Here's where Oregon governor candidates diverge on addressing homeless crisis

SALEM, Ore. — Two of Oregon's candidates for governor held news conferences addressing the homelessness issue. This comes just days after a letter was sent to lawmakers by 25 Oregon mayors asking leaders to help their cities deal with the crisis.

Unaffiliated candidate Betsy Johnson held a roundtable with some of Portland's downtown business owners, noting that she would like to see more unity between state, city, and county officials.

"We have got to get everybody on the same page. We have got the city acting autonomously, the county acting autonomously, the state doesn’t feel synchronized with the effort," she said. "The day after the election I would call those guys together."

Democratic candidate Tina Kotek held a news conference in downtown Salem at Marion Square Skate park across the street from the ARCHES Project, a navigation center that helps those experiencing homelessness locate appropriate services.

Flanked by Beaverton Mayor Lacey Beaty, Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis, and Salem City Councilor Vanessa Nordyke, she boasted about some of the funding for housing and homeless services she has advocated for during her time in the Legislature and vowed to continue the efforts.

"Our cities and our city leaders right now are on the ground trying to serve their communities and make a difference, and as governor I’m going to have their back and help them get the work done," she said.

All three candidates have made the homeless crisis a central part of their campaign and all three have vowed to use the executive office, if elected, to call a state of emergency around homelessness.

Johnson and Republican candidate Christine Drazan have both been vocal about their plans to assess the needs of homeless populations, though they have not yet clarified how they plan to do that.

"Try to find out in a data-driven, trauma-informed way what puts someone on the streets and then wrap the services around to try to fix it," Johnson said during the roundtable on Oct 17.

During KATU's gubernatorial debate, Drazan also hinted at a similar approach.

"Ensure that on a case-by-case basis we are meeting their needs in real time and have a better understanding of what those needs are," she said.

Kotek, however, criticized those approaches Monday.

"We know people need help. I think it says a lot about my opponents when they are like, 'we need to study it some more' -- we don't need to study it anymore," she said when asked about her response to assessing the needs of those who are experiencing homelessness.

When pressed on how she'd know where to allocate funding without understanding where the biggest need is and what is driving people to become homeless, she said, "That is why I support increased outreach teams who will go tent by tent."

"There is no greater indictment of Tina Kotek's failed leadership than our homelessness crisis," said John Burke, Drazan's communications director. "She held power as Speaker for nearly ten years, supported legalizing deadly street drugs, and made it illegal for cities to clear tent encampments. She and Kate Brown are directly responsible for the crisis on our streets. Christine Drazan will actually declare a homeless state of emergency and work to get people off our streets and into shelter so they can get the help they need."

Drazan is scheduled to hold a rally Tuesday with Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin in Aurora, Oregon.