Public berates Oregon Republicans for walkout during their own 'accountability' hearing

Oregon Republican representatives and senators − plus an Independent − invited the public to speak about what oversight and accountability should look like in the state.

Instead, those who attended spent the meeting chastising the state lawmakers for refusing to show up to work over the past five weeks and demanding they end the Senate walkout.

The "Joint Committee on Oversight and Accountability" met for the first time Thursday to introduce rules and speak about the scope of the unofficial committee. Members had sent a letter to Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, and House Speaker Dan Rayfield, D-Corvallis, back in April requesting the creation of a 12-member "equal bipartisan and bicameral committee."

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According to the letter and comments from the meeting, the lawmakers were spurred by coverage of ethics violations at the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission and the scandal that led to the resignation of Oregon's Secretary of State Shemia Fagan.

The letter went unanswered, according to Senate Minority Leader Tim Knopp, R-Bend.

So the six Republican and Independent members decided to informally create the committee and invited fellow lawmakers and the public to "bring their experiences and observations related to state government and where it requires greater oversight."

Committee explains scope, invites 'tips'

"All the agencies should be above reproach and should be operating within the law," Knopp said during the meeting. "I want the scope of this particular committee to be looking at those issues that are brought forward by the public either through the tip line or in person and then we look at them and see if there is something we can do to get those agencies back on track."

It is a scope other members agreed with. They include Sen. Dick Anderson, R-Lincoln City; Sen. Brian Boquist, I-Dallas; House Minority Leader Rep. Vikki Breese-Iverson, R-Prineville; Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner; and Rep. E. Werner Reschke, R-Klamath Falls.

Boquist said he looked forward to having a process where residents can have faith in the Legislature. Reschke also said he was sad to be there, saying he hoped Democrats would join in order to act as "one branch" that keeps the other two accountable.

It was a prospect that Breese-Iverson seemed optimistic about.

"There's been many conversations in this session about the need for something like this," she said.

Democratic leadership denies committee

In an email to the Statesman Journal, Rayfield said he will not be appointing Democrats to the unofficial committee.

Rayfield confirmed he did not respond to the letter in April but said he meets regularly with Breese-Iverson and had a conversation with her about it in person at the time.

In that discussion, he let her know that he supports a process for meaningful independent oversight, the email from Rayfield's office said.

"He also expressed his strong belief that this specific proposal would not provide meaningful oversight due to a part-time Legislature and a politicized environment. He does not believe a federal Congress-style environment should be brought to Salem," the email stated.

Rayfield also believes state resources should not be used in this manner, his office said. Doing so "legitimizes made-up, political committees that cannot conduct official legislative business."

"Doing so will mislead the public and impact the integrity of the work that the Legislature does," he said.

Public berates Oregon Republicans during hearing

When members of the public were invited to provide input during the meeting, comments quickly turned to a discussion of the ongoing Senate walkout that has stalled the session since May 3 and left hundreds of bills in limbo.

Eleven people spoke. Some were from Salem, others from Portland and another woman from Tillamook. All demanded the senators end the walkout.

One speaker, a middle school teacher from Salem, said she didn't doubt that the OLCC and Secretary of State's Office required additional oversight but said the "biggest glaring elephant" in the room was the ongoing failure to reach quorum in the Senate.

“I am here begging you to look into that elephant in the room," she said.

A small business owner from Portland poked fun at the lawmakers.

"Just for fun last night I looked up those words in the dictionary," she said, referring to accountability and oversight. "Happily both are deemed appropriate for a middle school level vocabulary by Dictionary.com so we know Republican senators can wholeheartedly support their use in any legislation you may eventually choose to vote on."

Republicans originally said the walkout was motivated by their frustration with bill summaries' failure to adhere to laws and statutes requiring them to score at least 60 on a Flesch readability test — an eighth-grade reading level.

Another Portland woman described her work volunteering for elections and ballot measure campaigns. She described elections as a way to create accountability and said she believes deeply in the practice of democracy.

"I am just enraged and you can hear it in my voice that I can't with good conscience bring folks to door knock, to canvas, to learn the joy and excitement of being part of the process because you're choosing not to," she said.

Knopp ended the meeting with a brief comment.

"We're providing oversight and accountability for an unlawful, unconstitutional and uncompromising Senate president and his Democrat colleagues in the Senate and we have said we will be back so there is nothing that is in jeopardy as it relates to the budget," he said. "We will move forward and hold that Democrat majority accountable when they're unlawful and unconstitutional."

According to staff, the committee plans to meet every couple of weeks. The invitation for Democrats to join the committee is also still open.

The tipline is also up and running, they said. Members of the public can call 541-213-0201​. The website for the committee is currently available on the Senate Republican caucus page through OLIS.

Dianne Lugo covers the Oregon legislature and social justice issues for the Statesman Journal. Reach her at dlugo@statesmanjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregonians demand end to Senate walkout during GOP hearing