OPB Politics Now
Gov. Tina Kotek has used her veto power to slow the push to decriminalize sex work in Oregon. And it turns out the city of Portland’s top public safety official has been living in Sin City, not Stumptown. On this week’s episode of OPB Politics Now, Anna Griffin, Jonathan Levinson and Alex Zielinski tackle those two topics.
At the end of the 2023 legislative session, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek used her veto power to nix state funding for two studies, totaling $600,000, intended to research the impact of Oregon’s laws prohibiting prostitution. In doing so, she stepped into a centuries-old debate about whether or not the world’s oldest profession can ever be entered into voluntarily — or if it is a legitimate form of work and should instead be decriminalized.
The man appointed to oversee Portland’s top public safety programs — including gun violence prevention — has spent much of his recent time on the job living 750 miles away.