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鈥攎uch of that time reporting on city government for the Portland Mercury.
-
Democrats and Republicans often clash on the subject of caps on political giving, but are hoping to avoid a messy ballot fight. -
Oregon joins more than three dozen states in grappling with how to address so-called "deep-fake" technology ahead of this year's elections. -
Democrats and Republicans are seeing whether they can find a compromise over what kinds of consequences drug users might face. -
With an expensive ballot fight looming, two sides often opposed to one another are attempting to find a path forward in this year's legislative session. -
The state鈥檚 latest revenue forecast will dictate which spending bills survive the legislative session. -
In an opinion that could have reverberations for the upcoming legislative session, the court sided with state elections officials鈥� interpretation of the ballot measure voters approved aiming to end legislative walkouts. -
The subject is expected to be a flash point in this year鈥檚 legislative session. -
The comments from state Rep. E. Werner Reschke, R-Malin, are raising eyebrows as the legislature prepares to convene. -
The prominent intellectual and activist has some Democrats worried he could be a "spoiler" candidate. That's not likely in Oregon. -
Three years after Oregon eliminated criminal consequences for possessing small amounts of street drugs, influential lawmakers say it鈥檚 time for a course correction. Republicans say the changes wouldn鈥檛 be enough. -
Current Speaker Dan Rayfield has said he will lead the chamber through this year's legislative session, but a change could come soon after. -
Top Democrats hope the move would incentivize users to seek help while offering plenty of opportunities to avoid a conviction. It鈥檚 likely to have opposition on both sides of the state鈥檚 drug debate.