Oregon Legislature · November 3, 2026

Portland City Council, Senate · District 15

2
Candidates: 1
Seats: Vote for one
Method: Nov 3
Due 8 p.m.

Forest Grove, Cornelius, Dilley and west and central Hillsboro, including the airport area, plus the farmland south toward Gaston.Forest Grove, Cornelius, Dilley and west and central Hillsboro, including the airport area, plus the farmland south toward Gaston.Not yours? Senate · District 13

Our readingDraft

One candidate would condition growth on land-use and data-center safeguards while investing in housing and healthcare; the other would cut regulation, raise academic standards and replace property-tax funding. Look for the financing behind each.

2 candidates, A–Z. Tap any position to read the sentence, how they would deliver it, and the source.

8 more choices, below8 more choices

Where each candidate stands on four issues, in our short reading of their statements. Each position is a button; activate it to read the sentence, how they would deliver it, and the source. Candidates appear alphabetically.
Candidate	2 of 2 documented	2 of 2 documented	2 of 2 documented	2 of 2 documented	Save to my ballot
Harold HutchisonRetired Forest Grove resident	Homes	Safety	Money	Roads
Myrna A MunozCandidate; education specialist	Homes	Safety	Money	Roads

What this office decides right now

What’s at stake

Senate District 15 covers Forest Grove, Cornelius and west and central Hillsboro, the center of Oregon’s data-center industry. A state senator is one of 30 votes on the two-year budget, on any tax increase (three-fifths) and on holding back a kicker (two-thirds), and confirms the governor’s appointees. The 2027 session opens in January with a budget gap, no durable road-funding source and shelter money that runs out in June 2027.

Each of this office’s 8 live choices is a board below, with every candidate’s stated position or the gap.

2027–29 budget gap
Federal H.R. 1 is projected to open a gap between the cost of current programs and revenue, so the Chief Financial Office told agencies on February 10, 2026 that 2027–29 requests must be revenue-neutral. September’s forecast shows a $400 million 2025–27 ending balance, $3.46 billion in reserves (9.7% of the general fund) and no kicker due on 2028 returns.
Hillsboro data centers
Hillsboro has 34 data centers, more than any Oregon city, and in 2026 signed off on enterprise-zone tax exemptions for 15 developments tied to new or existing ones. A 2026 bill to add 373 acres to Hillsboro’s growth boundary for high-tech industry died after objections that it would allow more data centers.
Data centers
About 144 data centers get roughly $450 million a year in property-tax breaks, a figure the Legislative Revenue Office called “pretty close” on September 8, 2026. Data-center deals on state land are paused through July 1, 2027, and the governor’s advisory committee owes recommendations for a 2027 bill by the end of 2026.
Road funding
Voters repealed HB 3991’s gas-tax and fee increases in May 2026, and the 2026 session redirected existing money to close ODOT’s $297 million gap through June 2027. ODOT now projects a $200 million gap for 2027–29 and nearly 200 maintenance-job cuts; the governor’s workgroup owes recommendations for a 2027 package by year’s end.
Shelter money cliff
The statewide shelter program has $204.9 million for 2025–27, $102.5 million of it one-time money that ends June 30, 2027, and the homelessness emergency runs through January 10, 2027. The state counts 6,286 shelter beds added or kept, 5,539 people rehoused and 25,942 households kept housed since January 2023.
Federal enforcement
Eight immigrant-protection bills signed April 9, 2026 set rules for schools, hospitals, courts and data brokers and require officers to identify themselves; an interagency council created by Executive Order 26-04 coordinates the state’s response. The 2027 session decides what comes next.
Deflection funding
HB 4002’s county deflection programs, run by 28 counties and six tribes in the first cycle, have $40 million for 2025–27; through August 4, 2025 the state logged 2,096 deflection events, 1,308 program entries and 277 completions. The 2027–29 budget decides whether the grants continue.

Where they stand · eight more choices

Eight choices the 2027 Legislature faces

One question at a time: every candidate’s answer, A–Z, with its source. Open all to see who has said nothing about what.

