Oregon’s Teacher Union Protest Photo. Licensed under Creative Commons 3.0
The largest teacher’s union in Oregon has decided not to endorse any of the current candidates for governor, with the major candidate in the Democratic primary being Tina Kotek and the major Republican primary candidates being Christine Drazan and Ed Diehl. The last time the teacher’s union decided not to endorse any candidate was in 2014. The union also did not provide any statements regarding the vote.
75% of the members voted in favor of not endorsing a single candidate for governor, and this comes after they endorsed Tina Kotek in 2022, and made donations to her campaign. Public schools in Portland are facing a huge deficit next year, according to an article from Oregon Public Broadcasting, and this may be a part of the reason for the non-endorsement.
After Portland teachers went on strike in Kotek’s first year in office, she passed massive funding through the 2025 school year. However, members of the union recently expressed that current candidates did not hold any of the commitments that they want to see.
Members of the union cited reasons such as unmet expectations, funding concerns and a lack of urgency in leadership, regarding the Portland teachers strikes and the cuts to funding. Members also expressed doubt in policy implementation and unfunded mandates regarding a senate bill in 2025. The union has historically supported Democratic candidates.
