Oregon
Oregon Health Authority’s slowness to respond to drug crisis stymies expansion of care – Oregon Capital Chronicle
Last August, the Oregon Health Authority asked residential addiction treatment providers to identify “shovel ready” projects to increase the state’s ability to care for adults and youth.
Within weeks, providers submitted details on 16 projects that the state could fund. Many providers had already purchased or identified buildings, secured some funding from other sources and hired contractors or obtained cost estimates to renovate or expand existing facilities.
But they all are still waiting for a funding decision, according to interviews and records obtained by the Capital Chronicle.
Providers need state money to respond to the crisis, with overdose numbers skyrocketing, hundreds dying every year and streets awash with fentanyl. Construction costs alone require a mix of funding sources, including from foundations and the community. State money is a critical part of most behavioral health and addiction projects – it can increase the size and the ability to treat more people – and nonprofits need quick responses to obtain permits, hire contractors and finalize plans.
Yet the health authority makes providers wait for decisions for months. Officials are slow to respond to requests; they cancel meetings and are slow to reschedule even when providers are ready to go and even though state lawmakers have earmarked millions of dollars to the Oregon Health Authority for more residential treatment facilities.
“What I hear from my members is the slow response and lack of clarity and untimely payment processes is very concerning to all of our members,” said Heather Jefferis, executive director of the Oregon Council for Behavioral Health, which represents providers. “They are at the point where they have to start thinking about: Can I proceed with the project that OHA has to offer because of these timeliness issues?”
A Capital Chronicle analysis of public records and interviews with behavioral health providers with potential expansions reveal an agency that’s slow to respond to the crisis, forcing providers to wait to finalize plans or move forward with scaled-down projects.
Oregon lawmakers have stepped up: In the 2023 session, with backing from Gov. Tina Kotek, legislators approved $158 million in behavioral health money for new projects and programs. Of that, $15 million was earmarked for construction and expansion of residential addiction treatment facilities.
And again this session, lawmakers have made the addiction crisis – along with housing – a priority, with wide-ranging proposals that include increasing treatment capacity.
Just this month, the health authority released a report saying the state lacks nearly 3,000 beds to care for adults who need addiction or mental health care. Yet the Oregon Health Authority plods along at a frustratingly slow pace for behavioral health providers trying to move forward on expanding treatment services.
We don’t need another blue ribbon task force. We need to get our shovels out, get our development going.
– Tim Murphy, CEO of Bridgeway Recovery Services in Salem The agency’s slowness is not new, but the stakes are higher than ever, with turmoil visible on the streets, while the available funding has rarely been higher. In the 2023 session, Oregon lawmakers, with backing from Gov. Tina Kotek, approved $158 million in behavioral health money for new projects and programs. Of that, $15 million was earmarked for construction and expansion of residential addiction treatment facilities.
Yet today, not one penny of that $15 million has been distributed, even as lawmakers look for ways to fund more projects this short session.
In 2022, the Oregon Health Authority also was flush with money to address the crisis. It had several hundred million in cannabis revenue to fund a range of services statewide under Measure 110, yet it was slow to act. Critics also were angered by the agency’s chaotic approach to awarding the first round of Measure 110 grants for addiction-related services and programs. A Secretary of State audit even said the rollout was burdened by administrative requirements and a lack of clarity around how to dole out money.
Advocates and local officials also raised concerns about the health authority’s pace at rolling out an historic $1 billion in new behavioral health investments that lawmakers allocated in the 2021 session.
Industry leaders and state government insiders who closely follow the state’s behavioral health system are growing weary of the red tape and task forces that often slow down the pace of meaningful action.
“We don’t need another blue ribbon task force,” said Tim Murphy, CEO of Bridgeway Recovery Services, which provides residential addiction treatment and other health services in Salem. “We need to get our shovels out, get our development going.”
Oregon Health Authority officials insist they are moving forward with urgency, and a spokesperson said the state plans to award money to projects this spring. But when asked, Tim Heider, an agency spokesperson, offered no examples of any changes the authority is making to get money to providers sooner.
In an interview, Dr. Sejal Hathi, the Oregon Health Authority’s new director, said the agency has identified about $87 million in funds that are “immediately available” to help projects. But she also said the needs are much higher and years of work are ahead to erase the state’s deficit of beds.
