Oregon
Oregon moms in the Legislature are driven by a passion for kids • Oregon Capital Chronicle
Children are a top priority for the moms in the Legislature and a big reason why many of them are there.
Take Emerson Levy, a renewable energy attorney in Bend. When she ran for the Legislature for the first time in 2020, she was motivated by her 4-year-old daughter, June. A self-described policy nerd, she wanted to support good policies in Salem, particularly those to protect children.
“I felt this huge obligation to my young daughter,” Levy told the Capital Chronicle.
Levy lost in 2020, but she won in 2022 and now she’s headed back to Salem after winning a second term representing the Bend-based 53th District. She is among several mothers in the Legislature, both Democrat and Republican, who juggle the demands of raising children while representing their communities in Salem. Some even have other jobs as well.
Serving in the Legislature is supposed to be a part time job, with 35-day sessions in even-numbered years and 160-day sessions the others, but the work spills into the rest of the year.
“The Legislature may be part time, but our constituents are not part time,” said state Sen. Sara Gelser Blouin, a mother of four who represents Corvallis in Salem. “Nobody has part-time constituents.”
Being a legislator in Oregon has become a full-time job, with jam-packed “legislative days” in Salem outside sessions to discuss policies and hear from state officials, experts and Oregonians. Lawmakers also serve on task forces and spend time leading up to sessions working on policies. And they need to be available to constituents, to listen and respond to their needs.
Being a mom is also a full-time role. Balancing both is challenging and time-consuming and the legislative job is not well paid.
But Oregon’s legislator moms are passionate about their roles and fighting for issues that impact Oregon kids the most.
School safety
Levy said her daughter drives her policy work and one of her top priorities is school safety.
Her first year in the Oregon House, she championed funding for silent panic alarms that directly call 911 if there is a school shooting. That provision was passed last year as part of House Bill 5014 on school funding. It included $2.5 million for these alarms, which helped avert even more bloodshed at a September shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga. The provision is a “funded non-mandate,” which means school districts decide whether to install them.
“Then we can learn from them before we bring it fully statewide,” Levy said.
Levy, who’s a Democrat, has also backed bills to improve health insurance, which can be costly for families and others. Levy and Gelser Blouin, also a Democrat, along with Republican Rep. Cyrus Javadi of Tillamook, sponsored the Co-pay Fairness Bill this year to ensure that insurance companies consider financial assistance from pharmaceutical manufacturers towards patient deductibles. The bill, House Bill 4113, unanimously passed the Oregon House and Senate last March.
In states that haven’t passed such legislation, so-called “copay accumulators” do not count towards deductibles, leaving some patients with extremely high medical bills.
“Co-pay accumulators are one of the cruelest programs I’ve ever encountered,” Levy said.
They especially impact people with rare diseases like hemophilia or lupus, who often don’t have a generic drug option. The bill, which was signed by Gov. Tina Kotek, banned the programs on Jan. 1.
Navigating health care bureaucracy is something Levy has personal experience with because her adult brother has Down Syndrome.
“Being June’s mom and being the sister of a disabled brother informs everything I do,” Levy said.
A focus on education
Education is also a big focus for moms in the Legislature.
“Kids are the future,” said Rep. Emily McIntire, an Eagle Point Republican who represents the 56th House District in Jackson County. “And setting up a firm foundation for our children is going to help us exponentially in the long run.”
She is serving on the House education and higher education committees and is a member of the Joint Ways and Means Subcommittee on Education, putting her in a good position to support school spending. An example: She backed a $10.4 billion increase in 2023 to the State School Fund, which funds the state’s secondary schools.
McIntire, whose children are now 16 and 22, is also in legislative leadership, serving as the House Republican assistant leader. McIntire said she was on the Eagle Point school board when local Republicans asked members if they would run to represent the district in the Legislature. She said she felt a calling, ran and won and is now serving her second term on the board while being elected to a second legislative term.
“Everything I look at is through a lens of what’s best for kids,” she said.
Gelser Blouin is also passionate about education. Her oldest son, who has a rare developmental disability called Koolen-de Vries syndrome, is a big influence on her work. She has worked on bills on special education and focused on behavioral health, especially for children with disabilities.
