The results are in! Nearly 500 KBOO listeners answered our Election Agenda survey this summer. It all centered around the question, 'what do you want candidates to be talking about as they compete for votes?' With this information, we’ve created KBOO’s 2024 Election Agenda – we’re reporting our agenda items back to you and we’ll be taking them to candidates across the ballot.
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Addressing the Climate Crisis
Far and away, the issue that came up most commonly in this survey was the climate crisis. It’s an issue that touches a lot of the other points on this list. Our listeners have been exposed to more frequent extreme weather events thanks to climate change, and they’re conscious of the environmental dangers lurking in their own backyard. For Portland-based survey-takers, the Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Hub in Northwest Portland and the expansion of oil company Zenith were common refrains. Those who hope to become elected leaders will need to answer what they intend to do about these hazards. Beyond Portland, the climate crisis was often cited by our survey respondents. They express a need for vision on the topic, and a plan on how to get there. When we interview candidates, we’ll be asking them about climate change, and what their priorities are to address the crisis.
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Economic Livability and Affordability
A cost-of-living crunch is hitting a lot of people these days, and it’s an issue that folks want their candidates to focus on. We may love where we live, but what happens when we get priced out? Food insecurity, unemployment, income inequality, high taxes on low and middle income people – these were all issues brought up repeatedly in the survey. It’s not just about how to alleviate these stresses, our listeners are also interested in longer term solutions to address income inequality and make our communities more affordable.
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Homelessness
Our listeners want to see more services for people forced to live on the streets, and an end to the homelessness crisis. Support systems have a lot of catching up to do, so it’s important to ask candidates how they will prioritize and address this multifaceted issue. Elected leaders across the West Coast are dealing with how to help residents that are in crisis, but much of the conversation is dominated by business interests. Homelessness isn’t necessarily a new problem, but it’s been a challenge for politicians to address the root causes. We’ll get down to brass tacks with candidates – where do our communities go on this issue, and how do we get there?
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Housing Affordability
Housing affordability ties into Homelessness and the Economic Livability items, but it was mentioned so frequently that it deserves its own category. You’re not imagining it, rental prices are outstripping wages and earning power at a rather fast pace. Some of this has to do with long term trends, like a real slow down in new construction after the 2008 recession that hasn’t rebounded in many places. Some of it may be due to more nefarious sources, after all, Oregon joined an antitrust price-fixing lawsuit against real estate company Real Page recently. Though Oregon is behind the ball on housing production, it’s not an unsolvable problem. Candidates should have a plan for how they can help alleviate the issue at whatever level of political office they’re campaigning for.
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Healthcare and Drug Treatment
This includes abortion care, affordability issues, gender-affirming care and the availability of drug treatment – all components of health and healthcare that our survey respondents want to see addressed by candidates. It also included mentions of universal healthcare, and making sure healthcare is available to everyone. This came up in our 2020 Election Agenda Survey too, of course then it was more tied to the onset of the COVID pandemic. But we can see that healthcare continues to be a major priority for our listeners. How will candidates choose to tackle the issue if they get elected? We’re going to find out.
Thanks to our listeners, we have an Election Agenda for 2024! This is a huge help to our programmers and News Team as we craft our election coverage, and facilitate the conversations YOU need to make decisions about who you’re voting for.
Find our 2020 Election Agenda here.