2027 road packageVote for a 2027 transportation package that raises the gas tax and vehicle fees again?1 of 2 on recordNot found: Myrna A Munoz

HB 3991, passed in a September 2025 special session, raised the gas tax and vehicle fees; voters repealed those increases as Measure 120 on May 19, 2026, 83% to 17%. The 2026 session redirected existing funds to close ODOT's $297 million gap through June 2027, and ODOT says it faces a $200 million gap and nearly 200 maintenance-job cuts in 2027–29.

Harold HutchisonRetired Forest Grove resident
No gas-tax increase
Said: What they said
Told the Abigail Adams questionnaire that roads can be funded without gas-tax or fee increases by shrinking the administration behind DEQ and licensing, and backs voter approval of tolls.
Our paraphrase of the candidate’s statement.
Myrna A MunozCandidate; education specialist
Not found
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed; a research gap, not a position.

Kicker refundLet the state keep part of a future kicker refund for wildfire or other one-time needs?1 of 2 on recordNot found: Myrna A Munoz

The 2026 kicker returned about $1.4 billion; holding any of it back takes a two-thirds vote of each chamber. The September 2026 forecast puts 2025–27 personal income taxes $526 million under the kicker threshold, so no refund is due on 2028 returns; a 2026 bill to change how the kicker is calculated (HB 4125) had a hearing February 2 and died in committee.

Harold HutchisonRetired Forest Grove resident
Kicker belongs to taxpayers
Said: What they said
Answered the questionnaire’s kicker-repeal question with “The kicker belongs to the taxpayers.”
Our paraphrase of the candidate’s statement.
Myrna A MunozCandidate; education specialist
Not found
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed; a research gap, not a position.

Budget gap: taxes?Close the 2027–29 budget gap with new revenue, or with cuts alone?2 of 2 on record

The state's Chief Financial Office told agencies on February 10, 2026 that federal H.R. 1 opens a gap between current programs and revenue, and that 2027–29 requests must be revenue-neutral. In February 2026 the Legislature passed SB 1507, disconnecting from H.R. 1 business tax breaks to raise about $314 million for 2027–29 while enlarging the Earned Income Tax Credit; reserves stand at $3.46 billion.

Harold HutchisonRetired Forest Grove resident
End property tax
Said: What they said
Would eliminate assessment-based property tax, opposes a sales tax and calls income tax the fairest way to raise needed revenue; he does not say how to close the 2027–29 gap.
On the topic; the exact choice is unsaid. Our paraphrase.
Myrna A MunozCandidate; education specialist
Close corporate loopholes
Said: What they said
Would close tax loopholes and make large corporations pay their fair share to invest in schools, healthcare and affordable housing.
Our paraphrase of the candidate’s statement.

Data-center limitsMake data centers pay their own way: separate power rates, an end to tax breaks, or a pause on new ones?1 of 2 on recordNot found: Harold Hutchison

Oregon has about 144 data centers and roughly $450 million a year in property-tax breaks, a figure the Legislative Revenue Office called “pretty close” on September 8, 2026. The 2025 POWER Act (HB 3546) put them in their own electricity rate class; the governor paused data-center deals on state land through July 1, 2027 and will bring the 2027 session a statewide framework.

Harold HutchisonRetired Forest Grove resident
Not found
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed; a research gap, not a position.
Myrna A MunozCandidate; education specialist
Safeguards, transparency
Said: What they said
Calls the AI data-center build-out reckless and says it is driving up electricity bills; would require transparency, community input and environmental safeguards.
Our paraphrase of the candidate’s statement.

Shelter fundingKeep paying for state-funded shelter beds and the homelessness emergency after June 2027?1 of 2 on recordNot found: Harold Hutchison

The statewide shelter program created by HB 3644 (2025) has $204.9 million for 2025–27, half of it one-time money that expires June 30, 2027; Executive Order 26-01 extends the homelessness emergency through January 10, 2027. The state counts 6,286 shelter beds added or kept and 5,539 people rehoused from January 2023 through September 2025.