“We’ve identified a series of shovel ready projects to begin to chip away at that behavioral health providers are poised to break ground for with funding that we have received,” Hathi said. “But right-sizing that system of care is going to take more than five years and likely going to require additional investments from the Legislature of more than $500 million. And so this is a marathon. It’s not a sprint.”
Elisabeth Shepard, a spokesperson for Kotek’s office, said the OHA’s new leadership is focused on accountability and improvements. Hathi, hired from New Jersey, started in mid-January. Last year, Kotek recruited Ebony Clarke, the authority’s behavioral health director, from Multnomah County.
“She is never satisfied if things take longer than they need to,” Shepard said when asked if Kotek is satisfied with the pace of the agency’s work getting money to providers. “Her administration inherited an agency exhausted by a global pandemic and significantly lacking internal systems and leadership on behavioral health.”
Parrott Creek’s slog
A children’s services provider’s struggle offers just one example of the difficulty providers face trying to get funding from the agency.
Last year, Parrott Creek Child & Family Services in Oregon City was in the midst of planning a new youth residential facility to treat teenagers for addiction to fentanyl and other drugs. Managers at the Clackamas County-based organization recognized the growing threat of fentanyl – and the need for more young people to access treatment.
In June, they were optimistic. Annaliese Dolph, the governor’s behavioral health initiatives director at the time, connected Parrott Creek managers with Clarke. In an email on June 28, 2023, Dolph told health authority officials the group was planning a project to serve youth in addiction and needed funding.
“This project should be on the radar for you and your team,” wrote Dolph, now director of the Oregon Alcohol and Drug Policy Commission.
Parrott Creek is a well known provider in Oregon and works with children with mental health and addiction challenges who sometimes have been in the child welfare or juvenile justice systems. It opened in 1968 and has worked with tens of thousands of children, youth and families over the years. But even after an introduction from the governor’s office and months of lobbying health authority officials, Parrott Creek officials have received no money from the agency.
Records show Parrott Creek officials repeatedly stressed the urgency of the crisis and the implications of a delayed decision.
With $8 million, they told state officials they could finish Parrott Creek’s planned two-part expansion and open 40 beds by the end of 2024. Without state money, Parrott Creek only has enough funding to complete a smaller expansion of 28 beds scheduled to be open by the end of this year.
Agency officials visited the site in August, and Parrott creek submitted project details in September. On Oct. 26, Parrott Creek officials asked the health authority for a response to its request.
“We are asking for an investment of $8M from the state so that we can ensure our 40 new beds come online by November 2024 as opposed to 2025 or, most likely, 2026,” Fulford wrote in the email.
Parrott Creek managers made follow-up calls and persisted, to the point of apologizing for their repeated check-ins.
“I REALLY apologize if any of that has been annoying but I hope it shows you that we are committed to delivering this much needed additional capacity for Oregon’s kids,” Fulford wrote in October.
On Nov. 2, his team met with agency officials. But a follow-up meeting on Nov. 7 was canceled.
“Unfortunately due to the demands of legislative presentations it looks as though we will need to reschedule today’s call,” Robert Lee, the agency’s senior policy advisor, emailed the group.
Fulford tried again.
“I will continue to stress the urgency on our side to know of funding commitments so that we can plan effectively to (hopefully!) bring our 40 new beds online for Oregon youth in 12 months as opposed to 24 or 36,” Fulford wrote on Nov. 7.
Later that month, Fulford again pushed health authority officials to meet, reminding them of the state’s lack of youth residential programs. Between 2018 to 2022, nearly 300 Oregonians aged 15 to 24 died from a drug overdose, according to federal data that also shows the state has the fastest-growing rate of teen drug deaths in the country.
I’d argue that kids in Oregon can’t wait until 2026 to address their growing acute mental health and addiction needs.
– Simon Fulford, executive director of Parrott Creek Child and Family Services email to the Oregon Health Authority
“I’d argue that kids in Oregon can’t wait until 2026 to address their growing acute mental health and addiction needs,” Fulford wrote on Nov. 20.
Health authority officials scheduled another meeting for Dec. 7. About three hours before it started, health authority officials canceled it, citing “other pressing issues.”
Later that month, state officials did meet with Parrott Creek managers. Fulford is still not sure what to expect.
