Rainmaker Rankings August 9-15, 2026
Executive Summary
Senator Ron Wyden earned a +2 for helping pass a bill that could lower taxes for wildfire survivors. The Curry County Board of Commissioners also earned +2 for trying to hold Sheriff John Ward accountable. Ward received the week’s lowest score, -3, after refusing to provide records and facing serious misconduct claims.
Other positive scores went to four Portland city councilors and one Multnomah County commissioner for pushing back on the Blazers public funding plan, Providence for adding hospital beds, Oregon State University for winning job-training money, and the City of Portland for moving quickly on permits.
The Trump administration received negative scores for vaccine policy changes and for ending a rule meant to help track shell companies and financial crime.
Weekly Scoring Table
| Rank | Leader / Organization | This Week | Overall | Articles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ron Wyden | +2 | +3 | 1 |
| 1 | Curry County Board of Commissioners | +2 | +2 | 1 |
| 3 | Dan Rayfield | +1 | +2 | 1 |
| 3 | Angelita Morillo | +1 | +1 | 1 |
| 3 | Candace Avalos | +1 | +1 | 1 |
| 3 | Hermiston City Council | +1 | +1 | 1 |
| 3 | Maxine Dexter | +1 | +1 | 1 |
| 3 | Meghan Moyer | +1 | +1 | 1 |
| 3 | Mitch Green | +1 | +1 | 1 |
| 3 | OpConnect | +1 | +1 | 1 |
| 3 | Oregon Department of Justice | +1 | +1 | 1 |
| 3 | Oregon State University | +1 | +1 | 1 |
| 3 | Portland Permitting & Development | +1 | +1 | 1 |
| 3 | Providence Health | +1 | +1 | 1 |
| 3 | Quanta Services | +1 | +1 | 1 |
| 3 | Tiffany Koyama Lane | +1 | +1 | 1 |
| 3 | Urban League of Portland | +1 | +1 | 1 |
| 3 | Clackamas County Board of Commissioners | +1 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | City of Portland | +1 | -2 | 1 |
| 20 | Jessica Vega Pederson | -1 | -1 | 1 |
| 20 | Multnomah County | -1 | -1 | 1 |
| 20 | Oregon Health Authority | -1 | -1 | 1 |
| 20 | Robert F. Kennedy | -1 | -1 | 1 |
| 20 | U.S. Treasury Department | -1 | -1 | 1 |
| 25 | Trump Administration | -2 | -9 | 2 |
| 26 | John Ward | -3 | -3 | 1 |
Articles Scored This Week
Sen. Wyden’s wildfire tax relief bill passes just before Congress recesses, goes to White House
Date: August 10, 2026 Leader / Organization: Ron Wyden Score: +2 Score Headline: Passed a bill that could help wildfire survivors pay less taxes
Score Explanation: Senator Ron Wyden helped pass a bill that would protect wildfire survivors from paying federal income taxes on qualifying wildfire settlement money and make it easier to deduct uninsured disaster losses from their federal taxes. This is a significant accomplishment with Republicans controlling both the House and Senate. The bill still requires President Trump’s signature, but it would provide real financial relief to wildfire victims.
After pushing Black families out of North Portland, effort to welcome them back continues
Date: August 11, 2026 Leader / Organization: Urban League of Portland Score: +1 Score Headline: Helped create 62 affordable homes for Portland seniors
Score Explanation: The Urban League of Portland helped create M Carter Commons, a 62-unit affordable housing project for seniors in North Portland. A third of the apartments are for very low-income residents, with some rents around $700 a month. The project also gives preference to people displaced by past urban-renewal policies. Creating affordable housing for seniors, including people coming out of homelessness, is a positive.
EV charging company OpConnect opens Portland HQ, production facility
Date: August 11, 2026 Leader / Organization: OpConnect Score: +1 Score Headline: Expanded EV manufacturing in Portland instead of leaving Oregon
Score Explanation: Portland-based OpConnect is tripling the size of its headquarters and production space, moving into a 30,000-square-foot facility in the Central Eastside with room to hire and expand into manufacturing DC fast chargers. The company considered relocating to Arizona but chose to remain in Portland, citing its connections to the Northwest clean-tech industry as well as support from Business Oregon and Prosper Portland.
Oregon, nine other states sue Trump admin to protect interest payments to homeowners
Date: August 11, 2026 Leader / Organization: Dan Rayfield; Oregon Department of Justice Score: +1 Score Headline: Suing to protect interest payments owed to Oregon homeowners
Score Explanation: Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield and New York Attorney General Letitia James are leading a 10-state lawsuit against federal rules that would let some banks stop paying homeowners interest on mortgage escrow accounts. Oregon says those payments are worth about $200–$300 a year on average. The states argue the federal agency went beyond its legal authority and are trying to keep Oregon’s consumer protection in place.
