Oregon Legislature · November 3, 2026
Portland City Council, Senate · District 26
- 2
- Candidates
- 1
- Seats
- Vote for one
- Method
- Nov 3
- Due 8 p.m.
The Columbia Gorge and Mount Hood country: Hood River, Cascade Locks, Mosier, The Dalles, Parkdale, Sandy, Estacada, Beavercreek, Mulino, Canby and Mount Hood Villages.The Columbia Gorge and Mount Hood countryNot yours? Senate · District 13
Our readingDraft
One candidate leads with rural services, land-use protection and clean-energy investment; the other with tax relief, policing and conservative positions on abortion and firearms. Both name jobs and local opportunity as priorities.
| Candidate | 1 of 2 documented | 1 of 2 documented | 2 of 2 documented | 1 of 2 documented | Save to my ballot |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Homes | Safety | Money | Roads | |
 | Homes | Safety | Money | Roads |
What this office decides right now
What’s at stake
Senate District 26 runs from Hood River and The Dalles through Mount Hood country to Sandy, Estacada and Canby. 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.
Hood River bridge
Replacing the 1924 Hood River–White Salmon bridge is estimated at $1.12 billion; SB 5531 (2025) committed $105 million from Oregon over six years, including $30 million the 2027–29 budget must deliver, and the Bridge Authority is seeking the last federal piece to start construction in 2027.
Grasshopper Fire
The Grasshopper Fire east of Mount Hood burned nearly 90,000 acres of Wasco County and destroyed six homes by August 16, 2026, with 12,000 acres burning in a single hour on August 10 as it ran through the community of Friend.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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: Nicole Bassett
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.
- Jeff HelfrichState representative; former officerOpposed the gas tax
Said: What they said
Says he opposed major tax increases including the gas tax and fought policies that raise costs for working families; he was excused for the House vote on HB 3991.
- Nicole BassettSustainable-manufacturing business founderNot 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?0 of 2 on recordNot found: Jeff Helfrich, Nicole Bassett
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.
- Jeff HelfrichState representative; former officerNot found
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed; a research gap, not a position.
- Nicole BassettSustainable-manufacturing business founderNot 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?1 of 2 on recordNot found: Nicole Bassett
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.
- Jeff HelfrichState representative; former officerVoted no on disconnect
What they did
Voted no on SB 1507 in the House on February 25, 2026; his statement says government should live within a budget as families do.
- Nicole BassettSustainable-manufacturing business founderNot found
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed; a research gap, not a position.
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: Nicole Bassett
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.
- Jeff HelfrichState representative; former officerVoted no: POWER Act
What they did
Voted no on HB 3546 on April 22 and June 5, 2025; his statement calls for balanced energy policies that lower costs and provide the power Oregon needs to grow.
- Nicole BassettSustainable-manufacturing business founderNot 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?1 of 2 on recordNot found: Nicole Bassett
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.
- Jeff HelfrichState representative; former officerVoted no: shelter bill
What they did
Voted no on HB 3644 in the House on June 23, 2025, the bill creating the statewide shelter program.
- Nicole BassettSustainable-manufacturing business founderNot 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?1 of 2 on recordNot found: Nicole Bassett
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.
- Jeff HelfrichState representative; former officerVoted for HB 4002
What they did
Voted yes on HB 4002 on February 29, 2024; his statement says he helped lead the bipartisan effort to recriminalize hard drugs and restore accountability.
- Nicole BassettSustainable-manufacturing business founderNot 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?2 of 2 on record
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.
- Jeff HelfrichState representative; former officerVoted no: HB 3940
What they did
Voted no on HB 3940 in the House on June 23, 2025, the bill that taxes oral nicotine, raises the timber harvest tax and moves Rainy Day Fund interest to wildfire funds.
- Nicole BassettSustainable-manufacturing business founderPrioritize prevention
Said: What they said
Would prioritize wildfire prevention, support first responders and invest in proven solutions that keep people, land and homes safe.
Sanctuary lawKeep adding state limits on federal immigration enforcement, on top of Oregon's sanctuary law?1 of 2 on recordNot found: Nicole Bassett
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.
- Jeff HelfrichState representative; former officerVoted no: HB 4138
What they did
Voted no on HB 4138 on February 24 and March 6, 2026, the bill requiring officers to identify themselves and limiting masks.
- Nicole BassettSustainable-manufacturing business founderNot found
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed; a research gap, not a position.
About this race
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.
- 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.