BEND, OR -- Political hopefuls are starting to make known their intentions and Dr. Nathan Boddie recently joined the fray, announcing his intent to run for Knute Buehler's vacating Representative seat.
Boddie, a Georgia native who has lived in Central Oregon for over a decade, and became a member of the Bend City Council in November of 2014, will be running on the Democrat ticket, but he doesn't like labels. "You know, I don't think it has to be so much about what letter is after your name, I think the residents of Bend can decide who a good candidate is, and hopefully they like what I've been doing. You know, they overwhelmingly sent me to Council to represent their interests and that's what I've done. And I want to certainly continue to do my best and that's what I would plan to do in Salem, as well."
Boddie says he'd be happy to work with Buehler, as the two have always shared a civil professional relationship, but he believes Kate Brown should continue as Oregon's Governor.
Due to Oregon's particular style of governing, Boddie says while some changes will be made to his office should he win, he's confident that he can do both. "Oregon has a, an essentially, a part-time citizen's government, so it's not intended as a full-time position and it's not built that way. And medicine is really the other half, the other side of the coin of how I can best help the community, so I'll continue to help my patients, and I'll continue to help the residents of Bend that aren't my patients in the local government."
Boddie, a Bend City Council member since 2014, is running as a pro-choice, pro-second-amendment Democrat but points out that he's represented all the citizens of Bend on the council and plans to continue that practice in Salem. He says, in representing his constituents on the local level, he's learned that his policies are aligned with theirs. "Some of our local representation from Oregon has opposed what's been going on at the State level, I would argue that that's one of the big reasons I want to take this position, because I think that that voice has been out of step with what most people in Bend believe."
Boddie will be seeking the Democrat nomination for Knute Buehler's representative seat.