Trump urges shift in childhood vaccine recommendations, calls for splitting up MMR vaccine
Date: August 11, 2026 Leader / Organization: Trump Administration; Robert F. Kennedy Score: -1 Score Headline: Pushes unsupported changes to vaccine schedule
Score Explanation: The Trump administration changed federal childhood vaccine recommendations to encourage greater spacing of vaccines and eventually splitting the combined MMR vaccine into separate shots. Requiring additional visits creates more opportunities for children to miss vaccinations.
Oregon has now reported 45 measles cases in 2026, more than during its 2024 outbreak, and the U.S. is at risk of losing its measles elimination status.
The administration directed federal agencies to promote the new approach. The change does not prohibit doctors from using the traditional vaccine schedule or the combined MMR vaccine, and states such as Oregon can continue following other medical guidance.
Above the Law. What happens when the most powerful law enforcement officer in a rural county goes rogue?
Date: August 12, 2026 Leader / Organization: John Ward Score: -3 Score Headline: Blocked efforts to look into his actions
Leader / Organization: Curry County Board of Commissioners Score: +2 Score Headline: Trying to hold sheriff accountable
Score Explanation: Curry County Sheriff John Ward has repeatedly refused to provide county commissioners with financial information about his office since 2023, and has continued withholding requested records despite a judge requiring him to do so.
The Oregon DOJ reviewed allegations against Ward but declined to pursue criminal charges. He is now the subject of an FBI investigation, and Curry County commissioners have asked state regulators to revoke his law-enforcement certification.
Other allegations include potentially fraudulent reporting tied to $182,000 a year in state-funded boat patrols and inspections; using uncertified police dogs; failing to properly supervise a deputy who shot two people; and personally controlling assets purchased for the sheriff’s office ($30,000 trailer registered in Ward’s name and a $53,000 storage building constructed on his private property). An independent investigator found Ward appeared to have lied about his arrest history.
Despite the controversies, Ward remains politically popular. He won reelection in 2024 with 62% of the vote.
Council Approves Moda Center Term Sheet to Kick Off Negotiations With Blazers
Date: August 12, 2026 Leader / Organization: Angelita Morillo; Candace Avalos; Mitch Green; Tiffany Koyama Lane Score: +1 Score Headline: Demanded a better Moda deal for taxpayers
Score Explanation: Four Portland city councilors were among the only elected officials publicly pushing back on committing hundreds of millions in public resources to the Moda Center renovation without demanding substantially more from the Trail Blazers and billionaire owner Tom Dundon. State and county leaders had already committed major public funding while Dundon continued to signal that the team itself would contribute nothing toward the renovation. The threat that the Blazers could leave should not mean capitualation. Relocating an NBA franchise requires league approval and requires a relocation fee of around $1 billion, and Dundon is notoriously cheap. Public officials should negotiate harder on behalf of the taxpayers they represent, especially when those taxpayers are already under significant financial pressure.
Hermiston approves $26 million plan to rid drinking water of forever chemicals
Date: August 12, 2026 Leader / Organization: Hermiston City Council Score: +1 Score Headline: Approved a $26 million plan to remove forever chemicals from its drinking water
Score Explanation: Hermiston approved a plan to address PFAS contamination in its drinking water by closing two wells, adding filtration to another and relying more on a cleaner regional water source. The city also applied for state financing to help cover the $26 million cost. Hermiston had previously taken a wait-and-see approach, so moving forward with a concrete plan to protect drinking water earns a positive score.
Multnomah County chair doubles down on hiring former Blazers executive as Moda Center negotiator
Date: August 12, 2026 Leader / Organization: Jessica Vega Pederson; Multnomah County Score: -1 Score Headline: Poor judgment and transparency in selecting the county’s Moda negotiator.
Leader / Organization: Meghan Moyer Score: +1 Score Headline: Demanded greater scrutiny of the negotiator and taxpayer subsidy.
Score Explanation: Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson hired former Blazers executive Chris Oxley to help negotiate the county’s Moda Center deal while Oxley also serves as board president of Sport Oregon, an organization lobbying for the taxpayer-funded renovation. The county says there is no legal conflict, but Vega Pederson did not clearly explain what competitive selection process or conflict review produced the hire before commissioners learned about it during debate over a $100 million county contribution. Commissioner Meghan Moyer immediately challenged the arrangement and was the only commissioner to vote against the $100 million commitment.
