Jacksonville, Oregon
Why am I running?
I’m a reasonable guy. Some people call me a hard-core moderate.
I don’t like labels.
I run as a Democrat because I’m a realist, and because I believe in much of what the party has always stood for. But the Democratic party of my parents’ and grandparents’ era—if you watch the news— is almost unrecognizable today.
For a long time in rural Oregon, the Democratic Party felt like the party that understood everyday life — the price of hay, the stress of keeping a ranch afloat, the importance of Social Security for retirees, and keeping small hospitals and schools open. It was practical, steady, and focused on helping working people stay on their feet. Folks in small towns could disagree on plenty, but the party remained connected to the rhythms of farm life and the values of responsibility and looking out for your neighbors.
At the same time, Democrats were loud and proud about sweeping national issues such as civil rights, equal opportunity and protecting the environment.
Today, instead of talking about water rights, timber jobs, grazing, or keeping local services alive, the party’s loudest voices focus on big national debates that don’t always match life in places like Lake County, Union County or Klamath Basin. The people in these kinds of communities still believe in the old, practical approach — steady leadership, respect for local ways of life, and solutions that fit rural communities — but they often feel suffocated by a style of politics that seems more ideological and less grounded in the day‑to‑day realities of rural Oregon.
I also cannot avoid mentioning the Grand Canyon-sized separation between the uber wealthy and the rest of us—a sad trend that began some 45 years ago and is at the root of so much of today’s societal pain. Until that gap is addressed and more people get a slice of the pie, curing today’s ills will be difficult.
And so, having witnessed the last decade of destructive political policies and discourse and the deepening of the left-right divide, not to mention the spiraling of our local and national economies, I feel compelled to do something.
As an Oregon native son and seasoned public servant, the best thing I can do is use my energy and experience to defeat Oregon’s only U.S. Representative who supports the policies harming our precious rural communities—Cliff Bentz in District 2.
Three of the best policies enacted in Oregon over the last 50 years are the Oregon Health Plan, our statewide land conservation laws (think protecting family farms and forests and revitalizing Main Street districts) and Vote by Mail. Cliff Bentz and the federal government are actively trying to undermine the first two and have tried to repeal the third, and this nonsense must stop.
Rural Oregon is in my blood. As the grandson of an agriculture teacher at Redmond High School, it’s literally in my DNA. The people of this grand landscape deserve to have a thoughtful and collaborative representative in Washington.