Tagged: Politics

One year ago this week, Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber stunned the state and made international headlines when he issued a moratorium on the death penalty. He said he hoped his action would spur state lawmakers to a conversation about the death penalty. But so far, there's little momentum for the legislature to act on the issue. Salem Correspondent Chris Lehman reports.

Some senior citizens in Washington recently got a flyer in the mail from supporters of same-sex marriage. It says approval of Referendum 74 will preserve domestic partnerships for seniors. Gay marriage opponents call the ad a misleading scare tactic. KUOW’s Liz Jones takes a closer look at that claim.

Oregon is not considered a battleground in the Presidential election. President Obama is strongly favored to win the state’s seven electoral votes. What’s more, Democrats also hold every single statewide office in Oregon and far outnumber Republicans in terms of voter registration. But there’s an exception to the one-party dominance: The Oregon House is evenly divided. 30 Democrats to 30 Republicans. And both parties are hard at work in legislative battlegrounds to swing the majority in their direction. Salem Correspondent Chris Lehman reports.

Religion is one of the most defining characteristics of Latino culture. But pollsters say it plays virtually no role in how they vote. This week, we've been looking at Latinos in Northwest politics. In our next story, Florangela Davila looks at how faith shapes the lives of two Mexican-American siblings. But not their politics.

This week we are looking at why Latinos have so little clout in Northwest politics, even though they’re the region’s largest minority group. One reason: Latinos are a younger demographic. And younger people -- no matter what their ethnicity -- are much less likely to vote than older people. But one issue that’s energized many young Latinos is the DREAM Act. It would create a path to citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants. Anna King has our story.