“We feel like we’ve become a bit of an annoyance by continuing to ask them sort of the status of that decision making,” he said in an interview. “We feel like we’re in a bit of a holding pattern with OHA.”
For now, he’s hoping that lawmakers will fund the $8 million. But now that they’ve started the first phase of the project, completion of any additional beds won’t happen until 2025 at the earliest, he said.
“If we had secured that money by the end of 2023, we would have been able to guarantee the full completion by the end of 2024,” Fulford said.
Providers in Redmond, Salem wait, too
Fulford is not alone in his frustrations.
Rick Treleaven, CEO of BestCare Treatment Services in Redmond, which provides addiction treatment to people in central Oregon, is also waiting for answers. He’s been trying to get funding for two projects. One request is for about $506,000 that would help him add 10 more beds. The other is a 16-bed residential facility to serve Latinos.
“I’ve written that and sent that in maybe six times at this point,” he said. “Somehow it gets garbled. And so we’ll see what comes out of that.”
His organization contracts with the state to provide residential addiction treatment services for Latino men. But they currently lack the space to house Latinas in residential programs. This means Latinas have no options for residential treatment, even though the population of Latinos has continued to grow, he said.
“We have 13 male beds and that’s it,” he said. “That’s a classic example of institutional racism.”
Treleaven speculated that the slowness stems from an exodus of senior staffers during the pandemic.
“My sense is that during the pandemic, most of the senior staff who had been there a long time and knew how to do these things retired out,” he said, leaving a handful of experienced top managers.
In September, Salem-based Bridgeway Recovery Services, which provides residential and outpatient behavioral health care and addiction treatment services, requested funding to purchase two-six bedroom houses that would add 10 to 14 beds to its existing 24 beds, records show.
Bridgeway officials hope lawmakers will approve about $10 million for a 34-bed detox project to help people manage their withdrawal symptoms.
Bridgeway has about $6 million of Measure 110 funding, which is enough for it to break ground, but $10 million more is necessary to complete it, Murphy said.
Murphy said he understands the state needs to be careful making funding decisions, but said officials need to move more quickly. For example, he said, it’s typical for agency officials to acknowledge a request and say they’ll respond in 30 days.
“Why can’t they get back to me within 10 days?” he said. “That would make things work a little faster.”
The need is urgent, he said.
“Because of the high need we have in the state, because of the high overdose rates, because of the homeless population, we really need to expedite the services and try to develop an easier path for providers like Bridgeway and others,” Murphy said.
‘Let’s move’
State lawmakers again this session plan to allocate money to “shovel ready” projects, and providers have submitted a list, including some submitted to the health authority last year.
Providers are seeking money for about 40 projects across the state, from rural eastern Oregon to the coast, according to a list obtained by the Capital Chronicle. Not all of them will be funded. Even if they were, the state would still have a shortage of beds. But the quicker some of them are funded, the more quickly the state can address the addiction crisis.
“I would just like to see less talk – more action,” Murphy said. “Let’s move. We’ve got people ready to go.”
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PeaceHealth announced Thursday that Dr. Jim McGovern is no longer serving as chief executive for the organization’s Oregon region, effective immediately.
Following a period of administrative leave, we determined that a leadership change was in the best interest of the organization,” said Sarah Ness, PeaceHealth president and CEO.
Heather Wall will continue in her established interim leadership role to ensure continuity, stability and uninterrupted operations across the Oregon region while PeaceHealth recruits for the chief executive role in Oregon.
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“Together, as we shape our future, PeaceHealth leaders are entrusted to consistently bring our Mission and Values to life by creating environments where caregivers and partners feel seen, heard, supported and inspired to do their best work,” Ness said. “We remain focused on delivering high-quality, compassionate care and supporting our caregivers as we move forward together.”
In Oregon, state representatives serve two-year terms. Like state senators, state representatives represent a specific district based on population. Currently, Democrats hold a 37-23 majority in the state House. Over 100 candidates have filed for the 60 seats up for election. Of the 60 districts, approximately 20 are in the Portland Metropolitan Area (Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties).
State-level representatives address local and regional issues such as education policy, health care, transportation, public safety and taxes. Because state representatives serve smaller districts than state senators, their policymaking tends to be more localized and focused on their respective geographic regions.
