Oregon
Progressive Oregon district attorney ousted by tough-on-crime challenger
A centrist district attorney candidate in Oregon has ousted his incumbent progressive opponent after running on a tough-on-crime platform.
Nathan Vasquez previously served as a deputy prosecutor to Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt. Vasquez won Tuesday’s nonpartisan primary election after returns showed him receiving more than 50% of the vote.
Vasquez, who was endorsed by several police groups, said Schmidt conceded the election during a Wednesday phone call. He was a prosecutor in the DA’s office for more than 20 years.
“I want to thank him for his professionalism and service to our community,” Vasquez said in a post on his campaign Facebook page. “I look forward to working with my colleagues in the DA’s office, with community partners, and with the public to help build a safer Multnomah County for all of us.”
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Nathan Vasquez, left, has ousted Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt in Oregon. (Vasquez for DA; Getty Images)
Schmidt came into office days before the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota and the calls for changes to the criminal justice system that came amid racial justice protests in Portland and other cities nationwide. Other DAs ushered into office in liberal bastions like San Francisco and Seattle around the same time have since faced setbacks amid frustrations from the public over crime.
Generally, those district attorneys have supported finding alternatives to imprisonment and have refrained from prosecuting low-level crimes to reduce incarceration rates and address social inequities in the criminal justice system.
Critics have said such policies enable criminals and public safety risks.
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Portland, Ore., right, one of the most reliably blue cities in the U.S., has ousted its incumbent district attorney, Mike Schmidt, left, with a former Republican in Nathan Vasquez [not pictured]. (Getty Images)
Shortly after taking office, racial justice demonstrations gripped Portland as chaos erupted on the streets nearly every night for months. Schmidt announced that his office wouldn’t prosecute protesters unless they were arrested for deliberate property damage, theft, or the use or threat of force against another person. Interfering with a police officer, disorderly conduct and criminal trespass were cited as examples of cases his office would decline.
Vasquez announced the policy, as well as Schmidt’s support for a 2020 voter-approved measure that decriminalized the possession of small amounts of drugs. Earlier this year, state lawmakers rolled back the law and restored criminal penalties for so-called “personal use” possession amid one of the nation’s largest spikes in overdose fatalities.
Schmidt supported the move.
A person drops off their vote-by-mail ballot at a dropbox in Pioneer Square during primary voting in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
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In his message, Vasquez said he was “committed to ending open-air drug dealing and drug use while helping connect individuals to treatment, to rebuilding the broken relationships between the DA’s office and the community, and to ensuring that victims are the number one priority of my office.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Schmidt’s campaign.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Oregon
Oregon National Guard troops begin demobilization after federal Title 10 deployment
PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — The 100 Oregon National Guard troops who were federalized under Title 10, have begun demobilization activities, according to Governor Kotek’s office and U.S. Northern Command.
CONTINUING COVERAGE | Oregon National Guard troops deployed under Title 10 orders
“All Title 10 troops in Portland, Los Angeles, and Chicago are conducting demobilizing activities. They will return to their home units once their demobilization is complete,” U.S. Northern Command stated on their website.
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek released a statement reading in part, “The citizen-soldiers of the Oregon National Guard are our neighbors, friends, and family. These courageous Oregonians deserve certainty and respect. While I am relieved that all our troops will finally return home, it does not make up for the personal sacrifices of more than 100 days, including holidays, spent in limbo.”
The troops will travel to Fort Bliss, Texas to finish their demobilization before returning home to Oregon.
Oregon troops spent a majority of their time training at Camp Rilea on the Oregon Coast.
Read Governor Kotek’s full statement below:
“The citizen-soldiers of the Oregon National Guard are our neighbors, friends, and family. These courageous Oregonians deserve certainty and respect. While I am relieved that all our troops will finally return home, it does not make up for the personal sacrifices of more than 100 days, including holidays, spent in limbo.
“During this crisis, Oregonians stood united against the unwanted, unneeded, unconstitutional military intervention in our state, with thousands peacefully voicing their opposition to the Trump Administration’s abuse of power.
“President Trump’s disregard for the facts on the ground revealed that he is more focused on provoking a fight in cities and states that don’t share his politics than serving the American people. I remain committed to defending our values and the rule of law.”
The court injunction that prevents guard deployment in Oregon remains in effect and on appeal in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Oregon
More snow means more people coming to Central Oregon
(UPDATE: added videos and quotes from Todd Mcgee, Owner of Powderhouse)
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — With snow already piling onto the mountains, more people are flocking to Central Oregon. With businesses seeing more people now than ever before this season.
Todd Mcgee, owner of Powderhouse told KTVZ News, “It’s a lot more in the fact if you think about it, was Christmas break where we should be slammed? we’re as busy or even busier then on a Monday than we were on christmas, you know, weekend. so it’s a huge, significant amount.”
Ski and snowboard rentals tell you much about how busy of a time it is.
The busier the rental shops, the busier the mountains are.
“A ton more season leases. and the nice thing about our rentals, when they’re coming back, they’re looking in good shape,” Mcgee told KTVZ News. “We’re not having to stay late and tune them and P-TEX them and get them all back looking nice.”
Powderhouse still has its day and a half turnaround to have equipment ready to go.
Iif you’re still looking to rent equipment, now’s the time to do it.
Oregon
Gary Danielson talks Indiana football vs. Oregon rematch: ‘They seemed to not take IU seriously’
Gary Danielson just retired from calling college football games for decades, including this season’s Indiana at Oregon matchup on Oct. 11.
The Hoosiers (14-0) handed the then-No. 3 Ducks their only loss, 30-20, on the way to the nation’s No. 1 ranking heading into their Peach Bowl game Friday.
Danielson, who played quarterback at Purdue from 1970-72 before an 11-year NFL career, believes Oregon will be more focused for this game.
Remember IU’s historic season with this commemorative book!
The Ducks came into the matchup off an idle week after a double-overtime win over then-No. 3 Penn State at State College, Pennsylvania. Danielson sensed they were still basking in the glow of that win.
“I think Oregon will be very focused for this football game,” he said Monday on the “Dan Patrick Show.” “When Indiana beat them in Oregon, which is a tough place to play, Oregon was coming off their celebration for beating Penn State. Honestly, when we did our interviews, I was struck that they couldn’t get off the Penn State story. … They seemed to not take IU seriously. They’ll take them seriously for this game.”
Though IU made the College Football Playoff last season, some believed the Hoosiers were a one-year wonder, Danielson said.
“They were considered a fraud from their 2024 finish,” he said. “They weren’t frauds, but they weren’t ready for the big-time stage yet. I thought they were focused this year,” especially on defense.
The Hoosiers lost at Notre Dame in the first-round of last season’s CFP.
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