Her Senate Bill 1557, which passed in last year’s session, makes it easier for children with severe emotional or behavioral disturbances to access Medicaid funds to provide extra support at school and at home.
“These kids have really complex needs. They’re struggling to stay at home with their families. They might be struggling to stay in school. Maybe they have a mental illness or have had contact with the juvenile justice system. Right now, many of these families know that they need help before that big crisis happens,” Gelser Blouin said.
Her bill passed both chambers in 2024 with no opposition, and she plans to introduce a related bill in this year’s session.
She said she believes that understanding the issues from the perspective of being a mom is vital.
Representative Annessa Hartman, D-Gladstone, who has two daughters who are almost 11 and 13, agrees.
“I’m constantly thinking about how [each decision] will impact them in their future,” Hartman said.
Hartman works for the Native American Youth and Family Center, a Portland-based nonprofit that supports the Indigenous community, and belongs to the Snipe Clan of the Cayuga Nation, which is part of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy based in New York. Her background has a major influence on her work. In crafting policies, she considers the “Seventh Generation Principle” of considering the impact of a decision on future generations.
“That’s embedded in my personal beliefs and teachings,” she said.
Her focus in the Legislature has been on championing issues around domestic violence and sexual assault, two issues that have had a severe effect on indigenous women in particular.
At home, Hartman often asks her girls what they think about what they’re seeing in school — whether it’s poor handwriting or behavioral issues. She said their insight helps shape better policy.
“When I’m sharing that perspective, whether it’s my own caucus or committee, I say, ‘This is what my kids are seeing.’ It’s a powerful tool,” she said.
McIntire also consults with her children on policy matters.
“When I’m home on the weekend and I have a house full of teenage boys, I’ll ask, ‘What do you guys think of this or of that?’” she said.
Juggling act
Commuting to Salem adds hours to the workday of mom legislators — and other lawmakers. Gelser Blouin has a 45-minute drive from Corvallis to Salem, and she did that every day when her children were young.
As for Levy, she spends 2.5 hours driving from Bend to Salem, while McIntire drives 3.5 hours one way from Eagle Point. Like most lawmakers, they rent apartments in Salem during the session.
Levy said she wouldn’t be a representative if it weren’t for her husband, Sean Levy, who is the general council for St. Charles Health System and manages all the school pick-ups and drop-offs.
“And dinner!” Levy said.
A former stay-at-home-mom, McIntire also relies on her husband for support. When she first joined the House in 2022, she struggled to stay in contact with her kids, who were then 12 and 19.
“The hours of session are so overwhelming,” she said. “I don’t know that I would have been able to do this if my kids were younger.”
Gelser Blouin, who had three under the age of five when she entered the Oregon Senate in 2005, said she paid friends and relied on family for child care. This was especially necessary as her kids entered middle and high school, when they needed to be driven to after-school activities, she said. Gelser Blouin said she focused on quality time with her kids when she was home in the evenings and weekends.
Gelser Blouin also brought her kids to the Capitol. Her son, Sam, has always loved movies and movie production, so she brought him to legislative days when lawmakers discussed a film and video tax credit. Levy and Hartman helped organize a “Kids Caucus” during spring break last year, an idea that came from Hartman’s daughter, Marley, then 12. The event, organized in part by Hartman and Levy, was for all the children of lawmakers so they could meet one another and be on the floor while their parents were working.
Instilling a love for public service
Some children of lawmakers follow a similar path, and many are civically engaged.
Gelser Blouin said all four of her kids are voters and are involved in community activities. Her 24-year-old daughter Nicole is even pursuing a career in politics: She currently works as U.S. Representative Val Hoyle’s legislative aide in Washington D.C.
“That’s the job she’s wanted since middle school!” Gelser-Blouin proudly said.
Though Levy’s daughter, June, is still young at age 9 now, she seems poised to be a politician — or maybe a political strategist. June wisely noted during her mother’s reelection campaign that “it’s gonna be harder this time.” That turned out to be true, with Levy facing a more aggressive campaign with her opponent running negative ads.
June is also Levy’s toughest critic.
“Anytime she sees trash on the street or people that need housing, it’s absolutely my fault,” Levy said. “I should be working harder.”
Low pay
Moms in the Legislature and others say that one of the downfalls of being a legislator in Oregon is the low pay: $43,434 in 2025. That’s not enough to support a family.
