Rainmaker Rankings Week of July 5, 2026
Executive Summary
This week's biggest positive stories included new federal funding for rural health care, programs that reduced pesticide deaths among Oregon bees, expanded mattress recycling, and grocery assistance for some Oregon Health Plan members. Several state agencies and organizations earned high scores for delivering measurable results.
The biggest setbacks included Oregon's Climate Protection Program, growing concerns about government accountability, higher local fees, and problems with public safety, permitting, and state financial management. Gov. Tina Kotek received the week's lowest score after allowing the Climate Protection Program to move forward despite previously saying it should be replaced.
Weekly Scoring Table
| Rank | Leader / Organization | This Week | Overall | Articles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oregon Health Authority | +3 | +3 | 2 |
| 2 | Oregon State University | +2 | +4 | 1 |
| 2 | Mattress Recycling Council | +2 | +2 | 1 |
| 2 | Oregon Bee Project | +2 | +2 | 1 |
| 2 | Oregon Department of Environmental Quality | +2 | +2 | 1 |
| 6 | Julia Brim-Edwards | +1 | +1 | 1 |
| 6 | Meghan Moyer | +1 | +1 | 1 |
| 6 | Oregon Government Ethics Commission | +1 | +1 | 1 |
| 6 | Sara Gelser Blouin | +1 | +1 | 1 |
| 6 | Suzanne Weber | +1 | +1 | 1 |
| 6 | Werner Reschke | +1 | +1 | 1 |
| 12 | Betsy Imholt | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | Floyd Prozanski | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | Satish Upadhyay | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 15 | Beaverton City Council | -1 | -1 | 1 |
| 15 | Cristian Salgado | -1 | -1 | 1 |
| 15 | Keith Wilson | -1 | -1 | 1 |
| 15 | Lacey Beaty | -1 | -1 | 1 |
| 15 | Portland Police Bureau | -1 | -1 | 1 |
| 15 | U.S. Forest Service | -1 | -1 | 1 |
| 21 | Multnomah County | -2 | -2 | 1 |
| 21 | Preschool for All | -2 | -2 | 1 |
| 23 | Oregon Department of Administrative Services | -3 | -3 | 1 |
| 23 | Oregon Legislature | -3 | -3 | 2 |
| 23 | Portland Permitting & Development | -3 | -3 | 1 |
| 26 | Portland City Council | -4 | -4 | 2 |
| 27 | Tina Kotek | -6 | -1 | 3 |
Articles Scored This Week
Fewer Oregon bees are dying from pesticides, report shows
Date: July 6, 2026
Leader / Organization: Oregon Bee Project; Oregon State University
What Happened: Oregon’s coordinated pollinator-protection program trained more than 12,000 pesticide applicators, developed bee-protection protocols for major crops, expanded public education and created a statewide bee inventory. Oregon has recorded no confirmed acute pesticide-related bee-kill cases since 2020, following several confirmed incidents earlier in the decade.
Issue Areas: Agriculture / environmental protection
Rainmaker Recommendation: Protect pollinators.
Score: +2
Score Explanation: +2 because the Oregon Bee Project produced a measurable, sustained improvement
Kotek opts Oregon out of Trump program offering up to $1,700 in education tax credits
Date: July 6, 2026
Leader / Organization: Tina Kotek
What Happened: Opted Oregon out of a federal education tax credit program that would have allowed taxpayers to get a federal credit for donations to scholarship organizations. Those organizations could fund private school tuition, tutoring, special education services, transportation, technology, home-schooling costs, and some public-school-related programs.
Issue Areas: Education / school choice / public schools / tax credits / tutoring
Rainmaker Recommendation: Don't know yet.
Score: 0
Score Explanation: 0 unclear if this will make Oregon easier to live, work, and raise a family in.
Third Oregon state HR executive leaves leadership role as personnel investigation continues
Date: July 6, 2026
Leader / Organization: Betsy Imholt; Satish Upadhyay
What Happened: A third leader in Oregon state government’s top HR office stepped down as an outside personnel investigation continues. Amber Daniels is returning to a previous manager role, after Jessica Knieling was fired and Kyle Waraky resigned. The investigation followed complaints about HR issues and the work environment in the Chief Human Resources Office.
Issue Areas: State agency leadership
Rainmaker Recommendation: Oregon needs stable, capable, and accountable leadership focused on making Oregon easier to live, work, and raise a family in.
Score: 0
Score Explanation: 0 because unclear if this is a positive or negative action.
