NEWS UPDATE FROM STATE REPRESENTATIVE DAVID GOMBERG: Movement in Oregon Businesses, Oregon Neighborhoods, and Oregon Elections

By Representative David Gomberg, House District 10

11/18/2024

If you own a small business, would it be helpful to know how many customers you had last year? Your cash register will tell you how many sales you made. But most point-of-sale systems don’t tell you much about where those sales came from – much less about customers who were interested and visited your location, but who didn’t ultimately make a purchase.

Could you be more effective if you knew where those customers came from, how long they stayed at your business, and whether they returned? What is your busiest week of the year or slowest day of the week? How do numbers compare in August, March and December?

And, critically, how many of your prospects visited your competition?

All of that information is now available from the Oregon Coast Community College Small Business Development Center. And if you have a business in Lincoln County, this data is available for free, with a free, confidential, one-on-one business advising appointment. Such free advising services have been the cornerstone of the OCCC SBDC for more than 30 years.

In 2023, I authored and passed HB 3410 which was designed to support economic development in rural communities. It covered farmers, fishing, outdoor recreation, the maritime workforce, and grants to local SBDCs for special projects. In Lincoln County, some of that money was used to subscribe to a data service that can help even our smallest businesses better understand their challenges and opportunities.

Last week I sat in on a briefing about the project with members of the Lincoln City Chamber of Commerce. Susan and I retired our business in 2020. But I can tell you that if we were still operating, I’d be all over this information…

Learn more about our local Center here.

One of my most cherished memories of College was when retired Governor Tom McCall came to OSU and met with Poli Sci seniors for an hour twice a week.

Tom McCall, Oregon’s chief executive from 1967 to 1975, may go down in history as the state’s most productive governor. Governor McCall once famously said, “Come many, many times to enjoy the beauty of Oregon. But for heaven’s sake, don’t move here to live.” And of course, we all did!

I thought of Tom last week while reviewing demographic reports that our low birth rate and dwindling in-migration are resulting in a small but significant population loss. Some may see that as a positive trend but we also have to acknowledge the potential effect on local economies.

I often hear from long-term residents concerned that people are coming here and bringing different values and politics with them. Certainly, we see changes here on the Coast where natural resources – farming, fishing and forestry – once dominated the workforce. Now tourism and servicing the retirement community are our largest employers.

I often opine that people move to the Coast in their active retirement years to enjoy our lifestyle and natural beauty. Those are the same reasons they vacationed here earlier. A third of our population is over 65 now! But as they age, those same retirees move away to be closer to family and expanded healthcare.

But where are people coming from and when they leave, where do they go?

Only a tiny percentage of around 3% of Oregonians move away each year. More than 130,000 Oregonians moved to other states last year, a little more than half of them to neighboring states like Washington and California. Two other popular destinations for Oregon expats are Arizona and Texas.

Texas and Arizona both have lots of sun, of course, a lot more than you’ll find west of the Cascades. They also have relatively low income taxes — none at all, in Texas’ case. They both have an average sales tax rate above 8%, though, while Oregon has no sales tax at all.

Back in the early ‘80s, people left Oregon because there were no jobs. Over the last three years, almost everyone who wanted a job in Oregon could get one. Oregon households are moving to places like Idaho or rural Washington or Texas where the cost of living, particularly for housing, is at a lower cost.

Election results continue to dominate the news. And many are wondering why results take so long.

Certainly, new rules that allow more time for mailed ballots to reach our county clerks are having an effect. But a larger issue is ballots that arrived with the outside envelope unsigned or with signatures that didn’t match those on file at election offices. In most counties, those ballots added up to several hundred. And rather than being disqualified, Clerks reached out to voters and invited them to come in and “cure” the deficiencies.

Asking people to take time during the workday and drive to the county seat to “fix” a ballot may be a big ask – especially when most races have been decided. But across Oregon, we’re continuing to see consequential races very very close.

Here in Lincoln County, only 100 votes separated two very different candidates for County Commission out of 26,047 votes cast in that race.

County clerk Amy Southwell and her election crew still have a lot of work to do to see if they can get every ballot to count. Here’s the breakdown of the 562 ballots with issues:

90 people voted with the wrong ballot – for example, spouses switching ballots;
125 ballots were received in time but did not have a signature;
330 ballots had something wrong with the signature such as a different last name or with a different signature on file; and
17 provisional ballots where people were not registered voters by the state’s deadline but claimed they were.

Meanwhile, up in House District 22, for most of last week, the margin between two legislative candidates was only one vote! One vote!!

In the latest results, Democrat Lesly Muñoz appears to be squeaking past incumbent GOP Representative Tracy Cramer to represent Woodburn. Saturday afternoon, the margin was 104 votes.

Marion County Clerk Bill Burgess said in an email Thursday that 809 ballots remained to be counted in the district. There were also 733 “unaccepted” ballots in the district. Many of those had signatures election officials could not reconcile with a voter’s signature on file. They can still be cured – meaning voters can prove to officials they actually signed the ballot – until Nov. 26.

