Both candidates promise affordability and public safety. One pairs those goals with housing, healthcare and school investment; the other with a no-new-taxes pledge conditioned on accountability, stronger enforcement and relief for childcare providers.
Draft; human review pending.
Key
Said
A campaign statement, in our summary or their words.
Voted
A recorded Council roll call.
— Not found
Not in the sources we reviewed. A research gap, not a position.
Proposes stronger school standards and public safety while withholding support for new taxes until spending is demonstrably accountable.
Would cut red tape blocking shelters and housing; pair treatment with spending accountability.
Wants fully staffed police, repeat-offender consequences and tools against fentanyl dealers.
Would vote no on new taxes until Salem proves accountable spending.
—not found in the sources we reviewed
Summaries are our one-line readings of what each candidate says. Issue lines are short forms of the positions in each brief, AI-drafted and awaiting human review; “—” means not found in the sources we reviewed.
Four votes that split this Council
No candidate in this race sits on Council today.
— Not foundNo featured votes are selected for this race yet.
Candidate briefs, A–Z
Senate · District 20 candidate · Oregon Legislature · November 3, 2026
Mark Meek
Incumbent senator, business owner and Air Force veteran.
Photo: Campaign photo · votemarkmeek.com
In their words
Said: Senator Mark Meek is a father, veteran, and small business owner dedicated to our community.
Voters’ pamphlet
Candidate statement · Filed for the November 2026 state voters’ pamphlet; extracted September 21, 2026
First sentence of the filed statement; header fields, including a Military Experience line, are skipped.
The verbatim opening of their voters’ pamphlet statement, the same rule for every candidate. We chose nothing.
What they say they would do
Our summary of their platform, in our words
Combines opposition to road tolls with support for housing, treatment, police resources and family services.
Keep tolls off I-205 and lower household costs.
Expand housing, shelter and treatment while supporting law enforcement.
Protect reproductive care and invest in student mental health and career education.
Our reading
Our interpretation, not their words
No tolls
Services and enforcement
He combines a no-tolls stance and household cost relief with more housing, shelter, treatment and police resources; his account of past wins is a campaign claim, and the site does not say how the added services would be funded.
Said: Build more housing people can afford and expand shelter capacity and treatment programs to reduce homelessness.
How
— Not in their sources
Measured by
— Not in their sources
Crime, drugs and who responds
Police plus gun safety
What
Said: Give law enforcement the resources to fight crime and hold offenders accountable, alongside gun-safety measures to keep weapons from violent criminals.
How
— Not in their sources
Measured by
— Not in their sources
Taxes, the kicker and the budget
No I-205 tolls
What
Said: Keep tolls off I-205 and lower household costs through Oregon’s Child Tax Credit and lower prices for housing, healthcare, prescriptions and childcare.
How
Said: Passed Oregon’s Child Tax Credit; keeps taking on pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription prices; says he ended ODOT’s I-205 tolling plans.
Measured by
Said: Says ending I-205 tolling saves families thousands of dollars a year.
Roads, transit and climate
— Not foundNot found in the sources we reviewed. That is a research gap, not a position.
The choices this office faces
Every candidate in this race is asked the same 8 questions. Mark Meek is on record on 6, with 2 still open. A question without an answer is a research gap, not a position.
No answer we could find
Let the state keep part of a future kicker refund for wildfire or other one-time needs?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
Spend more state money on wildfire prevention and firefighting?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
On record
Vote for a 2027 transportation package that raises the gas tax and vehicle fees again?
Said: Voted yes on HB 3991 in the Senate on September 29, 2025; the enrolled bill also repealed the mandatory toll program, and his site says he ended ODOT’s I-205 tolling plans.
Close the 2027–29 budget gap with new revenue, or with cuts alone?
Said: Voted no on SB 1507 on February 16, 2026, the bill that disconnects Oregon from federal H.R. 1 business tax breaks to raise about $314 million for 2027–29 and enlarge the Earned Income Tax Credit.
Make data centers pay their own way: separate power rates, an end to tax breaks, or a pause on new ones?
Said: Voted yes on HB 3546, the POWER Act, in the Senate on June 3, 2025; it lets regulators put data centers in their own electricity rate class.
Keep paying for state-funded shelter beds and the homelessness emergency after June 2027?
Said: Voted yes on HB 3644 on June 26, 2025; his site says he is working to expand shelter capacity and treatment programs.
Keep the 2024 approach of recriminalized possession plus county deflection programs, and fund them in 2027–29?
