Our Town wants to expand our readers’ familiarity with the views of candidates on the November ballot for Senate District 9 in the state legistlature. In this edition we publish the responses to three questions. Responses from Republican incumbent Fred Girod and Democrat challenger Dr. Bob McDonald are in the candidates’ own words.
Dr. Fred Girod
What investments should be made or actions taken during the next legislative session to have a positive impact on the Oregon economy?
Oregon is blessed with some of the most abundant natural resources in the nation. With responsible management, these untapped assets can become pots of gold or barrels of oil. However, the government has done a poor job of managing these resources, especially timber and salmon.
I have long advocated for increased timber harvests and continued to do so while serving on the Governors Task Force for Federal Forest Payments.
I am optimistic that our work in the task force will be a catalyst for change in timber policy. As an avid sports fisherman, I have seen firsthand the economic effects that the declining salmon runs have caused. I have drafted five pieces of legislation to restore the salmon runs.
I am confident that my salmon recovery plan will provide an economic boost for our state.
What can the state legislature do during the next term to stabilize education funding and see that Oregon’s children are educated in safe facilities?
This question relates back to timber policy. This year, the Common School Fund dolled out $28 million to schools across the state. This amount will certainly go a long way towards making Oregon classrooms better places to learn.
However, Oregon could add an additional $12 million to this fund every year simply by increasing timber harvest to a level that science supports.
What should the legislature do to retain and develop Oregon agriculture? How should we balance environmental and economic interests?
Government must recognize the critical role that agriculture plays in our economy when considering public policy. One example is the plan circulating which would fund a universal health care plan through a mandated employer tax. Such a policy would create an extreme hardship for our agricultural community.
Until recently, this question could not be answered without a contested debate. But science has answered this debate for us.
We now understand that our current hands off approach to forest management leads to loads of fuel piling up on forest floors.
This fuel continues to pile up and dry out until the next big burn sweeps through, charring forest from top to bottom while releasing millions of tons of carbon into the atmosphere.
Oregon is left with nothing but blackened vistas, hefty fire bills and dirtier air. The obvious solution, creating fire breaks, thinning and cleaning up our forest floors, benefits both our environment and economy.