New Oregon recycling program keeps more than 130,000 mattresses out of landfills in first year
Date: July 7, 2026
Leader / Organization: Mattress Recycling Council; Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
What Happened: Oregon’s new statewide mattress-recycling program diverted more than 130,000 mattresses and box springs from landfills in its first full year (2025). About 2,000 were refurbished for reuse, while the rest were dismantled so materials such as metal, foam and fibers could be reused. The program is funded by a $22.50 fee on new mattresses and provides free collection sites or events in nearly every Oregon county.
Issue Areas: Recycling / waste reduction
Rainmaker Recommendation: Provide convenient statewide recycling programs for bulky and hard-to-dispose products, while keeping fees transparent, reasonable and tied directly to program costs.
Score: +2
Score Explanation: +2 because Oregon diverted more than 130,000 mattresses from landfills and created convenient statewide recycling access, although the $22.50 fee generated $8.3 million against $4.2 million in first-year costs and should be reviewed or reduced if projected growth does not absorb the surplus.
Oregon expands Medicaid to help some members buy groceries
Date: July 7, 2026
Leader / Organization: Oregon Health Authority
What Happened: Launched two temporary grocery-support benefits that could initially help an estimated 10,000–30,000 Oregon Health Plan members who face food insecurity, significant health needs and major life instability. Eligible members can receive produce or pantry foods for up to six months through grocery deliveries or prepaid cards.
Issue Areas: Health care / Medicaid
Rainmaker Recommendation: Ensure that every Oregon household below a defined income level can reliably afford a basic nutritious diet, using direct food benefits and existing grocery stores rather than a patchwork of narrowly targeted programs.
Score: +1
Score Explanation: +1 because Oregon is providing tangible grocery assistance to some of its most medically and economically vulnerable residents, but the temporary program will probably reach only tens of thousands of people and will have little effect on Oregon’s broader food-affordability problem.
Beaverton residents will see higher fees as city faces cash crunch it says it can’t easily fix
Date: July 8, 2026
Leader / Organization: Lacey Beaty; Beaverton City Council
What Happened: Approved a new $9.50 monthly general-services fee and a street-maintenance fee of up to $5 per month for households, with the street fee scheduled to triple to as much as $15 by 2029. The city also raised water rates about 9%, sewer rates about 7% and stormwater rates about 5%. The fees come after more than 40 positions were cut over three years, but the city still plans another $2.5 million in reductions and may seek a property-tax increase in 2027.
Issue Areas: Cost of living / local government
Rainmaker Recommendation: Reform local-government financing so essential services and road maintenance are funded transparently and sustainably, rather than through a growing collection of flat utility-bill fees that fall disproportionately on lower-income households.
Score: -1
Score Explanation: -1 because Beaverton added multiple monthly household fees and utility-rate increases that could cost residents hundreds more per year, while not resolving its structural budget shortfall. The score is limited to -1 because the city has already made significant staffing cuts and faces genuine revenue constraints.
Massive Prison Payout Highlights Dismal Financial Picture for State Insurance Fund
Date: July 8, 2026
Leader / Organization: Tina Kotek; Oregon Legislature; Oregon Department of Administrative Services
What Happened: Oregon agreed to a record $49 million settlement with thousands of state prison inmates after the Department of Corrections allegedly failed to follow COVID protections. The settlement exposed a severely underfunded state self-insurance fund that held only $16 million in assets against $426 million in liabilities at the end of fiscal 2025, far below the legally intended funding level. Despite repeated actuarial warnings, governors and lawmakers have failed for years to adequately fund the system as payouts have risen sharply.
Issue Areas: Government accountability / financial management
Rainmaker Recommendation: Prevent avoidable harm and lawsuits through stronger agency oversight and accountability. Requiring Oregon to adopt a credible multi year plan to restore its self-insurance fund.
Score: -3
Score Explanation: -3 because Oregon’s failure to protect incarcerated people contributed to a record $49 million settlement, while years of inadequate funding left the state insurance fund with only $16 million available against $426 million in liabilities. The result is both a serious human failure and a financial burden that diverts money from public services.
Leader / Organization: Sara Gelser Blouin; Suzanne Weber; Werner Reschke
What Happened: Sponsored legislation requiring DAS to publish an annual accounting of Oregon’s self-insurance fund, exposing its severe underfunding and rising liabilities.
Issue Areas: Government accountability / financial management
Rainmaker Recommendation: Prevent avoidable harm and lawsuits through stronger agency oversight and accountability. Requiring Oregon to adopt a credible multi year plan to restore its self-insurance fund.
Score: +1
Score Explanation: +1 for creating basic public transparency around a poorly understood state liability and making it easier for lawmakers and the public to identify costly agency failures.
