Oregon Legislature · November 3, 2026

Portland City Council, Senate · District 16

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

The North Coast and lower Columbia: Astoria, Warrenton, Seaside, Cannon Beach, Tillamook, Rockaway Beach, Pacific City, Vernonia, Clatskanie, Rainier, St. Helens and Scappoose.The North Coast and lower ColumbiaNot yours? Senate · District 13

Our readingDraft

One candidate leads with tax restraint, timber and local control; another with household costs, faster permitting and road funding; a third with oversight and independence from party networks. Compare the concrete legislation behind each.

3 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 3 documented	1 of 3 documented	2 of 3 documented	2 of 3 documented
Courtney BangsClatsop County commissioner; educator	Homes	Safety	Money	Roads
Melisa FinkleState-government investigator	Homes	Safety	Money	Roads
Rachel ArmitageFormer appointed state senator	Homes	Safety	Money	Roads

What this office decides right now

What’s at stake

Senate District 16 is the North Coast and lower Columbia, from Astoria and Tillamook to St. Helens and Scappoose. 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.
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Voters repealed HB 3991’s gas-tax and fee increases in May 2026, and the 2026 session redirected existing money to close ODOT’s $297 million gap through June 2027.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.
Coastal road crews
An ODOT employee from the Astoria area told lawmakers in February 2026 that funding uncertainty had cut his crew in half, leaving eight people for 304 shoulder miles; the agency said closing a $242 million gap without new revenue meant up to 400 layoffs or redirecting money from bridges, Safe Routes to School and transit.
ICE at the Port
On June 7, 2026 federal immigration officers staged an operation from fenced Port of Astoria property in which three people are believed to have been detained; advocates said it may have violated Oregon’s sanctuary law and planned a complaint to the Oregon Department of Justice.
Wildfire costs
Fires burned a record 2.5 million acres in summer 2026. HB 3940’s nicotine tax and Rainy Day Fund interest put about $63 million into two wildfire funds in 2027–29 by the Legislative Revenue Office’s estimate, and SB 83 (2025) repealed the statewide hazard map that would have driven building and defensible-space rules.
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.
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?3 of 3 on record

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.

Courtney BangsClatsop County commissioner; educator
Existing dollars, no hikes
Said: What they said
Says she helped defeat the $4.3 billion gas-tax package and will fight new taxes and hidden fees, seeking the district’s share of existing dollars for Highways 30, 6 and 101.
Our paraphrase of the candidate’s statement.
Melisa FinkleState-government investigator
Roads need more
Said: What they said
Her filed statement calls for safer travel and roads that need more than another temporary patch; it does not say whether she would raise the gas tax or fees to pay for them.
On the topic; the exact choice is unsaid. Our paraphrase.
Rachel ArmitageFormer appointed state senator
Against gas-tax hike
Said: What they said
Told the Headlight Herald in April 2026 she is generally opposed to raising the gas tax and DMV fees, and wants rural gas-tax dollars kept on rural roads with more ODOT oversight.
Our paraphrase of the candidate’s statement.

Kicker refundLet the state keep part of a future kicker refund for wildfire or other one-time needs?0 of 3 on recordNot found: Courtney Bangs, Melisa Finkle, Rachel Armitage

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.

Courtney BangsClatsop County commissioner; educator
Not found
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed; a research gap, not a position.
Melisa FinkleState-government investigator
Not found
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed; a research gap, not a position.
Rachel ArmitageFormer appointed state senator
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 3 on recordNot found: Melisa Finkle

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.

Courtney BangsClatsop County commissioner; educator
No new taxes, fees
Said: What they said
Will fight to stop new tax hikes and hidden fees and demand accountability for state spending.
Our paraphrase of the candidate’s statement.
Melisa FinkleState-government investigator
Not found
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed; a research gap, not a position.
Rachel ArmitageFormer appointed state senator
No new costs now
Said: What they said
Told the Headlight Herald that now is not the time for the state to talk about increasing costs, and that she would review whether old bills and pandemic-era programs still work.
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?0 of 3 on recordNot found: Courtney Bangs, Melisa Finkle, Rachel Armitage

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.

Courtney BangsClatsop County commissioner; educator
Not found
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed; a research gap, not a position.
Melisa FinkleState-government investigator
Not found
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed; a research gap, not a position.
Rachel ArmitageFormer appointed state senator
Not found
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed; a research gap, not a position.

Shelter fundingKeep paying for state-funded shelter beds and the homelessness emergency after June 2027?0 of 3 on recordNot found: Courtney Bangs, Melisa Finkle, Rachel Armitage

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.

Courtney BangsClatsop County commissioner; educator
Not found
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed; a research gap, not a position.
Melisa FinkleState-government investigator
Not found
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed; a research gap, not a position.
Rachel ArmitageFormer appointed state senator
Not found
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed; a research gap, not a position.

Drugs: deflectionKeep the 2024 approach of recriminalized possession plus county deflection programs, and fund them in 2027–29?0 of 3 on recordNot found: Courtney Bangs, Melisa Finkle, Rachel Armitage

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.

Courtney BangsClatsop County commissioner; educator
Not found
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed; a research gap, not a position.
Melisa FinkleState-government investigator
Not found
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed; a research gap, not a position.
Rachel ArmitageFormer appointed state senator
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?0 of 3 on recordNot found: Courtney Bangs, Melisa Finkle, Rachel Armitage

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.

Courtney BangsClatsop County commissioner; educator
Not found
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed; a research gap, not a position.
Melisa FinkleState-government investigator
Not found
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed; a research gap, not a position.
Rachel ArmitageFormer appointed state senator
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?0 of 3 on recordNot found: Courtney Bangs, Melisa Finkle, Rachel Armitage

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.

Courtney BangsClatsop County commissioner; educator
Not found
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed; a research gap, not a position.
Melisa FinkleState-government investigator
Not found
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed; a research gap, not a position.
Rachel ArmitageFormer appointed state senator
Not found
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed; a research gap, not a position.

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.