Keep Bend's Government in the Open: Pledge Not to Bring Back HB 4177
The Issue
Public business should be done in public.
Oregon's public meetings law says a city council, county board or other governing body must deliberate and decide in the open. In 2023 the Legislature strengthened that law.
In 2026 the Legislature passed House Bill 4177. According to OPB, the bill would have exempted from the law a chain of private calls, texts or emails among officials when made "for the purpose of gathering information" about a decision the body will make.
The facts:
• The Oregon House passed HB 4177 on March 4, 2026 by 47 to 4. The Senate passed it on March 6, 2026 by 25 to 3.
• Bend's three legislators voted yes: Rep. Jason Kropf, Rep. Emerson Levy and Sen. Anthony Broadman.
• Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler submitted testimony in support of the bill to the House Committee on Rules on February 17, 2026.
• The Oregon Government Ethics Commission, the Oregon Society of Professional Journalists and the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association opposed it, saying it would let governing bodies do more of their work in private.
• Governor Tina Kotek vetoed the bill on April 16, 2026 and asked the Ethics Commission to develop a new proposal for 2027.
Their side: supporters said the 2023 rules were too vague and had become a roadblock to working together. The bill passed with votes from both parties.
To be fair and clear: voting for a bill or testifying on one is a lawful part of the job. No agency has found wrongdoing by any of these four officials, and this petition does not claim any. This is a disagreement about policy.
What we ask:
1. That Rep. Kropf, Rep. Levy, Sen. Broadman and Mayor Kebler each pledge in public not to support any 2027 bill that lets a majority of a governing body deliberate toward a decision in private.
2. That any 2027 proposal be written in the open, with the Ethics Commission and the public at the table.
If an official will not make that pledge, we ask voters to weigh it the next time that official's name is on the ballot.
Disclosure: I am Jonathan Curtis, a third-generation Bend local and a candidate for Deschutes County Clerk on the November 3, 2026 ballot.
PROOF
• HB 4177 bill page and votes: https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2026R1/Measures/Overview/HB4177
• Testimony list, including Mayor Kebler's (February 17, 2026): https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2026R1/Measures/Testimony/HB4177
• OPB, April 16, 2026, on the veto and both sides: https://www.opb.org/article/2026/04/16/kotek-vetoes-controversial-bill-oregon-public-meetings-law/
More about me and my campaign: https://votejonathancurtis.com
1
The Issue
Public business should be done in public.
Oregon's public meetings law says a city council, county board or other governing body must deliberate and decide in the open. In 2023 the Legislature strengthened that law.
In 2026 the Legislature passed House Bill 4177. According to OPB, the bill would have exempted from the law a chain of private calls, texts or emails among officials when made "for the purpose of gathering information" about a decision the body will make.
The facts:
• The Oregon House passed HB 4177 on March 4, 2026 by 47 to 4. The Senate passed it on March 6, 2026 by 25 to 3.
• Bend's three legislators voted yes: Rep. Jason Kropf, Rep. Emerson Levy and Sen. Anthony Broadman.
• Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler submitted testimony in support of the bill to the House Committee on Rules on February 17, 2026.
• The Oregon Government Ethics Commission, the Oregon Society of Professional Journalists and the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association opposed it, saying it would let governing bodies do more of their work in private.
• Governor Tina Kotek vetoed the bill on April 16, 2026 and asked the Ethics Commission to develop a new proposal for 2027.
Their side: supporters said the 2023 rules were too vague and had become a roadblock to working together. The bill passed with votes from both parties.
To be fair and clear: voting for a bill or testifying on one is a lawful part of the job. No agency has found wrongdoing by any of these four officials, and this petition does not claim any. This is a disagreement about policy.
What we ask:
1. That Rep. Kropf, Rep. Levy, Sen. Broadman and Mayor Kebler each pledge in public not to support any 2027 bill that lets a majority of a governing body deliberate toward a decision in private.
2. That any 2027 proposal be written in the open, with the Ethics Commission and the public at the table.
If an official will not make that pledge, we ask voters to weigh it the next time that official's name is on the ballot.
Disclosure: I am Jonathan Curtis, a third-generation Bend local and a candidate for Deschutes County Clerk on the November 3, 2026 ballot.
PROOF
• HB 4177 bill page and votes: https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2026R1/Measures/Overview/HB4177
• Testimony list, including Mayor Kebler's (February 17, 2026): https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2026R1/Measures/Testimony/HB4177
• OPB, April 16, 2026, on the veto and both sides: https://www.opb.org/article/2026/04/16/kotek-vetoes-controversial-bill-oregon-public-meetings-law/
More about me and my campaign: https://votejonathancurtis.com
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Petition created on October 4, 2026