Candidates from new state House District 45 speak

Recently realigned representative district holds its first election

Since the Mid-county Memo has a non-editorial endorsement policy, we posed the same question to both Democratic primary candidates, letting you, the voters judge their answers.

Jackie Dingfelder currently represents the new district in the Salem. Dingfelder was appointed by the Multnomah County Board of commissioners to represent District 19 when former Representative Jo Ann Bowman resigned. When the districts were re-aligned due to the 2000 census, the Secretary of State assigned Dingfelder to the newly formed District 45.

John Toran, a newcomer to the political arena and Dingfelder's opponent in the May primary is a real estate broker in Northeast Portland.

District 45 encompasses a large geographic area. It contains Northeast Portland neighborhoods such as Alameda, Maywood Park, and Argay Terrace, diverse as they are as far apart geographically. Roughly, District 45 boundaries are, on the West, Northeast 21st Avenue, on the East Northeast 143rd Ave. The northern boundary is Killingsworth and the southern boundary is the Banfield Freeway (I-84).

State House District 47, adjacent to 45, and encompassing the rest of the Memo's circulation area is represented by Jeff Merkley, who is running unopposed in both the Democratic primary and the in the November general election.

The question posed to candidates Dingfelder and Toran was: What are your top three priorities as a state representative? Their answers follow . . .

My top three priorities when I return to Salem are to provide a quality education to every student, to revitalize our economy, and to protect our natural environment.

A Quality Education for Each Child

Our children deserve safe, productive and well-maintained schools. I will fight to ensure education gets the support it needs from the Legislature and that those funds go to the classroom where they can make a difference.  A good education is the foundation for personal success, no one should be denied that opportunity.

Revitalize Our Economy and Assist Working Families

Oregon is suffering from the highest levels of unemployment and hunger in the nation. I will work to create new jobs and get people back to work. While in the Legislature, I helped increase unemployment benefits for displaced workers. We need to expand job training programs to assist working families and provide more support to new entrepreneurs seeking to start their own businesses. I support developing Portland as a magnet for the bio-science industry and improving our transportation infrastructure to encourage private investment.

Protect Our Natural Environment

My experience in environmental management taught me the need to integrate economic and ecological planning. I will sponsor legislation to preserve the Willamette River and the Columbia River Slough.  I will work with all stakeholders to develop effective policies that are acceptable to both citizens and businesses.

Local Funding For Schools

I want to bring back the ability for schools to raise their funds locally. It’s tough to explain to a representative from Ashland why students are more expensive to educate in the Portland area. Additionally, it puts the legislature in the tough position of doling out funds without any say as to what and how those funds can be used for.

Nurturing Small and Medium-sized business environment

I want to lower health care cost by having unions play a more active role in reigning in health care cost, perhaps by bulk purchasing of common pharmaceuticals. As a small business owner, I understand the difficulty involved with doing one’s taxes, I would sponsor and support legislation that would simplify the tax code for small and medium-sized businesses. Also, my underlying philosophy would inspire me to seek out and remove barriers to growth. I recently was faced with the expensive and time-consuming decision of whether or not I should hire employees.

Bring another Major Sports Team to Portland

The Trailblazers need some competition! I will advocate and assist with bringing Major League Baseball and/or the National Football League to Portland.