Both sides are working to get their uncounted supporters to correct any ballot errors. But if the outcome holds, the race would shift the dynamic of next year’s legislative session. It would ensure Democrats have a three-fifths supermajority in both the House and Senate, meaning the party can pass practically any bill – including new tax measures – without a single Republican vote.

Making sure every qualified voter who returned a ballot on time is counted is, I believe, an important goal. I appreciate the good work of our election offices. And for you voters out there, the clear message is that every vote does indeed matter.

Here is a piece of news I hope you never need to use.

Salvaging deer and elk struck by vehicles is legal in Oregon. However, you must fill out a permit (after the fact) and surrender the antlers and head to ODFW.

A Roadkill Salvage Permit allows a person to recover and use the carcass of a deer or elk killed as a result of an accidental vehicle collision for the purpose of salvaging the meat for human consumption.

The person taking possession of the carcass at the site of the collision must acquire a Roadkill Salvage Permit within 24 hours of taking the carcass into possession. The online permit requires information about the driver, the animal and the location of the accident.
The entire carcass, including entrails, of any salvaged deer or elk must be completely removed from the road and road right of way.
In cases where a deer or elk is struck, injured and then put down to alleviate suffering, only the driver of the vehicle that struck the animal may salvage the carcass.
No portion of any deer or elk salvaged pursuant to this rule may be sold, bartered, or exchanged.
Within five business days of taking possession of the carcass, the entire head of any antlered deer or elk, including the antlers, must be delivered and surrendered to the ODFW at a District Office or alternative location determined by the Department.

“It’s important to note that people are eating this at their own risk,” ODFW spokeswoman Michelle Dennehy said. “If this leads to animals that are accidentally struck not being wasted, that’s a good thing and the intent of the law.”

Find more information here.

Four years later, we are still struggling to recover from the Labor Day fires.

In my own small Otis neighborhood, half of the homes lost have not yet been rebuilt. For each burned-over lot, there is an emotional story. Many survivors of the fires were uninsured or underinsured, and are facing steep rebuilding costs — especially in light of inflation over the last couple of years. But what outrages me the most about the challenge to recover, is that if you receive a legal settlement to cover your wildfire losses, as much as a third of that must be paid to the Federal Government in income taxes.

Let me say that again. Your house burns down. You get money to rebuild it. And the Government takes a third.

In the Spring of 2024, I co-sponsored legislation that unanimously passed the Oregon Legislature ending state income taxation on settlements and lawyer fees for wildfire victims. That bill, Senate Bill 1520, was championed by survivors of the 2020 Labor Day Fires.

That leaves us with a larger problem at the national level. The Disaster Relief Act, which passed the U.S. House almost unanimously in May is stuck in the US Senate. The bill would exempt disaster survivors in 47 states from paying federal income taxes on their disaster recovery settlements as well as lawyer fees. This includes survivors of wildfires, hurricanes and environmental disasters caused by human error, too, such as the East Palestine train derailment that occurred in Ohio in 2023.

Senator Ron Wyden has pledged to get the federal Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2023 passed by the end of the year and potentially before Thanksgiving. That may give our fire-surviving neighbors something to be thankful for.

For a good overview of our current political environment from both a Democrat and Republican perspective, take a few minutes to listen to Senator Dick Anderson and myself on the Double R Show this week.

Friday I braved the weather down to Newport to celebrate the Central Coast Food Trail. This food trail map connects visitors to our area with farms, fishers, markets, and restaurants that produce and serve the local products that make our area so special.

Earlier in this report, I mentioned the SBDC and House Bill 3410. Another part of that bill funded efforts to get more Oregon seafood into Oregon restaurants. A 10% increase would result in a $90 million increase for our local economies.

The Fall Social event was at the Pacific Maritime Heritage Museum on Newport’s bayfront and featured guest speakers from the farm and table side of the Central Coast Food Trail and a preview of short films created by local videographers Casey Felton and Travis Thompson. We then adjourned to sample remarkable seafood, produce, baked goods, and spirits – all produced locally.

Finally, on Friday I went to Taft Highschool for Take a Vet to School Day with members of the Junior Class. I sat down with two Marines, one fresh out of boot camp, a retired Army sergeant, and Senator Anderson to talk about service and community. When my turn came, rather than talk about my own experience, I introduced students to Paul Cochran who you met in last week’s newsletter. Paul graduated from Philomath High, enlisted in the Army, and was killed in action a year later. Why would he have done that, I asked?

Was it to get out of his small town and see the world? Opportunity for job training, education, or housing loans? Or was it service to country and the desire to be part of something larger than himself?

The kids listened, respected our service people, and asked good questions.

I’ll be back next week with more news from your legislature and around our district and Oregon. Thanks for reading!