Screen capture from video footage
Originally published on March 5, 2021 3:18 pm
As he faces down allegations of knowingly allowing right-wing demonstrators into a locked state Capitol, it is perhaps fitting that state Rep. Mike Nearman is being charged $365 for an automatic door closer.
With a dark bronze finish in step with the Capitol’s “stripped classical” aesthetic and heavy-duty features designed for long-term use, the piece of equipment is part of a $2,712.93 bill sent to Nearman by legislative administration earlier this week.
Other items on that list: More than $2,100 worth of unspecified repairs and painting to the area in and around the vestibule where, surveillance footage shows, Nearman let demonstrators gain a foothold on Dec. 21. Five gallons of paint, in “westhighland white.” An $80, wall-mounted hand sanitizer dispenser.
SALEM â Oregon House Republicans are questioning hiring practices at the Oregon Capitol, following a gaffe in which a staffer for a nonpartisan office showed clear preference for the Democratic party.
In a hearing of the House Business and Labor Committee last week, a newly hired employee for the stateâs Legislative Policy and Research Office introduced herself by explaining she had formerly worked for Democratic legislators in Utah.
âI was with the House Democrats, which is a superminority, so itâs definitely nice to be in the majority,â the woman said, in a remark that visibly surprised some legislators in attendance.