Kevin Mannix felt the heat of the public spotlight in the closing days of the Oregon Legislature’s 2025 session.

The Republican state representative whose district includes Keizer voted for a massive transportation plan in a committee meeting. He was the lone Republican to favor a plan including a multitude of new taxes and fees, sharper oversight of the Oregon Transportation Department and more funding for Oregon streets and highways.

That vote on Thursday, June 26, propelled Mannix into the front stage of politics over the bill.

The legislation, cobbled together in largely behind-the-scenes meetings, faced tough political sledding in the Legislature. Democrats ejected Democrats from a key committee in one effort to muscle the package ahead.

The vote by Mannix seemed a surprise. He says it was more than that.

“That vote in committee was a mistake,” Mannix said as he reflected on a session that adjourned on Friday, June 27. “I got a little carried away.”

He said his fellow Republicans in the legislature were “quite upset” over his vote.

Mannix said he was determined to advance proposals he had supported or pitched. That included ensuring that electric vehicles paid a road usage charge. He proposed other compromises to early versions of the transportation package.

“We need to reform ODOT,” he said. “We are not charging for electric cars and we’re overcharging truckers.”

Mannix said he played a role in eventually killing a slimmed-down version of the transportation legislation on the last day of the session. He said 16 Republicans in the House voted against a procedural move to allow a House vote. The move “killed that bill,” he said.

He remains concerned legislators didn’t act on transportation needs in Oregon. He hopes that Gov. Tina Kotek doesn’t follow through with her declaration that up to 700 state transportation workers would now be losing their jobs.

Kotek has suggested a special session, and Mannix thinks that makes sense in September. He said meantime the governor should hold off cutting jobs.

He said legislators need to reach consensus on some modest transportation package to boost funding not only for ODOT but for city and county agencies.

“What is at stake is the capability to go out there and maintain our roadways. And put in safety features like striping and regrading, fixing pot holes. A lot of that is at the city and county level,” Mannix said.

He said citizens need to understand some new funding is needed to “make the roads better” and support mass transit. He noted that more than half those riding Cherriots do so to get to work.

That said, the veteran legislator said Democrats erred in pushing a plan that would raise billions through new taxes and fees. 

“They went a few taxes too far,” Mannix said. “I think they misread the majority of Oregonians.”

Mannix also considered what he accomplished during the session despite being in the political minority in the House.

Legislators approved legislation that directs the state to consider selling 3,500 acres of unused state property around the state.

House Bill 2316 is intended to provide another avenue to expand housing in Oregon, Mannix said. It passed on the last day of the session.

“This is a sleeper bill,” Mannix said. “This will have a lot more impact than people realize as developers get used to it.

He also worked with legislators to reform Oregon laws governing civil commitment. The result is a clearer course for courts to order people into care for mental health.

What remains a challenge, he said, is that the state has limited resources to house those needing such ordered care. The Oregon State Hospital is taken up with defendants involved in criminal cases.

“There’s no space for civil commitments,” he said.

He noted Oregon provides a way to deflect people accused of drug crimes into treatment other than jail.

“We need to deflect people with mental health issues,” he said.

Mannix also continued to reform laws to protect Oregonians from those who use the internet to stalk or harass people. 

House Bill 2299 makes it illegal to disseminate a “digitally created, manipulated or altered depiction that is reasonably realistic.” Mannix advanced the legislation after learning the case of a Keizer woman and her daughter who for years were tormented with online phony images. 

Mannix said the 2025 session was “more difficult than average.”

He said while there were considerable unified efforts by Republicans and Democrats, “folks seemed to be committed to fighting” on a narrow range of issues.

“We have to moderate language,” Mannix said, noting that public statements by some legislators vilified their opponents. “Some of the language was too strong.”

Despite that, Mannix considers the session a success.

“I was able to do a lot of technical improvements,” he said. “You just need to be in there every day. Some people give up, and I don’t.”

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