Our Town wants to expand our readers’ familiarity with the views of candidates on the November ballot for District 18 representative in the state legistlature. In this edition we publish the response to the first of three questions. Responses are in the candidates’ own words.
The first question asked was: What investments should be made or actions taken during the next legislative session to have a positive impact on the Oregon economy? What are you prepared to do to move those investments or actions forward?
Creating good jobs is essential to the success of our regional and state economy. 
Having owned and operated my small business for almost 30 years and now employing over 40 people, I know how important it is to create good jobs with health benefits.
To help our local employers, I will work to create more targeted tax credits that encourage the creation of new businesses and the expansion of existing ones. For example, using Oregon’s Business Energy Tax Credit at our nursery has allowed us to insulate buildings, improve our irrigation systems, and install more efficient greenhouse heaters. Such investments save energy and money, spur the creation of new businesses, and support local workers and equipment suppliers.
Thanks to Oregon’s visionary leaders, we are fortunate to still have a good supply of farmland and a strong agricultural economy. Our region’s fertile soils and mild climate allows us to grow many diverse crops and promoting local consumption of our farm products will increase jobs and improve our economy. I will advocate for increased investment in research to develop new, valuable, fruit and vegetable crops. In addition, I will advocate for investment in new marketing efforts, including creating a statewide website that will allow suppliers and consumers of Oregon products to locate each other.
I will work to give our agriculture industry the necessary incentives to help add value to our existing farm products. For example, in addition to selling our delicious berries as a commodity for freezing, I will work provide loans and other incentives to build small factories to make juice, preserves, and other products. This kind of investment adds jobs and increases profits.
I will work to make necessary investments in our roads, bridges, and other infrastructure. These long-term investments create jobs and are important to bring visitors to our area and move our locally produced products to market. One example of an important regional investment is rebuilding the I-5 freeway interchange at Woodburn. I will work with our other local legislators to make fixing this inefficient, time-consuming bottleneck a priority.
Investing in education is a long-term commitment that pays dividends over many years. It is important that our local businesses and farms have a adequate supply of skilled labor. I will advocate for an employment survey in each of our communities to identify the number of local residents currently employed and the skills needed to increase that number. I will use this information to advocate for increased investment in our community colleges and universities for expanded course offerings to meet local employment needs. More local jobs will reduce the cost of commuting and increase demand for local products and services.