Oregon awards the largest round of federal rural healthcare grants
Date: July 8, 2026
Leader / Organization: Oregon Health Authority
What Happened: Awarded $97 million to 136 rural healthcare projects across Oregon, bringing total awards from the federal Rural Health Transformation Program to $175.3 million. The grants will support mobile vision, dental, prenatal and postpartum care, transportation, meals for older adults, workforce capacity and other locally designed services.
Issue Areas: Rural health / Health care
Rainmaker Recommendation: Demand that Oregon’s federal representatives repeatedly introduce and fight for universal healthcare, while protecting rural hospitals, expanding the healthcare workforce and ensuring every Oregonian can obtain timely care. A state-only universal healthcare system does not financially pencil out.
Score: +2
Score Explanation: +2 because OHA moved quickly to distribute substantial federal funding to practical, community-driven rural healthcare projects. The grants may improve access across underserved areas. The funding is only a partial cushion against much larger federal Medicaid and food-assistance cuts ($15 billion).
Portland’s Short-Term Rental Fines Are Some of the Highest in the Nation. They Just Got Higher.
Date: July 8, 2026
Leader / Organization: Portland City Council; Portland Permitting & Development
What Happened: Increased the maximum penalty for a first-time short-term-rental enforcement case from $27,513 to $34,670, even after the City Ombudsman found Portland’s fines were 27 times higher than those in comparable cities and documented residents taking out loans, draining retirement accounts or selling homes to pay them. Portland can issue multiple daily citations without first providing a warning, and payment plans carry 12% interest.
Issue Areas: Housing / small business / permitting
Rainmaker Recommendation: Simplify short-term-rental rules, provide clear notice and a reasonable opportunity to correct first-time violations, and use escalating penalties that are proportionate to the harm caused.
Score: -3
Score Explanation: -3 because Portland increased already disproportionate fines despite documented cases of first-time offenders facing tens of thousands of dollars in penalties. The city appears to be using punitive enforcement revenue to fund the permitting system rather than designing rules that encourage compliance.
Burglaries targeting Asian Americans in Oregon prompt changes to public safety law
Date: July 9, 2026
Leader / Organization: Floyd Prozanski; Oregon Legislature
What Happened: Clarified that standing pretrial-release guidelines do not prevent judges from independently considering community safety, flight risk and failure-to-appear risk.
Issue Areas: Public safety / criminal justice
Rainmaker Recommendation: Common-sense laws that hold serious and repeat offenders accountable, support victims, and give the justice system effective tools while preserving due process and avoiding wealth-based detention.
Score: 0
Score Explanation: 0 because the law responds to a real public-safety concern but largely restates authority judges already possessed. It may encourage better decisions, but it does not materially change detention standards or ensure that organized-crime suspects are held before trial.
Hillsboro councilor censured over conduct during contentious data center meeting
Date: July 9, 2026
Leader / Organization: Cristian Salgado
What Happened: Was formally censured by the Hillsboro City Council for livestreaming and antagonizing audience members during a contentious data-center meeting, disrupting proceedings and violating council expectations for decorum and professional conflict management. He was removed from committee assignments, had his stipend reduced and was required to complete bias and harassment training.
Issue Areas: Government accountability
Rainmaker Recommendation: Elected officials should treat residents respectfully
Score: -1
Score Explanation: -1 because Salgado responded unprofessionally during a contentious public meeting, contributed to its disruption and undermined public confidence.
Public invited to comment on plan to possibly triple logging in eastern Oregon national forests
Date: July 9, 2026
Leader / Organization: U.S. Forest Service
What Happened: Proposed revising the Blue Mountain Forest Plan to potentially triple logging across 5.5 million acres of eastern Oregon and southeast Washington over the next decade. The draft would allow more logging, grazing and mining, remove the 21-inch diameter limit that protects many larger trees, and assume additional roadless lands could become available for development.
Issue Areas: Forest management / wildfire prevention / timber economy
Rainmaker Recommendation: Use science-based thinning and prescribed fire to restore overcrowded, fire-prone forests and protect nearby communities, while preserving old and fire-resistant trees, watersheds, roadless areas and wildlife habitat. Federal forest plans should demonstrate ecological and wildfire benefits rather than simply maximize timber volume.
Score: -1
Score Explanation: -1 because the Forest Service is proposing a sweeping increase in logging, including larger trees and potentially roadless areas, without showing that the scale is necessary for wildfire prevention or forest health.
