Steve Novick has some big ideas (and great stories) | EP 34

Steve Novick is one of the most interesting figures in Oregon politics. He is funny, intelligent, and always entertaining. This was genuinely one of our most fun episodes to record and we hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed making it. We cover a lot of ground: the time he dropped the "f bomb" on Uber exec. and Obama alum David Plouffe, his thoughts on what's wrong with Portland and how to fix it, property tax reform (but in an interesting and easy-to-understand way!), and what Democrats need to do to avoid a red wave in 2022. Novick is a former Portland City Commissioner who ran the city's Transportation Bureau, where he clashed with Uber and advanced a controversial but ultimately successful gas tax proposal. He became a popular figure in progressive circles for his grassroots primary campaign for the United States Senate in 2008, when he ran a playful, creative, and competitive campaign but narrowly lost in the primary to now-Senator Jeff Merkley. He also has a deep experience in state level politics, working as the Oregon Senate Democrats caucus chief of staff for several years. He graduated from the University of Oregon at 18 and Harvard Law School at 21, and in this episode he explains how Oregon education funding is to blame for those achievements.