Johnson's experience on the North Coast provides a window into her politics

Sep. 16—Betsy Johnson built a reputation over two decades representing the North Coast in Salem as a problem-solver willing to coax, pressure and use her political leverage to deliver results.

First in the state House and then in the state Senate, Johnson was an advocate for regional business interests, local governments and individual constituents who would personally intervene with state departments and agencies to help settle disputes.

Leaders in the public and private sectors in Clatsop County recognized the benefit of having a relationship with Johnson — even if they were put off by her often blunt and intimidating approach.

Nonprofits knew that fundraising events would be more successful if Johnson was making the ask.

Now that Johnson has abandoned the Democratic Party for an independent campaign for governor, the bipartisan networks she formed in places like the North Coast could be pivotal in determining whether she can become the first independent to win in Oregon since 1930.

"I don't agree with her on every issue — and I don't agree with anybody on every issue — but by and large she's a problem-solver," said Steve Fick, the owner of Fishhawk Fisheries in Astoria. "She's a collaborator of different groups. She respects everybody. She expects everybody else to respect everybody."

Many local Democrats who had reluctantly looked past Johnson's votes against gun control, the environment and steps to address climate change have taken a harder line against her since she left the party. Some view Johnson — who benefited from being in the majority at the Legislature and rose to co-chair the powerful Joint Ways and Means Committee — as an opportunist who is taking advantage of the polarized political climate.

Aside from abortion rights, which Johnson strongly supports, her critics on the left believe she has more in common on policy with former state House Minority Leader Christine Drazan, the Republican candidate for governor, than former House Speaker Tina Kotek, the Democrat.

"She's been more of a roadblock than a bridge to future economic health, environmental sustainability," said Cheryl Conway, a retired teacher active with the Clatsop County Democrats. "And she's not the leader we need."

'Doing the ask'

Judging from state campaign finance reports and political advertisements, many of the most prominent business and community leaders on the North Coast have shown up for Johnson.

Pacific Seafood, Hampton Lumber, Big River Construction, Van Dusen Beverages, Clatsop Distributing Co. and Englund Marine & Industrial Supply are among the regional business interests that have donated to her campaign.

Her political ads have featured Alan Evans, the executive director of Helping Hands Reentry Outreach Centers, Jennifer Crockett, the executive director of the Liberty Theatre, and Constance Waisanen, a financial consultant and longtime board member at Columbia Memorial Hospital.

Sheriff Matt Phillips stood by Johnson as she discussed her hopes to repeal Measure 110, which decriminalized small amounts of drugs like heroin and methamphetamine and emphasized drug treatment. Clatsop County District Attorney Ron Brown is among the two dozen top prosecutors across the state in her corner.

There are countless local examples of people who share a similar story: "I had a problem and after I called Betsy Johnson it was resolved."

"She doesn't just prance in, wave and leave," Fick said. "She's at these events. She's advocating. She's the one up there doing the ask when you do a foundation fundraiser."

But some of her critics say Johnson could be selective about the people and issues she chose to engage.

"I actually got her on the phone one time and as soon as she found out what I wanted to talk about she told me to not waste my breath," Conway said.

What bothered Conway the most was that she may have had good points that could have made a difference. "And she told me that she had already made up her mind about the issue. There was nothing I could say that would change her mind," she said.

Ned Heavenrich, who lives in Brownsmead, spent a decade working as a teaching assistant with the Knappa School District and plays in the acoustic band the Brownsmead Flats. He said he was a supporter of Johnson for years.

"Until recently, I have felt like Betsy Johnson was just a really great person, and so community oriented," he said. "I just couldn't believe how many events she showed up to and how she was able to help raise money."

He remembered Johnson going to the Brownsmead Corn Feed and shucking corn. "She's always been just a super enthusiastic supporter, and very inspirational," Heavenrich said.

But he believes Johnson's politics have moved more to the right over the years. He thinks she has exploited a perceived urban-rural divide and taken the wrong approach to climate change and gun control.

"Years ago, I would have thought she would be a great governor. But I don't think so now," Heavenrich said.

'She's very results-oriented'

Mark Kujala, the chairman of the county Board of Commissioners, said he met Johnson before he was involved in politics. Over the years, as a resident, small-business owner, mayor of Warrenton and county commissioner, he said he felt like Johnson was a lifeline he could call when needed.

Kujala recalled a time while he was mayor when the mouth of the Skipanon River needed dredging to accommodate commercial boats. He said the city tried for months to raise the profile of the issue and find solutions, but continued to face dead ends.