Board Briefing Suggests Multnomah County Is Not Adequately Reimbursing the Average Preschool for All Provider
Date: July 10, 2026
Leader / Organization: Multnomah County; Preschool for All
What Happened: A county-commissioned study found that Preschool for All often reimbursed providers below their actual costs, even though the program had accumulated a $485 million fund balance by the end of FY2024—about $300 million more cash than forecast because tax collections exceeded expectations and program spending lagged behind plans.
Issue Areas: Child care / preschool / taxes / government efficiency / public trust
Rainmaker Recommendation: Make high-quality preschool broadly available, but fund providers at the true cost of care, keep administrative costs reasonable, and align taxes and reserves with a realistic expansion plan so public money is converted into actual preschool seats.
Score: -2
Score Explanation: -2 because Multnomah County accumulated a $485 million Preschool for All fund balance, about $300 million more than forecast, while many participating providers were still being reimbursed below their actual costs. Building such a large surplus without adequately funding delivery undermines trust in an otherwise worthwhile public program.
Leader / Organization: Julia Brim-Edwards; Meghan Moyer
What Happened: Co-sponsored the resolution commissioning an independent study of the true cost of providing Preschool for All services. The study identified reimbursement gaps and produced a dynamic model the county can use to set rates based on provider type, staffing, student needs and operating costs.
Issue Areas: Child care / preschool / taxes / government efficiency / public trust
Rainmaker Recommendation: Make high-quality preschool broadly available, but fund providers at the true cost of care, keep administrative costs reasonable, and align taxes and reserves with a realistic expansion plan so public money is converted into actual preschool seats.
Score: +1
Score Explanation: +1 for commissioning an independent cost study that exposed weaknesses in the reimbursement system and gave the county a practical tool to correct them.
Director of Oregon ethics commission to face external inquiry into alleged ethics violations
Date: July 10, 2026
Leader / Organization: Oregon Government Ethics Commission
What Happened: Voted 6-0, with one abstention, to arrange an external preliminary review of ethics allegations against Executive Director Susan Myers. The complaint comes amid a broader dispute over the commission’s interpretation of Oregon’s public-meetings law, including accusations from local-government groups that Myers gave inconsistent guidance and privately advocated for Gov. Kotek to veto legislation despite publicly presenting herself as neutral.
Issue Areas: Government ethics / transparency / public meetings / public trust
Rainmaker Recommendation: Enforce Oregon’s ethics and public-meetings laws independently and consistently, and provide clear rules that protect public transparency without unfairly penalizing officials for ambiguous or unintended conduct.
Score: +1
Score Explanation: +1 because the commission sought an external review of allegations involving its own executive director rather than handling the matter internally. The the allegations remain unproven and arise partly from an ongoing policy dispute with groups seeking looser public-meetings rules.
Portland police response times are climbing to troubling levels
Date: July 10, 2026
Leader / Organization: Keith Wilson; Portland City Council; Portland Police Bureau
What Happened: Have not restored enough patrol capacity to reverse worsening emergency-response performance. High-priority police calls now average about 20 minutes, nearly three times Portland’s own 7-minute goal, while only 324 patrol officers provide round-the-clock 911 response citywide.
Issue Areas: Public safety / emergency response
Rainmaker Recommendation: Protect public safety with common-sense policies that ensure fast emergency response, hold serious offenders accountable, and deploy police, unarmed responders and other public-safety staff according to the type and urgency of each call.
Score: -1
Score Explanation: -1 because current leaders inherited the staffing crisis but have not yet produced a funded, credible plan that restores timely emergency response.
DEQ Makes Long-Awaited Announcement on Controversial Climate Program
Date: July 11, 2026
Leader / Organization: Tina Kotek
What Happened: Tina Kotek allowed the Oregon DEQ to keep moving forward with the Climate Protection Program. This happened even though she said Oregon should replace it with a system more like those used in Washington and California. Oregon’s program sets a much higher price on carbon than nearby states. It could also send billions of dollars to an outside nonprofit without normal oversight from the Legislature.
Issue Areas: Cost of living / business competitiveness / climate policy / energy costs / government accountability / executive leadership
Rainmaker Recommendation: End the Climate Protection Program because it could raise costs for Oregon families and businesses. Oregon should lower pollution by supporting cleaner technology, better energy systems, energy savings, healthy forests, wildfire prevention, and voluntary programs that do not make Oregon more expensive.
Score: -3
Score Explanation: Kotek has the power to change the direction of her administration, but she is allowing this program to move forward even after saying it should be replaced. The program could raise the cost of fuel, heating, transportation, and other goods. It may also place billions of dollars under the control of an outside nonprofit without normal oversight from lawmakers. Allowing a program she says is flawed to continue is a major failure of leadership and accountability.
