The Political Revolution Is Close To Fruition In Oregon
Many of the progressive wish list issues Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) advocate for as they campaign were achieved in Oregon in the last year.
Oregon's new governor, Kate Brown (D), was in Washington, D.C., last February for a conference of secretaries of state when then-Gov. John Kitzhaber (D) summoned her home. She met him in his office, expecting the governor to tell her he was resigning because of a growing controversy over his fiancee’s role in his administration.
But Kitzhaber had changed his mind about stepping down, and instead asked Brown why she came back from the conference early. She issued a statement at the time calling the interaction "a bizarre and unprecedented situation."
Kitzhaber had yet another change of heart, succumbing to calls for his resignation the day after Brown issued her statement. She had just five days to prepare before being sworn in as his replacement on Feb. 18, 2015.
Since taking office, Democratic majorities in both chambers of the legislature have sent Brown bills addressing such progressive measures as expanding voting rights, access to birth control and background checks for gun purchases, as well as enacting paid sick leave and making community college nearly free for thousands of students.
Brown has tried to balance "fighting for working families and making sure we open the doors of opportunity to every single Oregonian" and treading cautiously because she is acutely aware that voters did not actually elect her into office.
MORE: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kate-brown-oregon_us_56cce584e4b041136f18b490?utm_hp_ref=politics