Each candidate received a questionnaire containing three questions. Candidates were limited to 150 words per answer. Candidates submitted written responses via email, and may be edited for clarity. Read more about Street Roots elections coverage here.
District 27 Democratic Primary
Currently, Rep. Ken Helm (D) represents District 27, which includes Beaverton, Cedar Hills and nearby communities. No Republicans have filed campaigns for District 27, which is a historically blue district.
Name: Ashley Hartmeier-Prigg
City: Beaverton, OR
Current occupation: Director of product management at Crate & Barrel
Prior political office held: Beaverton City Councilor (2021-present), Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District director (2019-2021)
In recent years, the state has relied most heavily on subsidizing private development to address housing affordability and market shortages. Do you agree with this approach?
Subsidizing private development to address affordable housing has been an effective tool in helping meet our affordable housing needs, but I don’t think it’s the only solution we should consider. In Beaverton, we have built over 600 affordable units using Metro Affordable Housing bond dollars, and that is a huge accomplishment; however, it doesn’t come close to meeting the need. I think public housing is a really interesting option, and has worked very well in other countries. I believe we should find innovative and creative ways to build more housing to ensure people at all income levels have safe and affordable housing.
The Legislature greatly reduced state funding for eviction prevention and supportive housing in favor of more shelters. Researchers say this approach increases evictions and homelessness. Will you push your colleagues to restore eviction prevention and supportive housing funding?
Eviction prevention is critical to ensuring families remain housed and avoid the trauma of the shelter system. While emergency shelters are necessary, investing in prevention is a guaranteed strategy to reduce their demand. However, “Housing First” alone is insufficient; we must also restore funding for supportive services to provide the resources necessary for individuals to thrive long-term.
I am committed to pushing my colleagues to prioritize and restore funding for these vital programs. My plan includes making prevention a budget priority, advancing reinvestment legislation, and collaborating with community partners to ensure effective fund distribution. If we are serious about our Democratic values, we must invest in preventing homelessness at its source, rather than simply responding after our neighbors have already lost their homes.
Some lawmakers wish to repeal the state law requiring local homelessness policies to be “objectively reasonable” to more easily criminalize homelessness. Would you support or oppose the effort to repeal the law?
I strongly oppose any effort to repeal the “objectively reasonable” standard and further criminalize homelessness. We need to fully stop treating homelessness as a crime. Penalizing people for sleeping outside or having nowhere else to go does nothing to solve the crisis and pushes people further into instability, making it hard for folks to access housing and services. I think we have failed as a society that so many folks have to sleep outside. We should be focusing on real solutions: increasing affordable housing, expanding supportive services, and investing in eviction prevention so fewer people end up homeless in the first place. And if someone finds themselves homeless, there needs to be resources to help them get back to stable housing.
Name: Tammy Carpenter
City: Beaverton, OR
Current occupation: Retired. Former anesthesiologist and engineer.
Prior political office held: Beaverton School Board Director (2023-present)
In recent years, the state has relied most heavily on subsidizing private development to address housing affordability and market shortages. Do you agree with this approach?
The public-private partnership paradigm that has long been at the center of our approach to housing is not working. We are not getting enough affordable, family housing from the for-profit system. I believe the government needs to invest in social housing. We should be building dense, transit-accessible housing that is permanently affordable and owned cooperatively by the tenants or by the government. We should follow the lead of the City of Portland, and begin the process of social housing in Beaverton. Government dollars should be spent on publicly owned, high-quality, permanently affordable, environmentally and socially sustainable housing that is insulated from speculation and private equity that drives up the cost of housing in the private market.
The Legislature greatly reduced state funding for eviction prevention and supportive housing in favor of more shelters. Researchers say this approach increases evictions and homelessness. Will you push your colleagues to restore eviction prevention and supportive housing funding?
Preventing homelessness is the most effective way to reduce homelessness. I will work with my colleagues in Salem to help working families by restoring programs that prevent evictions, like emergency rent assistance and relocation funding. More importantly, I will introduce a renters’ bill of rights that will protect tenants from profit-driven landlords who charge excessive fees, unfairly increase rents, or don’t maintain habitability standards. While we are working to prevent evictions, we must also be working to get folks who have been experiencing long-term homelessness into permanent housing and supportive services to finally end the cycle of homelessness in our state.
