Willamette Week, April 28, 2010
The House majority whip in 2009, Kotek had a good term. She ranked high in our “Good, Bad and Awful” survey, and Capitol colleagues called her smart, serious and hardworking.
Two of her recent achievements include new rules requiring restaurants with 15 or more locations in Oregon to post calorie counts on their menus. She also pushed a common-sense ban on employers’ using credit reports to weed out job applicants.
Now that federal lawmakers have approved new healthcare legislation, Kotek sees local opportunities for additional innovations during her third term next year. For example, she wants to make health insurance companies in Oregon hand over data on reimbursement rates to spotlight the varying costs of care across Oregon and to help reduce those costs.
Kotek’s opponent is Richard Ellmyer, an activist of sorts on issues concerning the alleged concentration of public housing in North Portland. His crowning achievement is never having met a bridge he hasn’t already burned, according to one scorched adversary.
