Elizabeth Steiner made history Monday as she was sworn in by Gov, Tina Kotek as Oregon’s first female and openly LGBTQ+ Treasurer.

Steiner said she was “unbelievably happy” and would work to take a “both/and” approach to issues.

“As a family physician, I am all too aware that financial insecurity is the leading cause of poor health. Too many Oregonians are living with what appears to be an unbreakable ceiling between them and financial security,” she said.

Steiner helped write Oregon’s budget as co-chair of the Joint Ways and Means Committee from 2018 to 2024. She was first appointed to the state senate in 2012 and represented northwest Portland and Beaverton until resigning after being elected treasurer.

Prior to becoming Treasurer, Steiner was a doctor for more than 30 years and an associate professor at Oregon Health & Science University beginning in 1999.

She campaigned on making programs like Oregon Saves and the College Saving Plan more accessible.

Steiner pledged she would “double the percentage of children in Oregon with a college savings plan, ensure that the vast majority of Oregonians are saving for retirement, significantly expand the reach of the ABLE program, and establish child savings accounts so that every child born in Oregon has savings available to them when they turn 18.”

Steiner’s election marks the last of Oregon’s statewide offices to be filled by a woman, or “the longest-lasting glass ceiling in Oregon’s politics,” as presenter Kerry Tymchuk said.

Tymchuk is the executive director of the Oregon Historical Society, where the swearing-in was held.

Outgoing attorney general Ellen Rosenblum was the first female in the position when she took office in 2012. The first female secretary of state was Norma Paulus in 1977. Barbara Roberts became the state’s first female governor in 1991. Roberts, Rosenblum, Kotek and former Gov. Kate Brown all attended Steiner’s swearing in.

Kotek reflected on her 20-year history with Steiner and said she “couldn’t be more proud of [her] friend.”

Steiner ran against Republican Brian Boquist, who served alongside her in the Senate, and Working Families Party candidate Mary King.

As treasurer, Steiner is Oregon’s chief financial officer and oversees the treasury and public funds. She will join Secretary of State Tobias Read and Kotek on the State Land Board, overseeing the Department of State Lands and the Common School Fund.

In his last week as Treasurer, Read released the first annual progress report for a plan that would reduce the Oregon Public Employee Retirement Fund (OPERF) portfolio to net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Steiner campaigned on continuing those efforts and said she would see if it could be accomplished before the 2050 goal.

The first annual report evaluated some companies on their transition readiness and created an advisory group of retirees and unions representing public employees.

Steiner said she wanted the effort to be transparent and that while the environmental impact of “moving away from high carbon” and “getting a portfolio net zero” is a benefit of the plan, it is not the main focus.

“We’re doing that fundamentally to protect the pension fund,” Steiner said. “It is the fiduciarily responsible thing to do.”

Anastasia Mason covers state government for the Statesman Journal. Reach her at acmason@statesmanjournal.com or 971-208-5615.

Is this the best Beaver basketball season of your lifetime?

Many fans would consider nodding. The orange & black are off to their best overall record (12-4) since the 2019-20 season.

Thursday night, the Beavers take their 12-4 record to the southern tip of the Bay Area, where they will face Santa Clara. Here are 3 keys to victory for Wayne Tinkle’s Oregon State men’s basketball team.

In the Beavs’ two West Coast Conference wins over Portland and San Diego, the orange & black have shot 61.4% and 57.8% respectively. Buoyed by Wayne Tinkle’s consistently strong defense, those high shooting numbers should be good enough to win most nights. Oregon State is the kind of team that can defend a lead, but first they need to build it.

In the Beavers’ conference-opening win over Portland, five shooters scored more than 14 points. Michael Rattaj has provided a reliable 16.7 PPG to lead all scorers, but Oregon State is much more successful when the stellar German wing doesn’t have to carry the burden by himself.

All season, a consistent trend has followed the Beavers. When they are bigger and longer than their opposition, particularly inside with 6’9″ transfer forward Parsa Fallah, they win games. Former McNary HS (Keizer, OR) standout Nate Kingz has also exceled on the wing, with his length proving crucial. If they can involve those players early, and repeatedly press their size/length mismatches against smaller WCC foes like Santa Clara, they will have the advantage.

HOW TO WATCH:
– Tipoff is Thursday, January 9th at 7:00 PM

– Radio coverage begins at 6:30 PM on KEX 1190 AM (Portland/Salem), KEJO 1240 AM (Corvallis), and across the Beavers Sports Network

– Video coverage can be viewed online with an ESPN+ subscription

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State of the Beavs: Welcome To The WCC + Happy New Year!

REALIGNMENT: 3 Options for the Pac-12 Conference

The Oregon Ducks offense suffered a key injury at the beginning of the season as offensive lineman Matthew Bedford suffered an injury prior to their season opener vs. Idaho during fall practice.

He only saw playing time in the win vs. Oregon State, when he was in during the last few plays of the game as the Ducks knelt it out for the win.

Bedford was a transfer from Indiana, where he started for multiple years for the Hoosiers prior to coming over to Eugene. He was thought to come in and be an immediate starter for the Ducks prior to his injury.

After Oregon’s 41-21 loss in the Rose Bowl, Bedford addressed his year of eligibility and what is next for him, including the possibility of coming back for one more season at Oregon.

“It’d be amazing to have that extra year and another opportunity. Like I said, it’s in the works. It’s in the future. I can’t really control that thing, just trusting God… I mean, it is, honestly, out of my hands. The only thing I can do is prepare every day like I’m going to be playing tomorrow. And that’s been my approach since January and how I’ve been dealing with this thing. It’s just every day waking up, doing everything I can to put myself and in the best position to help this team,” Bedford said. “This team has so many great athletes, great people that are investing in this thing, and I just want to do the same.”

It would be the second time that Bedford would be seeking the medical hardship waiver after missing almost all of the 2022 season with an injury. If granted once again, it would be Bedford’s seventh season in college football.

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Bedford said that the rehab for his injury has been smooth sailing and that if his extra year of eligibility is given to him, that he will be ready and in shape.

“I’m feeling back, feeling right back. I’m turning around the corner,” Bedford said. “But I feel like I’m ready to get back to practice and get back moving around like I used to. I feel like I’m moving around like I used to again. I feel like this time was needed for me to get 100-percent again.”

If he is given the extra season, Bedford would become one of the unquestioned leaders of the offensive line for the Ducks.

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