The Blue Mountain eagle. (John Day, Or.) 1972-current, May 06, 2020, Image 14

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The Blue Mountain eagle., May 06, 2020, Page 14, Image 14

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Newspaper Page TextELECTIONS Blue Mountain Eagle Jason Atkinson Cliff Bentz Travis Fager Knute Buehler Justin Livingston Wednesday, May 6, 2020 Jimmy Crumpacker Chris Vaughn Alex Spenser Jeff Smith John Holm Democratic candidates for Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District speak at forum Republican candidates share visions for Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District By Kyle Spurr EO Media Group Seven Republican can- didates for Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District came together Saturday for a vir- tual forum. The candidates included Jason Atkinson, Cliff Bentz, Knute Buehler, Jimmy Crumpacker, Travis Fager, Justin Livingston and Jeff Smith. Four other candidates did not participate: David Camp- bell, Glenn Carey Jr., Ken- neth Mendenbach and Mark Roberts. A total of 16 candi- dates, five Democrats and 11 Republicans, are running for the congressional seat that opened when Republi- can U.S. Rep. Greg Walden decided not to seek reelec- tion. Walden has served the district since 1998. Each party’s top vote-get- ter in the May 19 primary election will advance to the general election in Novem- ber. The candidates repre- sent all corners of Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District, which covers all of East- ern Oregon and the Medford area. At the forum Saturday — hosted by EO Media Group and livestreamed without an audience due to the COVID- 19 pandemic — the seven candidates shared their views on a range of topics such as health care, the economy and the country’s response to the pandemic. Each candidate agreed rebuilding America’s econ- omy from the COVID-19 cri- sis is a top priority. Atkinson, 49, a busi- ness consultant from Cen- tral Point who served in the Oregon Legislature for 14 years, said local communi- ties should be able to decide when to reopen businesses and lift social distancing guidelines. “I believe the decisions should be made locally, and the governor should allow us to do that, and people should be allowed to go back out- side,” Atkinson said. Atkinson also took time at the forum to highlight issues facing military vet- erans, whom he said are an overlooked population. He said he’s dedicated to mak- ing sure veterans have the services they need. “It’s an issue that is con- stant, and for me that will be a priority,” Atkinson said. Bentz, 68, an Ontario farmer, attorney and former state representative, said it is important not to open busi- nesses too soon during the pandemic, or people won’t feel safe visiting them. He described the state’s plan to reopen businesses as a one-size-fits-all approach that doesn’t account for the rural counties with minimal cases of the virus. “They need to be allowed to go forward more quickly,” Bentz said. The candidate who wins will need to travel through the district to find out exactly how the virus affected resi- dents, Bentz said. “Let’s go out and find out what people need,” he said. Buehler, 55, an orthope- dic surgeon who represented Bend in the state House until an unsuccessful run for gov- ernor, said he has a set plan to address the district’s recovery from the virus. He calls it the five Ts: Trim the data to find any areas with a cluster of cases. Have the capability to test people and to treat people. Trace people who may have contacted someone with the virus. And toggle back and forth between more and less social distancing. “I would love to go to Washington, D.C., and help implement that kind of plan,” Buehler said. Buehler said he is suspi- cious of the virus’s origins in the Chinese wet markets and would support Congress call- ing for an investigation. “We need to hold China and the World Health Orga- nization accountable for what happened here,” Bue- hler said. “We need a full scale international investi- gation to determine exactly how this virus started.” Crumpacker, 41, a com- modities trader from Tum- alo, said his main goal is to reopen an economy shut down by the pandemic. “We need to get people back to work,” Crumpacker said. “That is critical.” An important part of sup- porting the U.S. economy is making sure medical sup- plies are made domestically and not overseas, Crump- acker said. “We are seeing the impact of the last few decades of outsourcing,” he said. “We need to bring them back.” Fager, 48, a La Grande resident and manager of a commercial radio station, was the 11th and last candi- date to file for the election. Fager wanted to join the race to support people in the mid- dle class whom he personally relates to, especially through the pandemic, he said. “We want candidates that are fluent in middle class reality,” Fager said. As a former wildland fire- fighter, Fager said he would like to see better forest man- agement practices that help prevent wildfires. “I was a firefighter,” Fager said. “I know what it’s like to stand on the fire line and stand between the fire and the resources.” Livingston, 42, a real estate broker and Bend city councilor, said he is already working on ways to reopen the local economy in his position as a city councilor. “I’m the only person that actually is an elected official and who is making decisions on how we are opening our area,” Livingston said. One way to support the economy through the pan- demic is to reduce federal regulations that affect busi- nesses and banks, Livingston said. “We need to support busi- ness,” he said. “We need to look at reducing regulations to get business back up and open.” Smith, 57, a computer programmer from the small Union County town of Elgin, said the main issue he is focused on is reduc- ing the cost of health care. Smith said there are too few doctors and nurses in hos- pitals. If more are trained and hired, then people have more opportunities to access health care, he said. “The reason why our health care costs keep going up and up is there are too few providers and too much demand for their services,” Smith said. Regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, Smith described the government’s response as a complete overreach that caused unnecessary strain on the economy. “We have trampled upon people’s civil liberties in the process,” Smith said. By Kyle Spurr EO Media Group Four candidates seeking the Dem- ocratic nomination for Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District gathered virtu- ally Friday evening for an online forum. The candidates included: Nick Heu- ertz, a 48-year-old Central Point resi- dent and a business consultant; John Holm, a 51-year-old licensed Realtor and political strategist from Medford; Alex Spenser, a 55-year-old writer and performance coach from Klamath Falls; and Chris Vaughn, a 54-year-old Bend resident and specialty food sales representative. A fifth candidate, Jack Howard of La Grande, did not participate. They took turns answering questions about why they are running in the May 19 primary election during the forum, which was hosted by EO Media Group and livestreamed without an audience due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The media group hosted two more forums Saturday for the large field of Republican candidates. There are 16 candidates — five Democrats and 11 Republicans — running for the congres- sional seat that opened when Republi- can U.S. Rep. Greg Walden decided not to seek reelection after serving since 1998. Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District is the largest of the state’s five districts and is the seventh largest district in the nation, covering all of Eastern Oregon and the Medford area. At the forum Friday, the candidates laid out their priorities for the district, especially how they plan to help lead the country through the COVID-19 pandemic. Heuertz said a way to keep the econ- omy running through the pandemic is to invest in infrastructure, which can create new jobs in renewable energy. 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Holm specifically wants to sup- port local farms and connect them with restaurants. “We are going to have to find ways to help the farmers that are not going to get their produce back and sold,” Holm said. “We are going to have to find solutions to help these people.” Spenser said no matter the topic, COVID-19 or otherwise, her top prior- ity is addressing the division in politics between Republicans and Democrats. “The very most important thing is to end the divisiveness we all feel on a visceral level,” Spenser said. “Until we have healed the divide, nothing else can get done.” Spenser said the pandemic has cre- ated new opportunities for certain businesses, such as internet provid- ers and companies that connect peo- ple remotely. 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