As lawmakers search for money to prop up the beleaguered Oregon Department of Transportation, two of the agency鈥檚 sharpest Republican critics have a potentially influential new role.
Last week, the Legislature鈥檚 top Democrats put state Sen. Bruce Starr, a Dundee Republican, in charge of finding ways to force more accountability out of ODOT at a time when plenty of lawmakers suspect the agency has lost its way.
Starr immediately tapped state Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis 鈥� a trucking company owner and the top House Republican on transportation matters 鈥� to assist him 鈥渟houlder to shoulder鈥� in that work. The duo are tasked with a powerful, but informal, assignment: figuring out whether ODOT really needs what it says.
The Democratic olive branch is a relative rarity in Salem, where the majority party typically prefers to handle high-profile jobs itself. It also comes with a risk: Giving Republicans a larger soapbox from which to question tax hikes Democrats say are highly likely.
鈥淥ur first instinct isn鈥檛 to raise taxes,鈥� Starr said in an interview last week. 鈥淥ur first instinct is, 鈥楬ey, are we getting the most bang for the existing dollar?鈥欌€�
鈥淚f it weren鈥檛 for Republicans 鈥� asking questions,鈥� added Boshart Davis, R-Albany, 鈥淚 can tell you right now, the only conversation that would be had is, 鈥楬ow do we take more money from Oregonians?鈥欌€�
Starr was still deciding last week whom he鈥檇 select to help him dig through ODOT鈥檚 budget, and he didn鈥檛 have a hard deadline for when recommendations would be ready. But he suggested the effort would have input from both Democrats and Republicans, and include experts from outside the Legislature.
鈥淢aybe they鈥檝e run large agencies before, maybe they鈥檝e delivered mega projects in the past and understand how that should work,鈥� Starr said. 鈥淏ecause right now, from where I鈥檓 sitting, the Oregon Department of Transportation can鈥檛 deliver big projects.鈥�
ODOT has offered a bleak, yet sometimes shifting, picture of its financial straits.
In presentations last year, the agency told lawmakers it, warning of and an inability to pave state-owned roads. Today, the agency says it can avoid the worst outcomes with a mere extra $875 million a year.
Meanwhile, ODOT is billions of dollars short for projects that were supposed to be paid for by a $5.3 billion funding bill in 2017. And recentl detailed sloppy accounting at the agency, ballooning project costs and an inability to easily track where money was flowing.
Democrats this year have said that increases to the state鈥檚 40-cent-per-gallon gas tax and vehicle registration fees could be in order to help the agency pay its bills and finish promised projects 鈥� a sentiment Republicans have panned.
Both parties agree the Legislature has a role in forcing ODOT to be transparent and responsible with any money it gets.
A press release from Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, and House Speaker Julie Fahey, D-Eugene, last week said Starr鈥檚 team will 鈥渞eview current ODOT accountability mechanisms and their effectiveness, while also studying where additional mechanisms should be added.鈥�
Starr and Boshart Davis, both vice-chairs of the legislative Transportation Committee, seemed to have a more expansive notion of their work. Neither would rule out recommending that ODOT scrap its role in or that the agency spend less money on public transit or amenities for bicycles 鈥� both targets of GOP scorn this year.
鈥淚n a situation where there鈥檚, according to ODOT, not enough revenue to meet all the needs, maybe they鈥檙e doing some things that aren鈥檛 core to their mission,鈥� Starr said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 part of this effort.鈥�
Starr has delved deep into ODOT before. In 2009, while representing Hillsboro in the state House, he helped navigate a major funding package for roads.
鈥淗istorically, transportation is one of those issues where folks put their shoulder to the wheel and try to find ways to work together,鈥� he said.
Democrats say they鈥檙e showing that same spirit by giving Starr this authority. But Salem has changed in the last 16 years, and lawmakers often complain the House and Senate are more politically polarized than ever.
That was evident by Senate Minority Leader Daniel Bonham鈥檚 reaction last week to Starr鈥檚 new role.
鈥淭urning to Republicans for help fixing this problem is the ultimate admission that Democrats lack the vision, creativity, and resolve to reform an agency riddled with mismanagement and misplaced priorities,鈥� Bonham, R-The Dalles, said in a statement. 鈥淏ut if Democrats are only looking for cover to justify another tax hike, we won鈥檛 be their scapegoat鈥�
Asked last week whether he agreed with that sentiment, Starr took a softer stance on Democrats, whose supermajorities in each chamber grant them power to pass new taxes on their own.
鈥淭heoretically, they could do this on their own and just keep throwing more money into the agency,鈥� he said, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think they want to do that.鈥�
