Tualatin, OR. — Ben Edtl, an Oregon political activist, announced in a post on X on January 27th that he is running for HD37. The district covers the City of Tualatin and sits between Lake Oswego, Wilsonville, and Oregon City. In his post he wrote:
This Tiger won’t be tamed by “house” cats.
I’ve officially filed for Oregon State Representative in House District 37.
Let’ the 2026 corruption hunt begin.
Mr. Edtl is also a chief petitioner on Initiative Petition 37 with Michaela Hammerson and Stephen Joncus, which would amend the constitution and “prohibits vote-by-mail elections; registration requires “proof
of citizenship”; voting requires “valid” photo identification”. The petition is active and approved for circulation but per the Secretary of State’s website is not yet certified for the November election.
Edtl is also the former CEO of the Umpqua Transportation District (UPTD), resigning this past August, telling The News Review “Really, my job’s done. It’s running well,” and that his presence would no longer be beneficial to the district.
Controversy around Edtl’s role as CEO with UPTD arose following a report from ODOT. An article from the Oregon Journalism Project, published in Willamette Week, reported that the Nov. 25 report reviewed whether the district—which serves roughly 110,000 county residents—was complying with state and federal grant requirements. The report concluded compliance was poor. Investigators identified numerous deficiencies. Many of the identified issues stemmed from the transit district’s unusual decision to hire Edtl as CEO. The report cites alleged misuse of grant funds tied to that hire, along with repeated refusals to provide requested documentation to the Oregon Department of Transportation, which administers the grants.
In statements to Oregon Journalism Project, former UPTD board chair and Edtl’s co-petitioner Michaela Hammerson refuted the accusations in the report. Hammerson stated “Many of the conclusions in the document are based on incomplete information, misquoted statements, or assumptions that were not fact-checked with the board or staff before publication.” Edtl told OJP “The items in the report are absolutely untrue.”
Edtl will face Chad Parker in the Republican Primary as both aim to challenge incumbent Democrat Jules Walters.
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