Harold HutchisonRetired Forest Grove resident
Not found
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed; a research gap, not a position.
Myrna A MunozCandidate; education specialist
Plan to house all
Said: What they said
Wants a strategic plan to house all Oregonians and state investment in affordable housing; she does not address shelter funding or the emergency order.
On the topic; the exact choice is unsaid. Our paraphrase.

Drugs: deflectionKeep the 2024 approach of recriminalized possession plus county deflection programs, and fund them in 2027–29?0 of 2 on recordNot found: Harold Hutchison, Myrna A Munoz

HB 4002 (2024) made drug possession a misdemeanor again on September 1, 2024 and created county deflection programs, run by 28 counties and six tribes in the first cycle and funded with $40 million for 2025–27. Through August 4, 2025 the state logged 2,096 deflection events: 1,308 people entered a program, 277 completed one and 630 did not.

Harold HutchisonRetired Forest Grove resident
Not found
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed; a research gap, not a position.
Myrna A MunozCandidate; education specialist
Not found
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed; a research gap, not a position.

Wildfire moneySpend more state money on wildfire prevention and firefighting?1 of 2 on recordNot found: Myrna A Munoz

Fires burned a record 2.5 million acres in Oregon in summer 2026. HB 3940 (2025) taxes oral nicotine and moves 20% of Rainy Day Fund interest into two wildfire funds, which the Legislative Revenue Office put at about $43 million for 2025–27 and $63 million for 2027–29, and raises the timber harvest tax; SB 83 (2025) repealed the statewide wildfire hazard map.

Harold HutchisonRetired Forest Grove resident
No routine prescribed burns
Said: What they said
Told the questionnaire he does not support the Forestry Department doing prescribed burns every five years; he does not address wildfire funding.
On the topic; the exact choice is unsaid. Our paraphrase.
Myrna A MunozCandidate; education specialist
Not found
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed; a research gap, not a position.

Sanctuary lawKeep adding state limits on federal immigration enforcement, on top of Oregon's sanctuary law?2 of 2 on record

Oregon's 1987 sanctuary law and the 2021 Sanctuary Promise Act bar public resources for immigration enforcement without a judicial warrant. The 2026 session passed eight more bills, signed April 9, 2026, including HB 4138, which requires officers to identify themselves and limits masks (House 36–19, Senate 18–10), and SB 1570, which requires hospitals to set policies for law-enforcement visits.

Harold HutchisonRetired Forest Grove resident
Repeal sanctuary law
Said: What they said
Told the questionnaire he supports repealing Oregon’s sanctuary law and letting police ask about immigration status outside criminal investigations.
Our paraphrase of the candidate’s statement.
Myrna A MunozCandidate; education specialist
Due process, no ICE
Said: What they said
Would fight for laws that strengthen due process, prevent racial profiling and keep local resources on community safety; her About page calls for abolishing ICE.
Our paraphrase of the candidate’s statement.

About this race

How to vote

You vote for one candidate. How it works

Ballots mail Oct 14 · return by 8 p.m. Nov 3

What this office can do

The Legislature adopts state laws, taxes and budgets, including school funding, healthcare, housing rules and transportation. Most legislation needs both chambers and the governor, or a veto override. An individual legislator cannot order a local agency to act.

How this list was made

Same questions for everyone, A–Z. Each chip is our short reading of a sourced statement; we do not endorse, rank or score.

Reviewed September 18, 2026 · lines 2026-09-19.1 · AI-assisted, human review pending

Terms explained

Amendment: A proposed change to a measure before the final vote. Voting for an amendment is not the same as voting for the whole measure.
Supplemental budget: A mid-year change to the city budget after the main budget is adopted.
Appropriation: Permission to spend money on something. It does not mean the money has been spent or the result achieved.
PCEF: The Portland Clean Energy Fund: a tax on large retailers that pays for climate projects. Council has debated using its interest for other services.
Term sheet: Starting terms for a negotiation. Approving one is not a final contract.
Social housing: Housing owned by the public or a nonprofit and rented at controlled prices.
CEI Hub: The fuel-storage area along the Willamette in Northwest Portland, where Zenith Energy operates.
Ranked choice: You rank candidates in order. If your first choice is eliminated or already elected, your vote counts toward your next choice.