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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 2022)
VOTE Like Your Uterus Is on the Line — BECAUSE IT IS EW ’S TAKE ON THE GENERAL ELECTION By Editorial Board F shares his scrappiness and ability to digest and discuss wonky topics without completely nerding out, and she’s also very much her own woman with a clear pro-worker, pro-small business, pro-health care platform. Her most well-known and well-funded opponent, Alek Skarlatos, is such a trainwreck he couldn’t get elected county commis- sioner in Douglas County. Still, in the current political atmosphere, we take nothing for granted. Hoyle advo- cates for abortion rights, Skarlatos, on the other hand, hits “like” on photos of underage girls in bikinis on social media. Vote Hoyle. ormer President Donald Trump didn’t actually grab us by the pussy, but he did kick us in the uterus. He’s thankfully out of office, but his anti-choice, anti-people of color, anti-LGBTQIA, anti-environment legacy lingers. Voting in this election in the wake of the Supreme Court’s rotten, anti- abortion Dobbs decision is one of many small steps we can take to reclaim the good things about our country, our state and our local government. The good folks don’t always win, but we don’t stay down for long. So, vote. Vote for good people who care about others, vote for people who care about bodily autonomy and health care and mental health; vote for those who want the unhoused to have homes and those who want people with less money and less access to power to have their lives improved. Vote like the good things in the world — the climate, the community, the ability to have control over your own uterus — are on the line. Because they are. — Camilla Mortensen and the Eugene Weekly editorial board U.S. Representative, 5th District Jamie McLeod-Skinner (D, I, WF) Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R) We have been following Jamie McLeod-Skinner’s political efforts for a while now. We liked her when we first encountered her in 2018 running against Republican Congressman Greg Walden for the 2nd District seat, and we like her now that the redistricting has put her into the 5th District, where she unseated incumbent Democrat Kurt Schrader in the primary. She is pro-environment and pro-control over your own uterus. Her opponent Lori Chavez-DeRemer is campaigning on spurious attacks on Critical Race Theory and Trumpian calls of “America First.” NATIONAL RACES CONGRESS Senate Ron Wyden (D, I), incumbent Jo Rae Perkins (R), Dan Pulju (Pacific Green), Chris Henry (Progressive) You’d be hard pressed to find another senator dedi- cated to traveling throughout their home state like Sen. SENATOR RON WYDEN E U G E N E W E E K LY . C O M VAL HOYLE STATE RACES Ron Wyden. And while on the road, he says he’s always available to speak with whoever he sees while shopping at his favorite store: Fred Meyer. And, policy-wise, it’s noth- ing but net for the basketball-loving Wyden. Among his accomplishments during his current term are expanding crisis response teams modeled after CAHOOTS through Medicaid and holding pharmaceutical companies that raise drug prices accountable through an anti-price gouging provision in the Inflation Reduction Act law. With another term, Wyden says he’ll find ways to create more housing, address wildfires and improve mental health resources. Whether he’s looking to improve the lives of residents in eastern Oregon hit by hailstorms or protect people trying to access reproductive services without having their data being used against them by anti-abortion zealots, Wyden says the best politics is doing your job. “And the best politics is doing policy,” he adds. U.S. Representative, 4th District Val Hoyle (D, Working Families) Alek Skarlatos (R), Mike Beilstein (Progressive, Pacific Green), Levi Leatherberry (I, Libertarian), Jim Howard (Constitution) Rep. Peter DeFazio is a hard act to follow, and for years — long before the irascible yet kind of endearing congress- man decided to retire — there has been speculation over who could take his place. Current Bureau of Labor and Industries Commissioner Val Hoyle fits the bill. She Photos by Todd Cooper Governor Tina Kotek (D, WF) Donice Noelle Smith (Constitution), Betsy Johnson (nonaf- filiated), Christine Drazan (R) Democratic Party nominee and former House Speaker Tina Kotek has the legislative experience to lead Oregon boldly and well. She knows Oregon’s issues, from home- lessness to wildfires, and has the plans — and the leader- ship skills — to address them. TINA KOTEK O C T O B E R 1 3 , 2 0 2 2 9