“There’s no way you could raise four kids on one legislator’s salary,” Gelser Blouin said.
Two years ago, three female legislators — two of them moms — quit because of the pay. At the time, their salaries were $33,000 a year.
Lawmakers set their salaries and are reluctant to boost them too much out of concerns that voters might consider that self-serving. So legislators referred a measure to November’s ballot to create an independent committee to set the salaries of legislators and other statewide officials but voters opposed that.
McIntire believes the low salary limits the type of person who can serve.
“If you want it to be a citizens’ Legislature, then you should be able to have all citizens able to do it,” McIntire said.
Others, including Sen. Gelser Blouin, agreed.
“Most of us that are in elected positions in state government make less than the staff that reports to us,” Gelser Blouin said.
But the moms have made their jobs work, thanks to help from their husbands and others. And they said the difficulty in trying to make the world better for their children is worth it.
YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.
(Update: Video Added)
SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — On Monday, a federal judge blocked efforts by the Trump administration to fine states millions of dollars for administering SNAP benefits.
Read the full press release from the Office Of The Attorney General, including a statement made by Rayfield, below:
Attorney General Dan Rayfield today (Monday) released the following statement after a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to penalize states with millions of dollars in fines related to their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) operations:
“In Oregon and across the country, SNAP supports families to make ends meet throughout the year. The federal government’s threat to impose this – especially during the holiday season – created needless uncertainty for programs that help people put food on the table. Today’s ruling stops that disruption and allows Oregon to keep administering SNAP without fear of being punished for following the law.”
On November 26, Attorney General Rayfield and a coalition of 20 other attorneys general sued the Trump administration after it attempted to cut off SNAP benefits for tens of thousands of lawful permanent residents. On December 10, the administration reversed itself and issued new guidance, confirming that lawful permanent residents – including former refugees and asylees – remain eligible for SNAP benefits.
Despite that reversal, the administration continued to threaten states with millions of dollars in fines, claiming that states had missed a required “grace period” for implementing the new guidance, even though the final guidance was not issued until December 10.
Today, the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon issued an order temporarily blocking those penalties. The court’s decision prohibits the federal government’s efforts to impose severe financial penalties on states and protects the continued operation of SNAP programs while the case proceeds.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — The Citizens Utility Board (CUB) has accused Portland General Electric (PGE) of circumventing Oregon’s new POWER Act, which mandates that data centers cover their own energy costs.
CUB claims PGE’s proposed cost-sharing framework unfairly burdens residential customers with a significant portion of the expenses associated with data center growth.
The consumer advocacy group was established in 1984, as a utility watchdog over Oregon’s three investor-owned electric utilities, PGE, Pacific Power and Idaho Power.
PAST COVERAGE | Oregon House passes bill making large data centers pay for power grid costs
According to CUB, PGE’s plan would charge residential customers 34-45% of the costs for new power supply and transmission, despite data centers being the primary drivers of increased energy demand.
CUB argues that this approach contradicts the intent of the POWER Act, which aims to prevent Oregon families from subsidizing data centers.
PGE, however, defends its proposal. The company mentioned a new tool called the Peak Growth Modifier as a means to ensure that those driving peak demand growth bear the associated costs.
“The electric grid and generating resources are built to make sure customers are reliably served at moments when usage is at its highest point – this is peak demand,” PGE said. “The principle is simple: customer groups driving peak-demand growth should pay for the infrastructure needed to serve that growth.”
The Oregon Public Utility Commission is currently reviewing PGE’s plan, with a decision expected by April 2026.
The POWER Act, signed by Gov. Kotek, instructed the commission to create a new industrial customer class for those using over 20 megawatts of energy, primarily data centers.
The bill also included provisions for infrastructure cost-sharing mechanisms, customer protections, and long-term contracts for data centers.
What’s the buzz around data centers?
Data centers are facilities that house and run large computer systems. They have been expanding at a fast pace to power the fast-growing AI economy across the country.
They usually contain several computer servers, data storage devices, network equipment and other devices that allow for storing, managing, processing and transmitting data.
SEE ALSO | Exploring AI data centers’ impact on U.S. resources
Currently, residential customers account for 40% of total electricity consumption, while data centers represent only 6% in Oregon.
