Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current, October 29, 2021, Image 1

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EIZER times
Future of
summer
concerts
& KLL Park
coming in
November
$1.00/ ISSUE
Volume 43 • No. 2
OCT. 29, 2021
Courser to run for Congress
in Oregon’s new 6th District
By JOEY CAPPELLETTI
For the Keizertimes
It’s almost November in Keizer. Which
means it’s time for pumpkins, apple cider,
and . . . RFPs.
The city of Keizer uses RFPs, short
for Request for Proposals, to solicit bids
from groups that are interested in pro-
viding a particular good or service for
the city. Once proposals are submitted,
a committee of city councilors and staff
members grades them and makes a sug-
gestion to the city council.
The Keizer City Council will be decid-
ing on two disputed RFPs in the month of
November. They will have the option to
either sign the contract proposed, restart
the RFP process or push the decision
Republican candidate Amy
Ryan Courser during this year's
KeizerFEST parade in August.
See RFPs, page A4
FILE PHOTO, Keizertimes
NEWSTAND PRICE: $1.00/ ISSUE
SUBSCRIBER ADDRESS :
By JOEY CAPPELLETTI
For the Keizertimes
Republican candidate Amy Ryan
Courser announced Friday that she will
run for Congress in 2022 in Oregon’s
new 6th Congressional District. Courser
challenged Democrat Kurt Schrader in
Oregon’s 5th Congressional District in
2020 and lost by seven points, the closest
race of Schrader’s seven terms in offi ce.
Courser lives in Keizer, which moved
during this year’s redistricting from the
5th District to the new 6th District. She
said the only thing preventing her from
making a decision earlier was the uncer-
tainty of Oregon’s newly redrawn districts,
which are still being challenged in court.
“I can’t control everything and the real-
ity is we are fi ghting for Oregon as a whole.
So moving forward taking that approach
is going to be the winning approach for
us and for everyone. So we are excited and
ready to go for the 6th,” Courser said on a
phone call with the Keizertimes.
Oregon gained a sixth congressional
district following the 2020 U.S. Census
and as a result, many of the other congres-
sional districts were drastically altered as
well.
“They’ve taken my 5th District that I
ran for, it was six thousand square miles,
and divided it into four districts. So we
had to take a step back and really evalu-
ate and discern what makes sense on all of
these levels,” said Courser.
Courser could have chosen to run in
the 5th District, which is predicted to be
more conservative than the 6th, as mem-
bers of Congress are not required to live
in the districts they represent.
Former
Multnomah
County
Commissioner Loretta Smith and state
Rep. Andrea Salinas have both indicated
that they plan to run as Democratic candi-
dates in the 6th District even though they
don’t live there. Schrader lives in the 5th
Sen. Thatcher calls for
50-state election audit, A6
District and has served as its represen-
tative since 2009 but has not indicated
where he will run in 2022.
Courser was a city councilor in Keizer
from 2014 to 2019 and in 2020, she
received the Republican candidacy in
the 5th District after defeating G. Shane
Dinkel with 53% of the vote. She received
45% of the vote in the general election
compared to Schrader’s 52%.
“I don’t believe that everyone’s voice is
being heard because we are being repre-
sented by elite politicians who are com-
pletely disconnected. I think that’s all of
Oregon,” said Courser. “Our issues, every-
thing from infrastructure to agriculture to
forestry, we have not had a strong voice
working side-by-side in the community,
which is my passion, to go be a voice in
D.C.”
Courser said some of the issues she
See COURSER, page A2
Celts blank Mountain View
on Senior Night, A20