Some lawmakers wish to repeal the state law requiring local homelessness policies to be “objectively reasonable” to more easily criminalize homelessness. Would you support or oppose the effort to repeal the law?
It is simply inhumane that we have criminalized poverty. This is not a new phenomenon, but the public visibility of the current crisis is leading many elected leaders to attempt to sweep the problem under the rug rather than fundamentally change our approach to housing. Our current affordability crisis makes it almost impossible for folks to even get back on their feet without some kind of help. I believe that we must repeal this law and make significant investments in directly helping folks experiencing homelessness through each step of the rehousing process.
District 38 Democratic Primary
District 38 includes South Waterfront, Lake Oswego and portions of Southwest Portland. Incumbent Rep. Daniel Nguyen, currently serving his second term, is up against John Wasielewski, who has no prior political experience.
Name: Daniel Loc Nguyen
City: Lake Oswego
Current occupation: Representative serving House District 38 and Founder of Bambuza Hospitality Group
Prior political office held: Lake Oswego city council (2019 – 2022)
In recent years, the state has relied most heavily on subsidizing private development to address housing affordability and market shortages. Do you agree with this approach?
“Yes, and” is the answer.
Every Oregonian deserves a safe, affordable place to live, regardless of income and government should help support and create the conditions to make that happen.
My “yes” is because we need to build more housing and for that, private developers are best positioned. That’s why I supported one of the largest-ever investments in housing in Oregon’s history, which prioritized middle-income, temporary housing, and first-time home ownership.
And we need to focus on and ensure housing production in the 0-80 MFI range. We have learned the hard way in Portland that building, managing, and maintaining public housing is difficult. Private developers partnered with funding and strong long-term agreements with local governments and communities may be our best path.
The Legislature greatly reduced state funding for eviction prevention and supportive housing in favor of more shelters. Researchers say this approach increases evictions and homelessness. Will you push your colleagues to restore eviction prevention and supportive housing funding?
Funding eviction prevention is the most humane and cost-effective tool we have to prevent homelessness. It was very disappointing to see a reduction. Our next economic forecast comes out May 20th and I’ll be watching to see if there is an opportunity to commit additional dollars to eviction prevention. And if it’s a no in May, I’m going to try again in September.
Likewise, supportive housing is a proven pathway out of homelessness, reduces reliance on emergency systems–pairing housing with access to mental health care, addiction treatment or case management has significant public health benefits as well.
I appreciate Street Roots’ consistent coverage of the shortcomings of our funding levels and system failures. Keep the pressure on us to do better.
Some lawmakers wish to repeal the state law requiring local homelessness policies to be “objectively reasonable” to more easily criminalize homelessness. Would you support or oppose the effort to repeal the law?
Oregon’s “objectively reasonable” standard is a vital safeguard—it prevents punishing people for having nowhere to go. As a former city councilor, I understand the pressure local governments face. But moving people without real alternatives like shelter or housing is cruel, counterproductive and costly.
The fight to overturn this common-sense standard is a distraction that keeps us from holding the federal government accountable for its inaction on the housing crisis. We haven’t seen homelessness at this scale since the Great Depression, when Roosevelt responded with large-scale federal housing efforts. Oregon and the Portland metro regional taxpayers have invested millions, but we need federal leadership to match the scale of this crisis and deliver real, lasting solutions.
Name: John Wasielewski
City: Lake Oswego
Current occupation: Middle school teacher at Lake Oswego Middle School, cross-country and track coach
Prior political office held: None
In recent years, the state has relied most heavily on subsidizing private development to address housing affordability and market shortages. Do you agree with this approach?
Subsidizing private development is one tool available to address housing affordability and market shortages, but it cannot be the only one. Just as we wouldn’t build an entire house with a
single tool, we must utilize a diverse set of strategies to effectively solve the housing crisis. We need to explore innovative alternatives to meet our community’s needs, as market-rate housing remains inaccessible to many, especially those in the greatest need. It is essential that we consider and experiment with options like social housing and rental assistance to provide opportunities for mitigating this crisis in our city.
The Legislature greatly reduced state funding for eviction prevention and supportive housing in favor of more shelters. Researchers say this approach increases evictions and homelessness. Will you push your colleagues to restore eviction prevention and supportive housing funding?
