Everyone matters, and being able to support yourself and your family matter. This is why you need a representative that will fight for sustainable economic growth and that recognizes that unadulterated areas of our State and National forests are assets that support tourism in our communities. I know that hunting and fishing are economic necessities and that sustainable economic growth that keeps these areas pure is not just good stewardship, but required for community health. You need a representative that hasn’t been bought by special interests.
You are not free if out-of-state special interests that don’t think you matter are making the decisions about how your land and water will be used and abused, without a thought of how the community will suffer. I will advocate for the protection you need from the unscrupulous—protection you’ve helped pay for with your tax dollars and that you deserve. You need a representative that lives in the district, shops in the district, does business in the district, volunteers in the district. You need an effective and patient communicator who is willing to represent your needs to the legislature as often as necessary so that they begin to understand you and what matters to you.
Small towns are struggling; they need an economic boost and recognition that what works in the Valley often doesn’t work in the Central or Southern Oregon, that the small business assistance supplied by the State could be adjusted and expanded to take into account the values and varied needs of the diverse communities in District 55. You don’t need Salem to do for you as much as to do WITH you—to get to know you, to get government out of the way when it’s a hindrance and provide the protection from unscrupulous Big Business that small communities simply can’t afford. You need an advocate for YOU. You need an advocate who will talk up all the value you bring to this state through agriculture, tourism, forest products, mining, and stewardship. Oregon can’t make it without you. You are needed, and you need someone who tells Salem that.
