Candidate debates are in trouble – in Bend, Southern Oregon, The Dalles – and perhaps in Oregon City.
On October 8th, three days before the planned candidate debates, Lisa Farquharson, President of The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce, sent an email with the subject: “URGENT UPDATE: 2022 Candidate Forum / The Dalles /change in plans,” announcing cancellation of the in-person debate.
As you know, we had planned to host a Candidate Forum at the Mid-Columbia Senior Center on October 11th. Unfortunately, October is a very busy month for our representatives and many of you cannot attend or we have not heard from you.
As your Democratic and Independent Party candidate for Senate District 26, I was eager to participate in the live debate. Debates are vital events with outsize benefit to the community: a chance for you, the voters, to challenge me with questions most on your mind, and for me to answer. I was eager to participate, even as I expected the first of three planned debates in Senate District 26 to be stressful and an intense learning experience – both on policy and about how to respond helpfully to the political anxieties of these times.
Lisa Farquharson’s email arrived a few days after I read an article from Medford-area political commentator Peter Sage, entitled “No Debates. No Joint Appearances. No Show.” Sage’s well-written article (I recommend his free Substack subscription for daily political commentary) alerted me to the Republican no-show dynamic. So, I was not surprised by the news from The Dalles…only disappointed.
Lisa Farquharson assured me by phone that candidates were unavailable or non-responsive from across the political spectrum. The Chamber is allowing candidates to respond in written form to questions – so I am hopeful my opponent’s positions will become public record. When they do, I will update this post with a link to his answers, and mine.
The other end of the debate spectrum has been present in Bend. There, Democratic Oregon House candidate Emerson Levy was verbally harassed by members of a hostile Republican crowd. In addition, her GOP opponent’s supporters reportedly reserved all the tickets to ask questions. Newsweek caught on to this story from tweets by Eileen Kiely, my WINPAC mentor and Secretary of the Democratic Party of Oregon. Newsweek‘s ensuing quote tweet:
Emerson Levy, an attorney running to represent Oregon House District 53, said “every time I spoke grown women heckled me.”
Here is the Newsweek article, and a piece in the Bend Bulletin: “Debate for Bend-area state House races overshadowed by rowdy crowd.” The Dalles Chamber’s event was designed in such a way to avoid some of these dynamics, with all questions submitted and vetted ahead of time.
I am waiting to hear if a Hood River debate will move forward. Meanwhile, since August, an October 20th debate in Oregon City sponsored by the North Clackamas Chamber of Commerce has been planned. During my endorsement interview with them I found the panel defensive and challenging, yet civil. They endorsed my opponent. Nonetheless, I am confident my economic policy recommendations better support the small businesses of Main Street. My far-right Republican opponent supports disproved Republican supply-side policies that for decades have enriched Wall Street at the expense of the middle class.
What Can You Do?
Ask Republican candidates at public events, on social media, and via letters to the editor about their positions on key issues:
- Freedom to make reproductive decisions. They will try to redirect to late-term abortions, which are emotionally-wrenching, medically-mandated interventions no one wants. Ask them instead about how early in pregnancy they want to outlaw abortions, how they will support maternal healthcare, why they question women’s capacities or rights to make choices about their bodies, why they believe they know more about reproduction than medical professionals, how they will support children born to families unable economically to care for them, how to address our current crisis of “childcare deserts,” and their views on ensuring contraceptive access.
- Their position on the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election. Saying “Joe Biden is currently the president” is bad-faith side-stepping. Ask them whether possible election fraud is a settled question. The truth is “state and federal judges – some appointed by Trump – dismissed more than 50 lawsuits brought by Trump or his allies alleging election fraud and other irregularities” – as documented in this Fact Check by Reuters.
- Worsened income inequality. Ask why $50 trillion+ moved from the bottom 90% of Americans to the top 1% over the last 40 years – as a RAND Corporation study showed. Republicans’ mean-spirited and regrettably greedy supply-side economic arguments have enriched the few super-wealthy while making life terribly difficult for the majority of us. Learn about the “Kansas Experiment” in 2012 – when the Republican legislature enacted dream Republican tax cuts – to see growth slow, standards of living fall, and social programs overwhelmed – so much that the Republican Kansas legislature reversed those cuts. A good overview of the damage caused by Republican economic policies is Thom Hartmann’s “Dear GOP: We tried it your way and it does not work.” I recommend following Robert Reich’s ongoing commentary on Substack.
What awaits me in Oregon City? Whether hostility or civility, I will do my best of offer:
- Calm connection with all, since all are to be my constituents
- Extending dignity to all
- Concrete policies based on our highest and best values of care, creativity, and courage
Please share this post with your friends and family in the Oregon City area. Ask them to make time to attend an important civic event – the North Clackamas Chamber of Commerce debate on Thursday, October 20th, from 11-2.
Now is the time to step up to protect the electoral process and government processes that support both individual rights and the common good. Please join me in making a positive difference by learning more, staying engaged, and standing up for responsible government and the rule of law.