry to ensure young people graduating from high school or college aren’t turned away like she was.
After winning a bruising campaign last fall against incumbent Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Bynum told the Capital Chronicle she’s looking for ways to make a difference for Oregon and find the “low-hanging fruit” on which Democrats and Republicans can agree.
“I’ve always been an optimist and a person that would stare big challenges down, and I think just the success of my legislative career over the last eight years has proven that Number 1, I will always work across the aisle with my Republican colleagues, even when I don’t have to,” she said. “In this case, I do.”
Most people, she said, ultimately want the same thing — great schools for their kids, child care and good hospitals and doctors in their communities. She sees opportunities to work with Republicans on maternal health care, as research shows that babies born to healthy mothers are less likely to be premature or born with health problems and mothers with access to health care are less likely to die in childbirth.
And she hopes Republicans and Democrats can work together to reduce the ferocity of wildfires, like the Santiam Fire that burned a scar across her district in 2020 and all but wiped out the cities of Detroit and Gates. Congress is now sparring over disaster relief for California’s ongoing wildfires, with Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, pushing for “conditions” on spending.
Bynum also wants to bring her personal experience to congressional conversations about the NCAA. Her older son, Ellis, is a running back for the Oregon Ducks, and she believes it’s important for student athletes to be represented and protected from people who would take advantage of them as sports betting grows in popularity.
Highs and lows
Bynum is one of two new congressional members from Oregon, with Democratic U.S. Rep. Maxine Dexter representing the Portland-based 3rd Congressional District. Both took the oath of office on Friday, Jan. 3, a day Bynum said was exhilarating. She took her oath of office with her family watching and spent time meeting with colleagues with offices on her floor of the Capitol. But on Monday, when she spoke with the Capital Chronicle, she experienced a profound low, with news that Arizona, not Oregon, would receive the last of three semiconductor research hubs. It was a blow for the state’s economy, and it especially stung for Bynum, who led legislative efforts to draw federal funding to Oregon.
The Biden administration opted to place its three research hubs from the $52 billion 2022 CHIPS Act in New York, Silicon Valley and Arizona, skipping Oregon’s Silicon Forest. The administration went on to announce this week that it would award $53 million to HP in Corvallis and $45 million for Oregon State University’s microfluidics research, but those grants are far below the level of federal investment Oregon lawmakers hoped the state would receive from being named a research hub.
“That center would have been an opportunity for us to grow the workforce, and opportunities that our students would have had to intern there and maybe potentially work there,” Bynum said. “So it was a huge missed opportunity for us, and I feel like I’m starting over from scratch again, screaming from the mountaintop like ‘Hey, these are good jobs. This is a good opportunity for our kids, and we have to invest in what we want,’ and we just missed the mark there. I’m bummed.”
That day, Jan. 6, was also the anniversary of an attempted insurrection at the Capitol led by supporters of President-elect Donald Trump trying to block Congress from certifying his 2020 loss to President Joe Biden. It was a somber day, Bynum said, with many of her colleagues clad in black to watch Vice President Kamala Harris certify her own loss to Trump.
“What I experienced in the electoral count acceptance was Vice President Harris exhibiting way more grace than was even fair to ask of her,” Bynum said. “She did her job. She put country over politics, and she did it with a very strong personal constitution. It was tough to watch.”
While she supported Harris and was disappointed in the results of the presidential election, Bynum said she’s open to working with Trump. She thinks they both believe in being disruptive because that’s how businesses advance and innovate.
“What I stand firm on is not allowing him to be destructive,” Bynum said. “Destructive of our democracy, destructive of our families, destructive of our national integrity. That’s where I draw the line. And so where we want to be disruptive and shift the status quo in favor of working families and Americans, I’m willing to do that, but the destructive part, I’ll take a strong stance against that.”
Financial Services Committee
She’ll serve on her top pick of committee, the Financial Services Committee. During her first week in D.C., Bynum took her children on a tour of the White House and told them it wasn’t a coincidence that the Treasury Department is right next door.
She has always been interested in understanding how money moves through the economy, she said, and she wants to make sure that Congress provides the infrastructure and oversight to make sure money moves in a way that unleashes opportunity for families and gives everyone a fair deal.
Rep. Maxine Waters, D-California and the ranking member of the committee, said in a statement that she was pleased to welcome Bynum.
“Congresswoman Bynum has a strong track record of fighting to address the affordable housing crisis and lower rising costs for consumers and working-class families in Oregon,” she said. “I have no doubt she will draw on her background and expertise to continue this important effort and I look forward to working alongside her.”
Throughout her eight years in the Legislature, Bynum was one of only a few Black members and frequently the only Black woman. In Congress, she’s part of a historic contingent of 67 Black lawmakers, 62 of whom, including Waters, are members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
“It’s been interesting to be in a much more diverse workplace, I will say that, and it’s been interesting to not have to explain myself as much in D.C.,” Bynum said. “And so I think, on behalf of the kids of Oregon 5 and the residents, I think that I’ll be much more effective here.”
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Oregon’s juvenile justice system has been reshaped in recent years by a sweeping reform law that changed how the state handles minors accused of serious crimes.
Senate Bill 1008, which took effect in 2020, ended automatic transfers of juveniles into adult court and eliminated life without parole sentences for juveniles. The law also created “second-look” hearings and established parole eligibility after 15 years for certain offenders who committed crimes before turning 18.
