Episode Details

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Oregon’s governor race may be one of the cleanest examples of what has gone wrong with American politics.

Two candidates have roughly 70 pages of actual policy plans between them. Yet the campaign keeps drifting toward Washington, D.C., national political enemies, and issues increasingly removed from the job Oregon’s next governor will actually have to perform.

So Chad asks a much simpler question:

Are Oregonians better off?

This Tuesday Special builds a scoreboard from Oregon’s rising power bills, unemployment, taxes, migration, schools, child welfare, homelessness, housing, infrastructure and business climate — while also giving Governor Tina Kotek credit where the numbers support a positive result.

Then comes the bigger question: Why does government measure what it spends and announces far more readily than what it actually accomplishes?

Chad examines Kotek and Christine Drazan’s backgrounds, their policy plans, Oregon’s unusual political landscape, the debate fight, and the difference between political inputs and measurable outcomes.

Plus, in After Hours, Chad answers listener texts about government spending, Oregon data centers, the candidates, his own ballot, and the literacy targets Oregonians should watch during the 2026–27 school year.

📲 Text the show: 252-CHAD-LAW

CHAPTERS

00:00 Oregon’s Governor Race Is Everything Wrong With Politics
02:18 Kotek vs. Drazan: Who Are These Candidates?
09:41 Are Oregonians Actually Better Off?
15:27 Oregon Isn’t Shrinking — It’s Trading Taxpayers
18:12 $390 Million Later: Can Oregon Kids Read?
21:40 The Foster-Care Veto
23:55 Giving Kotek the Wins She Earned
25:50 Oregon’s Scorecard: Good Bones, Bad Outcomes
27:06 Why Nobody Pays for Missing the Goal
28:32 The Plans Nobody Is Campaigning On
31:55 Three Debates — So Why Isn’t This the Debate?
34:55 The Real Scam: Inputs Instead of Outcomes
37:24 The Governor’s Actual Job: Execute
AFTER HOURS — Listener Q&A follows the main-show close

#Oregon #Politics #CommonSense #ChadLaw