As a middle school student support specialist, I work within a data-informed pipeline designed to deliver targeted interventions. This system only succeeds when every stage is adequately resourced. Divesting from one area to consolidate funding into a single solution, like shelters, would, at best, create an expensive holding cell with no clear off-ramps for those seeking to exit homelessness. We cannot prioritize one fix over another; eviction prevention and supportive housing are not secondary. They are co-equal components of an effective, integrated strategy. Just as in education, a gap in any part of the system causes the entire pipeline to fail. We must commit to a comprehensive approach that includes eviction protection and supportive housing funding. (Suggested: I would also join my colleagues in passing a moratorium on the ban of rent control measures to keep rents from being raised so exorbitantly.)
Some lawmakers wish to repeal the state law requiring local homelessness policies to be “objectively reasonable” to more easily criminalize homelessness. Would you support or oppose the effort to repeal the law?
I do not support repealing this law; the standard for moving individuals should remain “objectively reasonable.” However, I do support providing greater statutory clarification on what “objectively reasonable” means so that the courts are not the sole determinants of that definition. Homelessness is not an individual economic choice; it is a systemic economic failure. While criminalizing homelessness might make it easier for our current system to “address” the issue by hiding it, it does not solve the underlying problem. Criminalization merely hides homelessness. To truly solve it, we must ensure there are dedicated resources effectively coordinated within a holistic pipeline that addresses the crisis at its roots
District 40 Democratic Primary
District 40 includes Gladstone, Oregon City, Johnson City, Jennings Lodge, Oatfield and parts of unincorporated north Clackamas County. Democratic incumbent Rep. Annessa Hartman announced in September that she will not seek reelection. Neither of the Republican candidates, Adam Baker and Sue Leslie, provided answers.
Name: Charles Gallia
City: Oregon City
Current occupation: Retired
Prior political office held: None.
In recent years, the state has relied most heavily on subsidizing private development to address housing affordability and market shortages. Do you agree with this approach?
Subsidizing private development can be part of the solution, but it cannot be the backbone of our housing strategy. In high-cost markets like ours, subsidies alone often produce too few truly affordable units, too slowly, and at too high a per-unit cost. We need a more balanced approach: significantly expand non-market housing (public, nonprofit, and community land trusts), streamline approvals for deeply affordable projects, and align subsidies with long-term affordability requirements. I also support using public land more aggressively and tying incentives to outcomes—units affordable to people at the lowest incomes. It’s time we thought of smaller cottages that become owned and create intergenerational wealth and community.
The Legislature greatly reduced state funding for eviction prevention and supportive housing in favor of more shelters. Researchers say this approach increases evictions and homelessness. Will you push your colleagues to restore eviction prevention and supportive housing funding?
Yes—I would push to restore and stabilize funding for eviction prevention and supportive housing. The evidence is clear: it is far less expensive—and far more humane—to keep people housed than to rehouse them after displacement. It should also not just shift the burden onto people renting out homes to absorb the expense. Overreliance on shelters is costly and doesn’t solve homelessness over time. A smart approach prioritizes upstream interventions: rental assistance and services that stabilize people with complex needs. Shelters have a role, especially in emergencies, but they can not displace proven strategies that prevent homelessness in the first place. 1:1 support. We need a housing continuum that works, and right now we are underinvesting in the parts that deliver the best outcomes.
Some lawmakers wish to repeal the state law requiring local homelessness policies to be “objectively reasonable” to more easily criminalize homelessness. Would you support or oppose the effort to repeal the law?
I would oppose repealing the “objectively reasonable” standard. It exists to ensure that local policies balance community concerns with basic constitutional protections and human dignity. Criminalizing homelessness without adequate shelter or housing options is not only ineffective—it exposes cities to legal risk and pushes people further from stability. We should focus on solutions that reduce homelessness, not policies that simply move it around or make it less visible. That means expanding access to shelter and housing, investing in behavioral health services, and supporting local governments with clear, lawful frameworks. Accountability matters, but it must be paired with realistic options for people to comply. Otherwise, we are legislating failure rather than solving the problem.
It should be very clear what that means too.
Name: Michael Sugar
City: Oregon City
Current occupation: High school social studies teacher.
Prior political office held: None
In recent years, the state has relied most heavily on subsidizing private development to address housing affordability and market shortages. Do you agree with this approach?
