From the wine-tasting town of Dundee, just down highway 99-W from Newberg, comes Tim Harrold, a candidate for Governor who underscores and celebrates the fact that he is not affiliated with any political party and has no political experience. He's not shy about policy though, and he's not afraid to get specific.

He's open about how big-dollar transportation policy intersects with housing policy. "I really need help understanding this one. They want to spend $1.3 billion on a cap over I-5 in Portland [near the Rose Quarter] to, well, let Governor Brown explain it..."I began those conversations because I wanted to ensure that this project is part of addressing and not repeating the historic wrongs caused by the displacement of countless Black families, and the resulting generational damage that occurred. And I also did it because I truly believe that there was a win-win opportunity"

"So we're going to build an expensive cap on an over-crowded freeway, which will bring in new and expensive housing units to the neighborhood, which will cause upgraded development of the surrounding neighborhood, driving up the prices and more than likely gentrify the area."

Harrold is unhappy with Portland's response to crime, specifically the riots. "District Attorney Mike Schmidt has not been prosecuting extremist rioters because of political pressure. That is prohibited by the Oregon Constitution and he needs to be held accountable for not doing his job. He has violated his oath of office as set by the Oregon Constitution and he needs to be replaced. Law Enforcement needs to be empowered to do their job. I support Law Enforcement and understand the complexities of the social issues. But what happened this weekend is not what we are talking about when it comes to social issues."

For a non-politician, he's got a good grasp of the deeper nuances of how policy and legislation works. "In January of 2019 Governor Brown ordered a study of wildfire management after a bad 2018 fire season that burned 897,000 acres. In November of 2019, the study was released to the Governor. It was a 110-page document that outlined how Oregon could better mitigate wildfires and be better prepared. But instead of prioritizing any work around wildfire management state government did nothing with the study. As a result, in 2020 and 2021 combined to date we have 1,750,000+ acres burned, 6490+ structures burned, 342+ vehicles burned, 82+ people injured and 11 deaths. Not to mention the pets, livestock and treasured belongings you can't replace that were destroyed.

I have read SB 762 and believe it's a step in the right direction to address wildfires in Oregon. What troubles me is it has taken a very long time for our state government to step up and do something.

Harrold will have an uphill battle in a system built by the parties for the parties.


--Staff Reports

Post Date: 2021-08-23 11:25:34