Oregon State Hospital superintendent ousted after resignation of health authority leader
Date: August 12, 2026 Leader / Organization: Oregon Health Authority Score: -1 Score Headline: Added more instability to an already struggling state hospital
Score Explanation: Oregon Health Authority removed State Hospital Superintendent Sean Murphy only one month after he started the job and has not explained why. The hospital is already struggling with staffing, patient safety and repeated leadership turnover. Murphy says he wanted faster changes, and the hospital union says he was taking staffing concerns seriously. OHA may have had good reasons to remove him, but another sudden leadership change adds more instability to a hospital that needs consistent management.
Trump admin ditches small business reporting mandate
Date: August 12, 2026 Leader / Organization: Trump Administration; U.S. Treasury Department Score: -1 Score Headline: Scrapped a transparency rule designed to expose shell companies and money laundering
Score Explanation: The Treasury Department ended a rule requiring U.S. companies to report who owns them. Congress created the rule to help law enforcement track shell companies, money laundering and other financial crimes. Removing it makes it easier to hide who is behind a company and may also go beyond Treasury’s legal authority.
Another local government in Oregon moves toward moratorium on data centers
Date: August 13, 2026 Leader / Organization: Clackamas County Board of Commissioners Score: +1 Score Headline: Began process to pause data centers
Score Explanation: The Clackamas County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to begin the process of imposing a moratorium on new data center applications while the county studies potential safeguards. Before commissioners can hold the hearing to adopt the moratorium, the county must provide the state at least 45 days’ notice. The 45 day clock started on Aug 13th, so the soonest the moratorium could take effect is September 27th.
Crews building transmission line use equipment to help fight wildfires near Oregon-Idaho order
Date: August 13, 2026 Leader / Organization: Quanta Services Score: +1 Score Headline: Redirected their crews and equipment to fight Oregon-border wildfires
Score Explanation: Quanta Services redirected its construction crews, heavy equipment, water trucks and aircraft from the Boardman-to-Hemingway transmission line project to help firefighters create access roads and firebreaks during a period when public firefighting resources were stretched thin. The assistance reportedly helped protect an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 acres, and there is no indication Quanta was paid for the work.
James Beard Public Market secures building permit for downtown space
Date: August 13, 2026 Leader / Organization: City of Portland; Portland Permitting & Development Score: +1 Score Headline: Approved building permits unusually quickly
Score Explanation: Portland approved permits for the 38,000-square-foot James Beard Public Market unusually quickly, allowing construction to move forward toward a 2027 opening. The project architect called it the fastest permitting turnaround he had seen in 30 years of doing projects in Portland and credited strong coordination across city bureaus. Efficient permitting makes it easier to invest and build in Portland, though one successful project does not erase the city’s broader permitting problems.
Oregon State University lands $5M in SBA grants for small manufacturer training programs
Date: August 13, 2026 Leader / Organization: Oregon State University Score: +1 Score Headline: Won $5 million to train workers for Oregon manufacturers
Score Explanation: Oregon State University received a $5 million federal grant to help small manufacturers train workers in machining, robotics, welding, smart manufacturing and other technical skills. The program will work through OSU’s College of Engineering and community college partners across Oregon. Helping small manufacturers build a stronger workforce and become more competitive earns a positive score.
Providence Portland adds beds in $76M expansion
Date: August 13, 2026 Leader / Organization: Providence Health Score: +1 Score Headline: Invested $76 million to add 96 badly needed hospital beds
Score Explanation: Providence Portland is adding 96 hospital beds in a $76 million expansion, with the first new rooms opening in September. Oregon has one of the lowest rates of hospital beds per person in the country, at 1.6 beds per 1,000 residents compared with a national average of 2.35. Oregon would need roughly 3,200 additional beds statewide to reach the national average, so Providence’s 96 new beds close about 3% of that gap, a meaningful contribution.
Oregon politician makes unannounced visit to ICE detention center in Tacoma. Here’s what she learned
Date: August 15, 2026 Leader / Organization: Maxine Dexter Score: +1 Score Headline: Made an unannounced ICE detention center visit, pressing for answers
Score Explanation: Dexter made an unannounced oversight visit to the Tacoma immigration detention center after reports of a hunger strike and poor conditions. She challenged officials when they initially tried to require advance notice, spoke directly with detainees, and identified conflicting accounts about the reported hunger strike and medical care. The visit increased scrutiny and accountability, but it did not yet result in a confirmed investigation, policy change, or improvement in conditions.