We should continue to subsidize private development, but we can go further by supporting Main Street Grants that don’t just help restore historic building facades, but also subsidize renovation of aged or historic office space to expand housing. Over the long term, we can also invest in social housing similar to the Austrian model that actually helps families stabilize permanently in mixed-income communities instead of temporarily and precariously in poverty-dense areas as current affordable housing models sometimes do.
The Legislature greatly reduced state funding for eviction prevention and supportive housing in favor of more shelters. Researchers say this approach increases evictions and homelessness. Will you push your colleagues to restore eviction prevention and supportive housing funding?
All of these are important: eviction prevention, supportive housing and shelters. I would push my colleagues to find balance there, and also to improve on the supportive housing models: frequently, these models are so time-limited or income restricted that they push people out right as they are starting to stabilize, reigniting housing instability for them. We need supportive housing that allows people to have stability over a long period of time, which can also create income diversity within these areas.
Some lawmakers wish to repeal the state law requiring local homelessness policies to be “objectively reasonable” to more easily criminalize homelessness. Would you support or oppose the effort to repeal the law?
I do not support criminalizing homelessness. I do support programs that address both the housing crisis and the public health crisis inherent to homelessness. That’s everything from Oxford houses and non-profits like Father’s Heart & Love One to helping Clackamas County & regional cities start a crisis response program like Lane County’s Cahoots. In the end, we should protect and support the most vulnerable members of our communities (the unhoused) and compassionately ensure street camping becomes a relic of the past by getting people the support, services, and housing options they need.
District 41 Democratic Primary
Incumbent Rep. Mark Gamba (D) is running for reelection in House District 41, which represents Milwaukie, Oak Grove, Northern Clackamas County, and the Sellwood, Eastmoreland and Woodstock neighborhoods.
Name: Rep. Mark Gamba
City: Milwaukie
Current occupation: Representative serving Oregon’s 41st district.
Prior political office held: Milwaukie City Councilor, Mayor of Milwaukie, State Representative
In recent years, the state has relied most heavily on subsidizing private development to address housing affordability and market shortages. Do you agree with this approach?
No, I don’t think that “the market” can solve all of our problems. If it could, we wouldn’t have a problem in the first place. I have been running a workgroup for almost a year now to try and stand up a social housing program that would mass produce 10,000 – 1,000 square foot units a year. We are aiming at a sale price of $250,000 each. This would give a couple, both making close to minimum wage, the opportunity for home ownership which would stabilize them. Currently most people are stuck in a skyrocketing rental market which their pay can’t keep up with.
The Legislature greatly reduced state funding for eviction prevention and supportive housing in favor of more shelters. Researchers say this approach increases evictions and homelessness. Will you push your colleagues to restore eviction prevention and supportive housing funding?
Yes, but our real problem is our very broken revenue system, and the cuts coming from the federal government all of which affect the same population. It is far cheaper to keep folks housed, but as I said above, rents increase faster than anyone’s paycheck, leading to a downward spiral with only one outcome. It’s financially unsustainable currently for the state to keep up with that and it’s only going to get worse. For someone to be able to afford the average one-bedroom apartment in the Portland metro region, they need to be making around $34/hour. Huge companies, making astronomic profits, are paying half of that. As a state we can’t continue to subsidize their profits by keeping their employees housed with our limited tax dollars.
Some lawmakers wish to repeal the state law requiring local homelessness policies to be “objectively reasonable” to more easily criminalize homelessness. Would you support or oppose the effort to repeal the law?
I would oppose it. Criminalizing poverty is not going to solve anything for the houseless, just hide it from the people it makes uncomfortable. Maybe if they become uncomfortable enough they will be willing to push elected leaders to actually solve it with things like a “housable minimum wage,” better behavioral health care, housing first solutions etc.
Name: Priyesh Krishnan
City: Portland
Current occupation: Principal data scientist
Prior political office held: None
In recent years, the state has relied most heavily on subsidizing private development to address housing affordability and market shortages. Do you agree with this approach?
I don’t think that subsidizing private developers is the best way to address affordability. At best it subsidizes the first sale cost. At worst, it inflates developer margins. I favor also trying models like the Home Trust or Community Land Trust models that allow for organizations to sustain affordability through generations.