To help explain the law and its impact, KVAL’s Frannie Pedersen put together a timeline video tracing the history of Senate Bill 1008, from the passage of Measure 11 in 1994 to the reforms that later reshaped Oregon’s juvenile justice system.
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The video breaks down how the law changed, why lawmakers pushed for reform, and how SB 1008 continues to influence Oregon’s justice system today. Viewers can watch the full video for a detailed timeline and explanation of the changes.
PORTLAND, Ore. — A New Jersey man was sentenced to federal prison last Friday for conspiring to distribute fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford for the District of Oregon.
Mark T. Eager, 34, was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release.
“This defendant showed a blatant disregard for human life by trafficking fentanyl across the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Bradford. “My office will continue to pursue those who profit from poisoning our communities, and we will use every available resource and partnership to combat fentanyl trafficking and keep Oregonians safe.”
“This investigation brought together law enforcement agencies from across the nation,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Seattle acting Special Agent in Charge April Miller. “Homeland Security Investigations special agents from Portland, Newark, and Houston contributed to the case, along with the Portland Police Bureau and HIDTA HIT officers, who were instrumental in identifying Eager. His 11-year sentence sends a clear message: no matter where you are in the country or the world, if you attempt to sell narcotics online to Americans, we will find you.”
“Fentanyl trafficking poses a grave threat to communities across the United States, and Homeland Security Investigations is committed to working with our partners to disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks responsible,” said HSI Houston Special Agent in Charge Lucia Cabral-DeArmas. “This case demonstrates the power of interagency collaboration under the Homeland Security Task Force initiative, leveraging resources from across the country to hold traffickers accountable and protect the American people. We will continue to pursue those who endanger lives through the distribution of dangerous synthetic opioids, and we remain steadfast in our mission to safeguard our communities from the violence and instability caused by transnational criminal organizations.”
“By following this offender’s digital trail, Homeland Security Investigations and our law enforcement partners nationwide executed federal search warrants, dismantled an active dark web fentanyl packaging operation and recovered deadly amounts of fentanyl, thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency, and a trove of electronic devices and packaging materials,” said HSI Newark Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas. “This case is a powerful example of how coordinated, data-driven investigations can disrupt dangerous networks and help protect our communities from lethal synthetic opioids.”
According to court documents, from November 2023 through June 2024, Eager and his co-conspirator sold fentanyl on the Dark Net and Telegram. Eager operated as the vendor WRSEH10 and marketed the fentanyl as “China White Synthetic Heroin.”
In June 2024, HSI agents executed search warrants on two residences associated with Eager in Kearny, New Jersey, and seized over 360 grams of powdered fentanyl, counterfeit M30 pills, drug ledgers, cellular phones, two computers, and drug packaging consistent with three deliveries that were sent to Oregon.
On September 4, 2024, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a four-count indictment charging Eager with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and distribution of fentanyl.
On February 4, 2026, Eager pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.
HSI Portland and HSI Houston investigated this case with assistance from HSI Newark, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Interdiction Task Force (HIT). Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Kerin prosecuted the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey assisted the U.S. Attorney’s in Oregon in obtaining the search warrants that were executed in Kearny.
Oregon State’s season came to an end in Eugene on Sunday evening, after a rocky 7th inning doomed them against the 11th-ranked Oregon Ducks. The Beavers put up a valiant effort to try and fight their way back from the loser’s bracket, but they couldn’t accomplish this incredible feat that they pulled off in 2025.
A Bad Start Changed Everything
Winning the first game of a regional is almost a must if you want to advance, and this is where things started to go south.
After a nearly two-week layoff (since they didn’t have a conference tournament), OSU’s bats were rusty against a very solid left-hander in WSU’s Nick Lewis. Though the Beavers were able to put up a run early on, Lewis rolled with the punches and ended up throwing a complete game against the country’s seventh-ranked team. Though their bats came to life the next day, the uphill climb proved to be too much.
Pitching Wasn’t the Issue
Oregon State came into this tournament with the nation’s best ERA, and their starting rotation was exactly as advertised.
After a good outing from Kleinschmit on Friday afternoon, Eric Segura threw a 6.2 inning gem in an elimination game against Yale. True freshman Trey Morris threw 117 pitches in the rout of WSU early Saturday, and Wyatt Queen was excellent against the Ducks off of short rest later that evening.
The Power Just Wasn’t There
In today’s era of baseball where starting pitchers are so talented, it’s crucial to have guys that can get you runs with just one swing of the bat, especially when the man on the hill is striking a lot of people out.
Throughout the entirety of this season, the Beavers have not been a club that hits for much power, and this makes things difficult in the postseason. In four games across the Eugene regional, Oregon State didn’t hit a single ball out of the park. In 2026 they only hit a total of 55 homers, a stark contrast from the 107 of 2025’s Omaha year.
They Ran into a Good Team With a Deep Pitching Staff
In Mark Wasikowski’s tenure with the Ducks, his team’s pitching has often been a crutch that holds them back from big postseason runs. This certainly doesn’t seem to be the case this year.
Throughout the regional that they hosted, Oregon starters looked nearly untouchable. Will Sanford struck out 14 batters and didn’t allow a run against Washington State. Yesterday against the Beavers, left-hander Miles Gosztola was phenomenal, bouncing back after allowing a run in the second inning. The Ducks also have great relievers in guys like Tanner Bradley and Devin Bell. With a lot of reliable arms to go to, it would’ve been difficult to beat Oregon twice.
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