Two days after a gun rights advocate filed an official complaint claiming that a powerful state legislator had appeared to “verbally abuse” and “intimidate” another lawmaker into changing her vote on a gun control bill, that lawmaker says she indeed thinks that the legislator “created a hostile work environment.”
Democratic Rep. Thủy Trần of Portland told The Oregonian/OregonLive that she has “a great deal of respect” for Democratic Rep. Jason Kropf of Bend, but “his management of events” made for a less than ideal situation during a Monday meeting.
“Upon reflection, it created a hostile working environment to me, staff, advocates, and the public,” Trần wrote in a text to The Oregonian/OregonLive Wednesday morning.
The “meeting caused stress for many in the room, not just me,” Trần said.
The complaint alleges that Kropf left Trần “visibly shaken” and with “tears in her eyes” during the live-streamed meeting. Trần, however, clarified that “there were no tears.”
The very public episode sparked a wave of backlash in the Oregon Capitol and elsewhere Tuesday, with one Republican seeming to chide Kropf’s behavior on the House floor without naming names and a gun-rights lawyer in Canby creating an AI comic depiction of Kropf as the character “Mr. Burns” in the Simpsons next to the words “No doesn’t mean no.”
Kropf, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, told The Oregonian/OregonLive in a written statement Tuesday that he couldn’t comment on the “open complaint” but thinks of Trần as “an incredibly thoughtful legislator and I hold deep respect for her as a colleague.”
“It’s natural that tensions run high in this building: we’re doing important, detailed work that will affect all of our fellow Oregonians for years to come, and we’re doing it on a very public stage. That is particularly true when navigating a weighty issue like preventing gun tragedy.”
The complaint was filed to the Legislative Equity Office by gun rights advocate and firearms instructor Derek LeBlanc, who alleged that Kropf wouldn’t accept Trần’s “no” vote on an amendment to House Bill 4145, to which Kropf is a chief sponsor. The bill would lay out some of the specifics of how voter-approved Measure 114 would be implemented. The measure was passed in November 2022 but has been highly controversial and tied up in courts ever since without taking effect.
Legislative video of the work session captured Trần voting “no” and Kropf loudly inhaling for over a second. He then abruptly paused the meeting before all members of the House Judiciary Committee had a chance to vote. Without a “yes” from Trần, the amendment would have failed.
The complaint claims that once Kropf and Trần had stepped outside the meeting room, Kropf “threatened” Trần, then reconvened the meeting. A clock on the wall shows nearly 20 minutes passed during the break.
Kropf called for a re-vote on his amendment, which prompted Trần to pause in what appeared to be the beginning of an uncomfortable exchange.
“What, excuse me, what are we…?” Trần asked.
Before she could finish her sentence, Kropf answered: “This is the vote on the -3 amendment.”
“Again,” explained Rep. Kevin Mannix, a Republican from Salem, who was sitting next to Trần.
Trần paused.
“Do you need a minute?” Kropf said.
Trần responded: “Um, didn’t we just vote on it already?”
Kropf explained: “I asked for a recall of the vote.”“OK,” Trần said, then paused yet again.
Trần went on to switch her vote to “yes.” She soon after voted “yes” on the bill overall, advancing it out of committee just before a Monday deadline would have killed the bill.
Trần said in her statement that she understands “the tremendous pressure placed on Chair Kropf’s shoulders.”
“Especially in a short session, it is critical that chairs connect with committee members early and often to avoid the need to make consequential and complex decisions on the fly,” Trần said. “When stakes are high, confusion and frustration can surface if expectations are not communicated beforehand.”
She added that Kropf’s “management of events did create confusion, suspicion, and distrust in the democratic process.” She said, however, that she votes “according to my values” and in the best interests of Oregonians.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reached out to the six other members of the House Judiciary Committee, all who either didn’t respond or declined comment. Mannix said he couldn’t speak about what unfolded because he is co-chair of the House Conduct Committee, which would review the complaint. Kropf is the other co-chair and would have to recuse himself from the case. Trần also is a Conduct Committee member.
On Tuesday afternoon, Rep. Alek Skarlatos, a Republican from Winston, appeared to rebuke Kropf’s actions. While speaking on the House floor, Skarlatos didn’t name Kropf as he described how Republicans handle differing views behind closed doors.
“We all have these pretty heated debates ahead of time,” Skarlatos said. “We’ve almost gotten physical on a few occasions. … But one of the things, with all of our disagreements, that we would never do is we’d never pull a member out of a committee or off the floor and ask them to change their vote.”
Skarlatos said he viewed that as “inappropriate.”
“Frankly, everyone’s vote is sacred,” Skarlatos said. “ … I think it goes against our principles as a republic and I think it disenfranchises the dissenting member if their views can be forced to change.”
Tony Aiello Jr., who is the leading attorney for the plaintiffs in a Harney County case that disputed Measure 114’s constitutionality, made the AI comic depiction of Kropf on Tuesday. Aiello likened Kropf’s interaction with Trần to the 2025 transportation committee meeting where Sen. Chris Gorsek, a Democrat from Gresham, interrupted and raised his voice at Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis, a Republican from Albany. She described Gorsek as “intimidating and aggressive,” and he soon resigned as co-chair of that committee.
“I think we’re seeing a disturbing pattern,” Aiello said.
Staff reporter Carlos Fuentes contributed to this report.
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