November 1, 2022

Defend the Police, Don’t Defund Them

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There are certain things that current Clackamas County Commissioner Sonya Fischer doesn’t want voters to hear. One of the most important has to do with her stance on law and order. This has become one of the biggest issues in the 2022 election, because law-abiding citizens are becoming increasingly weary of politicians whose policies are causing crime to skyrocket all …

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October 28, 2022

Telling the Truth on Tolling

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There are certain signs that a campaign isn’t going well. One of the biggest is when you feel like you have to pay an attorney to contact your opponent and make threats of legal action. While this kind of thing may be more common at the federal level, with the highest public offices in the nation, I never expected to …

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October 25, 2022

Actions Speak Louder

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Now that the November 2022 general election is just around the corner, voter pamphlet statements are becoming available to the public. Many voters base their candidate selection on the contents of those pamphlets. Ideally, the statements put together by candidates and their campaigns should be accurate representations of where they stand on the most important issues we face. But that’s …

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October 20, 2022

Drug legalization is killing us

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An analogy that comes up quite often in public policy is that of a pendulum. The explanation goes something like this: The same approach is used for a while until it stops being effective and develops its own unique set of consequences. Voters then start to demand that something different be done, and the metaphoric pendulum then swings in the …

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October 19, 2022

One of Two Directions

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Because the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners is a five-member body, each election can change its overall direction. Recent history has also shown that ours is a swing county, meaning that its voters go back and forth in their preferences every couple of years. With that being the case, I think there are two different ways that this county can …

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October 13, 2022

Metro, By the Numbers

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Perhaps one of the greatest points of contrast between myself and my opponent, Clackamas County Commissioner Sonya Fischer, is our attitudes and approaches when it comes to dealing with Metro. Ever since being appointed to commissioner position 5, Fischer has consistently carried water for Metro and its agenda, at the tremendous expense of Clackamas County residents. By contrast, once I’m …

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October 11, 2022

Constructive Solutions for Complex Problems

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The Oregon Legislature made national news a few years back when two consecutive sessions were cut short by walkouts from Republicans over a proposed cap and trade bill. Because they were so far in the minority, the Republican legislators felt the only way they could stop it from passing was to deny the necessary quorum. Prior to then, there were …

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October 6, 2022

What Really Matters

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Labor Day marks a turning point in every election year. That’s when races really start heating up and campaign season kicks into high gear. The upcoming November 2022 general election will follow the same pattern as most every cycle. Candidates who have spent months fundraising and building a base of support are going to start bombarding voters with advertisements through …

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October 4, 2022

Ideas Over Ideology

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It’s easy to think of every political race in the context of national partisan elections. The same rhetoric used by Republicans and Democrats running for Congress often trickles down to local races, even though the offices being sought are drastically different. So much emphasis gets placed on divisive social issues that have raged in the public consciousness for decades. But …

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September 7, 2022

Ideology Shouldn’t Come First

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As I make my way around Clackamas County to campaign for commissioner position 5, people often ask why I’m running. I tell them about my track record of advocating for underdogs at the local, state and federal level, including my current stint as a Wilsonville City Councilor. But when they ask me about who is currently in the position I’m …

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