Our Town wants to expand our readers’ familiarity with the views of candidates on the November ballot for Senate District 9 in the state legistlature. In this edition we publish the responses to three questions. Responses from Republican incumbent Fred Girod and Democrat challenger Dr. Bob McDonald are in the candidates’ own words.
Dr. Bob McDonald
What investments should be made or actions taken during the next legislative session to have a positive impact on the Oregon economy?
There are many areas where an investment at the front end will produce significant savings in the long run.
It is estimated the Oregon economy loses between $1.25 and $2.5 billion by not providing health care coverage to 600,000 uninsured Oregonians. By increasing somewhat the state’s contribution, we can leverage our dollars to receive increased federal matching funds. It also has been shown that drug treatment saves money by reducing the costs of healthcare and emergency room, crime, imprisonment, food stamps, unemployment, workers compensation, child welfare and other related services. Every $1 invested in treatment saves $7 in other costs! It costs $4,000 to $10,000 per month for nursing home care after a broken hip. In contrast, to prevent that hip fracture the average cost of in-home care for a person receiving help through the Oregon Project Independence was $215 per month and the cost of home delivered meals was $148 per month.
I am a strong advocate for attracting alternative energy companies to Oregon, and supporting the higher education to train our students to be the engineers, scientists and technicians to fill those new jobs.
Aging schools across the the state are in dire shape as districts have financed immediate classroom needs by postponing infrastructure repairs. What can the state legislature do during the next term to stabilize education funding and see that Oregon’s children are educated in safe facilities?
We currently have an existing Education Stability Fund of $396 million.
What should the legislature do to retain and develop Oregon agriculture? How should we balance environmental and economic interests?
The most important thing we can do to support Oregon agriculture is to protect our farmland from becoming strip malls and gravel pits. I support The Big Look Project which is providing a comprehensive study of our land use policy. I am also fighting against out-of-state vulture capitalists who want to confiscate Oregon farm and timber land for pipelines to send foreign natural gas to heat hot tubs in California.
