It wasn’t a debate, but Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek and state Sen. Christine Drazan faced off at a business forum Thursday afternoon to talk about taxes, tariffs and how to make the state more economically competitive.

The two women, who served in the Oregon state Legislature at the same time and ran against each other for governor in 2022, made their case to a room full of business people at the Sentinel Hotel in downtown Portland. It was the first time the two have shared the stage this election cycle. The forum was moderated by Suzanne Stevens, the editor of the Portland Business Journal.

Kotek’s pitch was a familiar one: The state could be doing better, but it’s on the right track. She said she’s best suited to be the one who keeps up the fight and has proven she can stand up to President Trump when needed.

“I’m committed to fighting for that certainty and predictability that our businesses need. Are we where we want to be? Of course not. Are we getting better? Yes,” Kotek said. “And as your governor, I’m going to keep fighting for you.”

And Drazan’s pitch was also well honed: “Who do we trust to fix what’s broken? Who do we believe can actually deliver on what they’re sharing and talking about today?”

Drazan pointed to the state’s unemployment rate and said personal bankruptcies are growing.

“We cannot continue to go down this path of electing the same kinds of people over and over and over again and expecting a different result,” Drazan said, a nod to the fact the state hasn’t elected a Republican for governor in more than four decades.

Both candidates touched on the importance of affordability and standing up to the federal administration. They spoke about the city of Portland and touched on perhaps one of the thornier topics in this state: changes to the tax system.

In June, Kotek’s “Prosperity Council,” a 15-person panel she convened to come up with ideas to improve the state’s economy, suggested modifying the state’s Corporate Activity Tax, which taxes businesses that generate more than $1 million in annual sales. The council recommended increasing the threshold to $2 million. Two of the labor-affiliated members on the council disagreed with the recommendation.

Drazan said she would consider making the threshold higher and said a thriving economy would make up for the lost state revenue. Drazan also said some of the revenue from the so-called CAT tax is not going to schools directly, instead “fattening up bureaucracy.”

“When businesses grow and thrive, it grows the pie overall for our state. We’re an income tax dependent state. We need jobs. We want job growth,” Drazan said. “That’s what we need to have as our North Star when we’re talking about tax policy, what provides for public services that are strong, stable for our most vulnerable while allowing businesses to grow so families.”

The governor said she was in the midst of working on a “very nerdy” project to better track where the money is going.

“So when we’re done with this project, all 197 school districts are going to be able to tell us how they are spending their money because under my accountability bill that passed last year, if you are not meeting your performance standards two or three years from now as a district, 25% of your state school fund dollars will be potentially managed by the state,” Kotek said.

More directly, Kotek said she was open to making changes to the tax for smaller businesses, but took umbrage with the idea that the money wasn’t being spent wisely.

“That $3 billion that goes into our schools, every biennium right now, also goes to early childhood education, it goes to school meals, it goes to school counselors,” Kotek said. “So I think it’s inappropriate to say, and frankly wrong in saying that it’s just beefing up the Department of Education, but we should know how districts are spending those dollars so they can be effective.”

When asked about the city of Portland, both candidates agreed it had improved since the early part of the 2020s.

“I think that’s the message today is that Portland will come back fully and stronger than ever, but we’ve got to change direction for that to happen,” Drazan said.

The governor said foot traffic is up, safety is improving and violent crimes are down.

“Is everything where we want it to be? No, but we have come a long way since the end of the pandemic, and if we keep moving forward on the things that make Oregon and Portland in particular special, we will be successful,” Kotek said.

And when it comes to the Trump administration, both promised to do what was best for the state.

“I’m asking to lead our state to the benefit of the citizens of this state, period. And there is no doubt that tariffs have harmed our state. There is no doubt that the war in Iran is harming our state today,” Drazan said. “We need to have Oregon’s voices heard. And I can tell you that no matter who is in the White House, I will always stand up for the state.”

Kotek said she would work with any administration as well but not “get ruled over” by an administration that is doing things Oregonians don’t want.

“When the president wanted to deploy military troops in downtown Portland, our largest city, we were facing a disaster and we all came together and fought back and a hundred days later, all the California and Oregon National Guard troops went home,” Kotek said. “My opponent said nothing and in fact said she didn’t think that it was a problem to put troops in Portland.”

Thursday’s business forum marks the only scheduled time that the two political rivals will appear in Portland on a stage together.

The two candidates are scheduled to have their first debate Oct. 1 in Eugene on the University of Oregon’s campus. The event is hosted by UO’s School of Journalism and Communication, KVAL, Lookout Eugene-Springfield and the Oregon Journalism Project.

The other two debates are expected to be in Medford on Oct. 7 and in Bend on Oct. 13.

Kotek declined to participate in the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association debate in July. Drazan attended alone and gave a speech and took questions. Kotek also declined to participate in a debate hosted by KGW and The Oregonian/OregonLive in Portland. According to KGW, this will mark the first election cycle since 1990 that the station won’t host a gubernatorial debate in Portland.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/09/24/oregon-governor-election-kotek-drazan-portland-forum/