Dirk VanderHart
JPR Oregon State Capitol CorrespondentDirk VanderHart covers Oregon politics and government for Oregon Public Broadcasting, a JPR news partner. His reporting comes to JPR through the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington. Before barging onto the radio in 2018, Dirk spent more than a decade as a newspaper reporter—much of that time reporting on city government for the Portland Mercury.
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Legislative aides in Oregon were the first partisan workers of their kind to form a union. It took more than two years to negotiate a contract. -
Oregonians can expect roughly 45% of the state personal income taxes they paid last year to be returned to them — about $980 for the median taxpayer. -
GOP senators and state attorneys disagree on what Measure 113 does, but they agree the matter needs to be answered soon. -
The senators say Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade cannot bar them from seeking another term because of a constitutional loophole -
One week after the University of Oregon announced it’s departure to the Big Ten, people are still grappling with the news and its unclear impacts on the state. -
Lawmakers have been waiting for weeks to learn how new Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade will enforce a new law enacted by voters last year. -
Lawmakers approved major new spending on an ongoing Capitol renovation this year without once mentioning the cost escalations. -
Gov. Tina Kotek has previously denied the claim that she fired former OLCC Director Steve Marks earlier this year at the behest of a controversial cannabis entrepreneur. -
A bill to allow Oregonians to pump their own gas is not on Gov. Kotek's veto list. Money to study legalizing sex work is. -
The recall effort against longtime Rep. Paul Holvey, D-Eugene, could pit some of the state's most potent political forces against each other. -
A ballot measure passed last year was supposed to block 10 conservative lawmakers from running for reelection. They are planning to file anyway. -
In the 2024 election, Oregonians will decide how leaders are elected, what they're paid and whether they can be removed from office.
