By Emily West, Communications Committee Chair, Democratic Party of Coos County
Rural Oregon, it’s time to get behind Tina! She has had our counties in mind, and she has fought to make life better even in Oregon’s most remote corners. Rural communities across Oregon are most affected by wildfires, and Tina takes a common sense approach to fighting wildfires. In 2025, she signed House Bill 3940, establishing the first-ever permanent fund for fighting wildfires to make sure Oregon is prepared before fires are lit, not after [1 ] That bill secures one hundred and fifty million dollars for wildfire response and one hundred seventeen million dollars for community prevention and resilience. Part of that resilience plan backs 28 different Rangeland Fire Protection Associations with a cool million to help volunteer firefighters who protect 17.6 million acres in Eastern and Central Oregon. The bill even lets the Department of Forestry pass surplus engines and equipment on to the Rangeland volunteers! [ 2 ] This past summer, she ordered insurance companies to stop canceling or nonrenewing homeowners’ policies in zip codes under wildfire evacuation notices, building on Senate Bill 82, which bars insurance companies from using the state wildfire risk map to cancel, nonrenew, or raise premiums on families affected by wildfires. Now that’s common sense! [ 3 , 4 ]
On top of protecting their lands from wildfires, Tina has helped farms and ranches stay operational in drought. With 22 of Oregon’s 36 counties under drought emergency in 2026, including Coos, the Governor’s declarations unlock state help for water users and faster water-rights reviews. [ 5 ] She asked the Legislature’s Emergency Board for another one million dollars to help low- and moderate-income homeowners repair or replace failing domestic wells. [ 6 ] She asked federal officials for a wildfire disaster designation covering 14 counties, so Oregon farmers and ranchers get the same emergency loans and relief other states received. [ 7 ] And to round all that off, Executive Order 25-26 sets a goal for Oregon to protect or restore 10% more of our lands and waters over the next decade, working with farmers, ranchers and forest landowners. [ 8 ]
But farmland isn’t the only rural concern. At Tina’s request, the state legislature approved $25 million for rural maternity care. With federal matching funds, thirty-seven point five million dollars will go to 21 rural hospitals to help with costs and to keep labor and delivery units open.[⁹,¹⁰]
She signed Senate Bill 605, barring hospitals clinics and collectors from reporting medical debt to credit bureaus, and House Bill 4116, barring out-of-state lenders from exceeding Oregon’s 36% interest cap.[¹¹,¹²] She established the new Regional Infrastructure Fund as part of House Bill 5204 to help small communities build water, sewer, and road infrastructure that will help them grow their economies.[¹³]
She published two executive orders— 25-25 and 25-29 —to help with energy storage and transmission, to fast-track wind and solar permits, and to
update aging energy infrastructure in remote East Oregon.[¹⁴] She fought to earn Oregon $157 million in federal funding to improve our broadband infrastructure, bringing the internet— and all the money-saving telehealth services that come with it —to our rural neighbors.[¹⁵]
When it comes to housing, Tina has helped Oregon by increasing the supply of housing. The state has financed or added seventeen thousand housing units since 2023 and is already working on building 50,000 more.[¹⁶]
Tina is working to help rural folks buy their first home through her LIFT Homeownership program, which is investing in eighteen existing home ownership development projects, including Coos Bay’s own Habitat for Humanity![¹⁷] Not to mention, her work to address Oregon’s homelessness crisis has kept nearly twenty six thousand Oregon households off the streets.[¹⁸] When it comes to schools, Tina published a record eleven point three six billion dollar State School Fund for 2025–27, matching the full amount available in the Governor’s budget.[¹⁹] But for rural schools, specifically, the Legislature funded Tina’s nearly five million dollar request to support education service districts as they help schools lower costs on tech support and administrative work.[²⁰] The rural parts of our state are beautiful places to live. If you want to see rural Oregon flourish, then Tina is the governor for you!
SOURCES:
6 – https://elkhornmediagroup.com/kotek-declares-wildfire-disaster-and-asks-for-funding-for-wells-hit-by-drought/
7 – https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/07/31/gov-kotek-presses-feds-to-get-oregon-farmers-ranchers-same-urgent-wildfire-relief-as-red-states/
¹¹ – https://www.thelundreport.org/content/bill-shield-consumers-credit-scores-medical-debt-signed-law
14 – https://www.opb.org/article/2025/12/30/oregon-renewable-energy-transmission-lines/
18 – https://www.opb.org/article/2026/01/09/oregon-governor-kotek-extends-homelessness-emergency/
19 – https://www.opb.org/article/2025/06/16/oregon-lawmakers-11-billion-funding-schools-bill/
