At the June 20 meeting of the Oregon Legislature’s joint transportation committee, Representative Mark Gamba described an amendment proposed by fellow Representative Shelly Boshart Davis as “grossly irresponsible. During her own remarks later, Rep. Boshart Davis described the current version of the Legislature’s transportation package as grossly irresponsible, a comment that Committee Chair Chris Gorsek of Gresham seemed to suddenly find offensive. Interrupting Rep. Boshart Davis, Gorsek appeared to lunge in her direction over the dias, point a finger, and shout at her. Rep. Boshart Davis did not speak again for the remainder of the hearing until she issued notice of a Rule 27 complaint.
Oregon Legislative Assembly Rule 27 says:
Harassment is unwelcome behavior (non-verbal, verbal, physical) that belittles an individual or group based on their protected class such as race, sex, disability, etc. These include name calling, slurs, threats, showing graphic material, etc. Harassment has to be so severe or pervasive that it affects another person’s ability to function in the workplace or denies that person the benefits of the workplace.
Senator Gorsek’s behavior appears to be a violation of Rule 27. Footage of the hearing does not currently appear on OLIS at the time of publication.
This is not the first time Gorsek has engaged in behavior that had a chilling effect on protected classes. In 2018, a campaign mailer for his House of Representatives campaign included the phrase, “Chris Gorsek understands us because he is one of us.”
His opponent, Korean-American businessman Justin Hwang, commented at the time:
“As a Korean-American who legally immigrated to this country nearly 25 years ago, I have heard the phrase ‘one of us’ used many times. I know what it means.”
The mailer resulted in an official apology from the Democratic Party of Oregon, which had distributed Gorsek’s mailer. Senate Democratic leadership has yet to make a comment on what appear to be blatant violations of Rule 27 by Senator Gorsek.
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