Recent legislation, like HB 4082, is a good case in point. It must be new housing, to expand the urban growth boundary, for seniors only, and built with defined amenities together in a community. The developers are happy with that subsidy. We need to build systems that build on themselves, not just try to find a short-term band-aid. It is not just a supply and demand problem. People deserve options.
The Legislature greatly reduced state funding for eviction prevention and supportive housing in favor of more shelters. Researchers say this approach increases evictions and homelessness. Will you push your colleagues to restore eviction prevention and supportive housing funding?
When you try to protect the most vulnerable, you must protect those that are in danger of becoming vulnerable as well. In healthcare, you don’t wait for a heart blockage to give cholesterol medicine. Eviction protection, safety housing and grants are all ways to help people smooth out the bumps in their life.
For eviction protection specifically, there is an imbalance between renters and landlords. This only brings balance, without favoring one side or another. While cities have their own laws, the benefit of state-mandated baselines is to keep all Oregonians on an even playing field.
Some lawmakers wish to repeal the state law requiring local homelessness policies to be “objectively reasonable” to more easily criminalize homelessness. Would you support or oppose the effort to repeal the law?
Time has shown that there is not a law in the land that fixes the core issues leading to the multiple causes of houselessness. And without that multilayered approach to attempting the core fix, we would be selling ourselves short by allowing for the symptom to be criminalized.
In the story of houselessness, we are facing the same ideas of human dignity and opportunity that is being faced elsewhere in our state. Yes, it is harder to work through all the layers of the issue. But that is the right path for our state. Again, cities have some opportunities here, but the need for a state approach (at baseline) is one that Oregonians deserve.
District 43 Democratic Primary
District 43, which includes North and Northeast Portland, is currently held by incumbent Rep. Tawna Sanchez (D), who is running for reelection. Rep. Sanchez chose not to respond to Street Roots’ candidate questionnaire because she said she could not adequately address the questions with a limited word count.
Name: Cye Sterling
City: Portland
Current occupation: Self-published author, volunteer with 7 Cups and active with Indivisible Oregon
Prior political office held: None
In recent years, the state has relied most heavily on subsidizing private development to address housing affordability and market shortages. Do you agree with this approach?
Having lived in public housing, I know firsthand how systems impact families. Oregon’s hybrid model is cost-effective, but for real stability and better quality of life, we should invest more in state-owned housing. This would cut through bureaucracy that slows families from getting into homes — a problem too many Oregonians face today.
The Legislature greatly reduced state funding for eviction prevention and supportive housing in favor of more shelters. Researchers say this approach increases evictions and homelessness. Will you push your colleagues to restore eviction prevention and supportive housing funding?
I will absolutely push to restore funding for eviction prevention and supportive housing. It’s far more cost-effective and humane to help families stay in their homes than to start from scratch. Supportive housing provides long-term stability, essential services, and safety, while shelters are temporary and cannot replace a home. Everyone deserves a foundation to build their life, and without housing, that’s impossible.
Some lawmakers wish to repeal the state law requiring local homelessness policies to be “objectively reasonable” to more easily criminalize homelessness. Would you support or oppose the effort to repeal the law?
I strongly oppose any effort to repeal this law. Criminalizing homelessness is cruel and comes from ignorance about the struggles people face. Housing is a basic need, and punishing someone for losing theirs is ineffective and unjust. At the same time, I recognize the frustrations of neighbors who deal with property damage, trash, or safety concerns. Our approach must balance compassion for those experiencing homelessness with respect for the public. The state should work with cities to implement policies that protect both residents and those without homes, ensuring safety, stability, and dignity.
Shared responsibility and thoughtful policy — not criminalization — are the only solutions that truly work.
This article appears in May 13, 2026.
Related
PORTLAND, Ore. (KPTV) – Guard and former Oregon Ducks player Holly Winterburn has been signed to a developmental contract with the Portland Fire, the team announced Wednesday.
Winterburn played at the University of Oregon during the 2019-20 season. The native of Northampton, England, then went back to Europe where she last played for Athinaikos in the Greek Women’s Basketball League.
Winterburn, who went undrafted in the 2026 WNBA draft, was signed by the Atlanta Dream before being waived on prior to the season.
The Fire won their first game of the season on Tuesday, beating the New York Liberty 98-96.
The Fire face the Liberty again at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Moda Center. Get tickets to the game here.
Copyright 2026 KPTV-KPDX. All rights reserved.
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