However, data centers are expected to grow to approximately 20% of total consumption by 2030.
Oregon currently has 138 data centers, according to Data Center Map’s database.
Data centers use a lot of electricity, especially those specifically built to support generative AI.
A new Pew Research Center analysis of federal and international data shows U.S. data centers used 183 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2024, about 4% of all electricity used nationwide, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
That’s roughly equal to the entire annual electricity use of Pakistan.
According to Pew and the IEA, a typical AI-optimized hyperscale center uses as much electricity as 100,000 homes a year. Newer mega-facilities could use 20 times more once they go online.
In major hubs, especially Northern Virginia, clusters of these centers now consume more than a quarter of the state’s total electricity supply, the Electric Power Research Institute reports.
Carnegie Mellon University estimates U.S. electricity bills could rise 8% by 2030 just from data centers and crypto mining alone, with even steeper hikes in the most data-center-dense regions.
Data centers in the U.S. also consumed 17 billion gallons of fresh, drinking water in 2023, mainly to cool energy-intensive AI chips.
By 2028, hyperscale centers alone could be consuming 16 to 33 billion gallons annually — roughly the yearly use of a mid-sized U.S. city.
The Associated Press and Emma Withrow of The National Desk contributed to this report.
The Oregon Ducks host a college football playoff game on December 20 for the first time in program history.
Big deal? Yes. Huge undertaking? Not so much.
The No. 5 Ducks hosting No. 12 James Madison in the College Football Playoff isn’t exactly a situation of “been there, done that,” but planning and executing such an event has not created panic within the Ducks’ athletic department.
In many ways, hosting the game is no different from the seven other home games Oregon hosts in most seasons, except for a few tweaks required by the CFP.
Through extensive planning that began last year, Oregon expects to make a seamless shift to hosting the event, with perhaps the only source of trepidation being the weather forecast, which as of Sunday appeared favorable.
“It’s for the most part, business as usual, like any other game,” said Aaron Wasson, Oregon senior associate athletic director, equipment operations and championships.
Planning started in 2024
Oregon received a jump start on learning the requirements for hosting a first-round playoff game last year.
Programs were required to provide the CFP with information, documents and images of facilities and infrastructure to demonstrate preparedness to host a major event. The CFP sent a how-to planning manual to many of the top programs in October 2024, the first year of the expanded 12-team format.
“We started preparing as soon as the CFP announced that as a first-round host, you could host on campus,” Wasson said.
Oregon completed its planning due diligence just in case the Ducks hosted a playoff game last year. The Ducks avoided doing so by defeating Penn State 45-37 in the Big Ten Championship game to earn a first-round bye.
“We went through the entire exercise all the way up until when we won the Big Ten Championship,” Wasson said. “We had to prepare like we were going to host.”
That initial exploratory preparation set the stage for an easy transition into playoff mode this year.
“We certainly had a pretty clear sense of what to expect,” said Jimmy Stanton, UO senior associate athletic director.
The top four seeds in the playoff earn a first-round bye. Teams seeded No. 5 through No. 8 host a first-round game.
Oregon’s probability of hosting ticked up Oct. 11 after the Ducks lost 30-20 to Big Ten Conference rival Indiana, creating a strong possibility that the Ducks would not qualify for the conference title game.
Numerous meetings were held during the season to smooth out communication ahead of Oregon becoming a host site.
“We’ve had a significant number of meetings throughout the fall, internally, as well as with other potential hosts and the CFP,” Wasson said. “Just ensuring everyone is on the same page.”
Each host university receives $3 million to cover expenses other than the opposing team’s travel. Then it’s on them to make the events happen.
Oklahoma, Mississippi and Texas A&M also host first-round games.
Setting up game day experience
A key requirement for hosting is the ability to support a major broadcast, which requires a heightened level of infrastructure and technology. Oregon, which has hosted every major network that broadcasts college football games, is well ahead of the game in that area.
This season alone, ESPN’s College Gameday visited Oregon twice before games broadcast by other networks.
“From an operational and logistical standpoint, we’re certainly wired up for a major broadcast,” Stanton said.
The playoff game will air on TNT, truTV, and be streamed on HBO Max.
For the most part, Stanton said, Oregon’s game will feel like an Oregon home game, save for a few exceptions. A few enhancements will be announced in the coming days, he adds.