Said: Voted yes on HB 4002 in the Senate on March 1, 2024; his site backs resources for police, offender accountability and expanded treatment.
Keep adding state limits on federal immigration enforcement, on top of Oregon's sanctuary law?
Said: Voted yes on HB 4138 on March 5, 2026; his site says he stood firm against reckless federal policies.
Meek · campaign siteCandidate statement · Website reviewed September 21, 2026Campaign position. Claimed results and numerical premises have not automatically been independently verified.
Oregon Secretary of State · filed candidate statement · PDF page 86Candidate statement · Filed for the November 2026 state voters’ pamphlet; PDF printed September 9, 2026; reviewed September 21, 2026Written by the candidate or campaign for the state voters’ pamphlet, which is not published until September 29, 2026.
Senate · District 20 candidate · Oregon Legislature · November 3, 2026
Michele Stroh
Oregon City School Board member and childcare-business owner.
Photo: Campaign photo · votestroh.com
In their words
Said: My husband and I have raised five children in this state we love.
Voters’ pamphlet
Candidate statement · Filed for the November 2026 state voters’ pamphlet; extracted September 21, 2026
First sentence of the filed statement; the slogan “Vote Stroh=Sanity for Oregon” is skipped.
The verbatim opening of their voters’ pamphlet statement, the same rule for every candidate. We chose nothing.
What they say they would do
Our summary of their platform, in our words
Proposes stronger school standards and public safety while withholding support for new taxes until spending is demonstrably accountable.
Support fully staffed police and stronger consequences for repeat offenders.
Reduce regulatory burdens on small businesses and childcare providers.
Strengthen academic standards, curriculum quality and parental involvement.
Our reading
Our interpretation, not their words
No new taxes
Enforcement and treatment
She would vote no on new taxes until Salem shows accountability for the money it has, staff police fully and cut red tape on shelters and housing; what evidence would satisfy her condition, and what she would cut first, remain open.
Said: Cut the red tape she says blocks shelter and housing from getting built, paired with addiction treatment and accountability for homelessness spending.
How
— Not in their sources
Measured by
— Not in their sources
Crime, drugs and who responds
Fully staffed police
What
Said: Fully staffed local police, real consequences for repeat offenders and stronger tools to stop fentanyl dealers.
How
— Not in their sources
Measured by
— Not in their sources
Taxes, the kicker and the budget
No taxes until accountable
What
Said: Vote no on new taxes until Salem shows it can spend the money it already has, with accountability.
How
— Not in their sources
Measured by
— Not in their sources
Roads, transit and climate
— Not foundNot found in the sources we reviewed. That is a research gap, not a position.
The choices this office faces
Every candidate in this race is asked the same 8 questions. Michele Stroh is on record on 4, with 4 still open. A question without an answer is a research gap, not a position.
No answer we could find
Let the state keep part of a future kicker refund for wildfire or other one-time needs?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
Make data centers pay their own way: separate power rates, an end to tax breaks, or a pause on new ones?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
Spend more state money on wildfire prevention and firefighting?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
Keep adding state limits on federal immigration enforcement, on top of Oregon's sanctuary law?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
On record
Vote for a 2027 transportation package that raises the gas tax and vehicle fees again?
Said: Her filed statement says the incumbent voted yes on a package to raise taxes that voters then rejected by more than 80 percent, and that Salem’s answer is always another tax.
Close the 2027–29 budget gap with new revenue, or with cuts alone?
Said: Pledges no new taxes: says Oregon does not have a revenue problem but a spending problem, and she will vote no on new taxes until Salem shows it can spend what it has.
Keep paying for state-funded shelter beds and the homelessness emergency after June 2027?
Said: Says Oregon has spent billions while the crisis grew; wants treatment, accountability for spending and less red tape blocking shelters and housing, without saying whether to renew state shelter money.
On the topic; the exact choice is unsaid.
Keep the 2024 approach of recriminalized possession plus county deflection programs, and fund them in 2027–29?
Said: Says she worked with the Fix M110 coalition on the bipartisan amendment giving police tools against dealers while getting people with addiction into treatment; wants prevention, treatment and consequences for dealers.
Stroh · recordCandidate statement · Website reviewed September 21, 2026Campaign position. Claimed results and numerical premises have not automatically been independently verified.
Oregon Secretary of State · filed candidate statement · PDF page 84Candidate statement · Filed for the November 2026 state voters’ pamphlet; PDF printed September 9, 2026; reviewed September 21, 2026Written by the candidate or campaign for the state voters’ pamphlet, which is not published until September 29, 2026.