After reaching out to Johnson, he said she got the attention of the governor's office.

"In a matter of weeks, something that had just been kind of languishing and not getting any progress, she found a solution for, and we got the work done," he said. "And it wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for her involvement and rallying the troops, really."

Kujala said Johnson played a key role when Pacific Seafood in Warrenton burned by advocating to get the seafood processing plant rebuilt. He cited her work with the Legislature's Coastal Caucus and the governor's Regional Solutions program.

When Kujala owned Skipanon Brand Seafoods, he said Johnson would buy cases of canned tuna and donate them to events or give them as gifts. He said it was an example of how she would go out of her way to promote local businesses.

Kevin Leahy, the executive director of Clatsop Economic Development Resources, said he met Johnson when he took on the leadership role about a decade ago.

At the time, Leahy said, the business outreach center was underperforming. He said he was advised he would need to have a relationship with Johnson to help turn it around.

"She's very results-oriented, and she's very challenging," he said. "And as we all know, she can be very intimidating to people. But what I've learned with her ... over the years is if you have the facts, if you know your information, she'll support you to the nth degree."

When the coronavirus pandemic hit, Leahy said he received calls from Johnson asking him to help constituents, whether it was to apply for the Paycheck Protection Program or Economic Injury Disaster Loans.

"She puts her constituents first, second and third all the time," Leahy said.

Masudur Khan, a Seaside entrepreneur, said he met Johnson when he ran into a hurdle that would have prevented him from opening a hotel in time for a busy holiday weekend.

"Without even knowing me, knowing anything about it, she called the state and talked about it, and made arrangements so that we could open the hotel before the Labor Day weekend," he said.

Khan was struck that she would go out of her way to help someone she didn't know and reach out directly to the state to resolve the issue quickly.

Kurt Englund, the president of Englund Marine & Industrial Supply, said Johnson has worked to make government more effective for people. "She wants individual taxpayers and businesses treated like customers, not like serfs or somebody that are forced to pay into a system that turns a blind eye on them," he said.

'Sometimes people do not like people who are blunt'

Clatsop County Democrats have sought to amplify some of Kotek's criticisms of Johnson, such as her refusal to release her tax returns, and have dinged Johnson — a timber heiress who founded a helicopter company — for the large donations her campaign received from the timber industry, Nike's Phil Knight and other corporate interests.

Indivisible North Coast Oregon, a progressive group that supports Kotek, has depicted Johnson as beholden to special interests and shared posts on social media from a Facebook page — "Betsy — Bad for Our Oregon" — that challenge the portrayal of Johnson as a moderate.

Drazan's campaign, in themes echoed by some local Republicans, has reminded voters that Kotek and Johnson held power at the Legislature for years and are as responsible as anyone in Salem for the state's failures.

People who have known Johnson for decades have observed her politics as she has morphed from Republican to Democrat to nonaffiliated.

Jan Mitchell, who has served on the Astoria Planning Commission, said she feels two ways about Johnson: the person she knew years ago and the woman now running for governor.

Mitchell remembered how Johnson helped with support and fundraising when she worked with Clatsop Court Appointed Special Advocates, The Harbor, an advocacy center in Astoria for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, and the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial.

"Betsy likes helping individuals and good causes, and she does it well," Mitchell said in an email. "No one can talk people into donating money better than Betsy ... and she can be so funny and clever.

"But today Betsy is heavily funded by wealthy special interests and is basing her campaign on guns, ridicule of Portland ('roaches' rather than roses), and threats to crack down on the homeless and crime. She is so entwined with the timber industry that she would have difficulty providing leadership in dealing with climate change, which we must have ...

"Betsy probably declared herself as a Democrat as a means of getting elected in our area, and may now be showing her 'true colors' and her connection to very conservative positions," Mitchell continued. "Running a divisive campaign does not set us on a path for healing and progress."

Jody Stahancyk, an attorney who serves on the board of Clatsop Community College, has known Johnson since they were children because their families were acquainted.

She said that what separates Johnson is her willingness to stand up and be counted in difficult situations. She pointed to Johnson taking a stance in favor of abortion rights early in her career.

Johnson, a former board member for Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette, has said she left the Republican Party over the issue.

"Sometimes people do not like people who are blunt," said Stahancyk, who earned a reputation for toughness as a divorce attorney. "I'm the first to say I'm wrong. I'm the first to say I'm sorry. So is Betsy."