All sponsorships and signage installed by Oregon must be removed from the stadium.
“It’s a CFP game from that standpoint,” Stanton said.
The field will feature the CFP logo, but both end zones will still include “OREGON.”
In-game activities can remain the same, but cannot include sponsor attachment.
So, expect to hear Mat Kearney’s “Coming Home (Oregon)” and fans getting softer and softer singing “Shout” before cranking up the volume for the crescendo.
“There are a few CFP elements that people will notice,” Wasson said. “Mostly video board game presentation-type pieces like any other postseason championship.”
The CFP controls ticket pricing and keeps revenue from ticket sales. Ticket prices on Tickemaster range from $154 to $661 per seat.
Oregon banks the revenue generated from concessions and parking.
James Madison received 3,500 tickets to sell to fans eager to see the Dukes participate in their first CFP game. That’s the same amount opposing teams receive during the regular season. As of Friday, thousands of tickets remained available on Ticketmaster, including many being sold on the secondary market.
“We’ll have a great crowd like we always do,” Stanton said.
Because the Dukes plan to arrive in Eugene a couple of days before the game, Oregon must provide them with an indoor and outdoor practice space. JMU will have access to the indoor Moshofsky Center, Autzen and an undisclosed offsite venue, kept secret to prevent fans from watching the workout.
Perhaps the most significant shift is that teams must be off the field 30 minutes before kickoff following warmups, rather than the usual 22 minutes — a requirement for all playoff games.
Mild conditions expected
FBS schools hosting football games in late December is new and carries the risk of challenging weather.
But it appears Oregon will avoid such a problem. Forecasts call for a 60% chance of rain with a high of 48 degrees. Wasson said he was crossing his fingers and hoping for the best, but noted that Oregon did put in place a snow plan just in case.
“Looking at the long-range forecast here in eight days, it looks like – knock on wood – we’re going to be okay,” Wasson said.
It’s a stark contrast to three of last year’s first-round playoff games played at Ohio State, Penn State and Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. Snow hit all three sites in the days leading up to the games and temperatures dipped into the high 20s and low 30s.
Minimal local impact
Eugene and Springfield will enjoy an extra weekend of football-generated revenue. According to eugenecascadescoast.org, a game weekend generates between $6-$8 million.
But hosting an eighth football game isn’t expected to create additional headaches.
“UO athletics really take the lead in this and we just kind of offer support and they haven’t indicated to us that they expected anything different,” said Marion Barnes, Eugene public affairs manager for public works.
One potential difference, Barnes noted, is that the playoff game could attract more fans from out of town than a regular-season game.
Those making the trip will face higher hotel rates, as is common on other game weekends. For example, rooms at the Courtyard by Marriott in Eugene/Springfield that go for $171 per night this weekend will run $495 per night during game weekend.
As for hotel operations that weekend, Courtyard manager Eman Berumen said he expected the weekend to go like any other football weekend.
“For the university, it’s a big deal, it’s a playoff game and all that, but for us, it’s just another game weekend,” Berumen said.
Randi Olsen, general manager of the Hop Valley Brewing Company in Springfield, said she expects a booming weekend in line with those seen with major programs visiting Eugene, such as No. 1 Indiana earlier this season.
Most game days generate roughly double the regular business enjoyed, Olsen said, especially those that attract visiting fans staying in nearby hotels.
Hoosiers fans, she said, began rolling in on Thursday and kept business brisk through the weekend. She hopes for the same during playoff weekend, although she would have preferred Notre Dame to be UO’s opponent.
“It’s okay,” she said with a laugh. “It’s still a playoff game.”
More could come Oregon’s way through the years.
Oregon’s program could be in the playoff mix numerous times over the years, making hosting future first-round games very likely.
The athletics department welcomes the opportunity to host next week, despite a few additional weeks of event preparation.
“We absolutely are looking forward to it,” Wasson said. “It’s exciting. There’s a lot of excitement around the complex right now, around the community. So, it is a little bit of extra work but we’re embracing it, and we’re looking forward to it.
No. 12 James Madison (12-1) at No. 5 Oregon (11-1)
- When: Saturday, Dec. 20
- Time: 4:30 p.m. PT
- Where: Autzen Stadium
- TV: TNT/HBO Max
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