BEND, OR -- A Bend Chamber Candidate Forum Wednesday gave those running for State House District 53 and 54 time to talk about their campaign issues. They took questions in front of a crowd - some of whom had to be quieted a few times by the moderator. Topics including homelessness, transportation infrastructure, and business challenges relating to affordable housing and child care.
Democrat Emerson Levy is running in the newly-drawn 53rd District; a seat currently held by Republican Jack Zika. Levy wants transportation safety and infrastructure planning to “make sure that we’re making all the right decisions for our community that brings value and safety. And we need to build resilient infrastructure that can handle our weather and all the things that happen here.”
Levy faces Republican Michael Sipe, who said prioritizing state and federal funds, and better execution can help Central Oregon’s transportation needs.
Sipe went on to say Oregon needs to be more friendly to business, “This would be good for everyone, because as business prospers so does everyone else. Healthy businesses bring good paying jobs, economic stability, and more tax dollars ultimately as the businesses thrive.” Levy feels lack of childcare along with finding affordable housing is stalling business growth.
Incumbent District 54 Rep. Jason Kropf (D-Bend) spoke on housing, “We need to have housing for our workforce. We need to have more affordable housing. Employers have not been able to cultivate and bring workers in because people are saying this is just too expensive of a place to live.”
His challenger, Republican Judy Trego says strategies must be developed to bring the technology sector and other businesses to Central Oregon.
On the homeless issue, Trego is looking to other cities and areas for solutions. “The goal should be to make homelessness rare and brief. Encampments highlight decades of calamitous decisions by planners, politicians and health and housing authorities,” said Trego. Kropf stated he will continue to pursue programs to solve the problem by working for more funding and collaborating with community partners.
In a statement about crowd behavior, Thursday morning, the Bend Chamber tweeted:
"Bend Chamber events have historically been welcoming and business-centric. We tried something different this year to make it accessible to all, resulting in a different mix of attendees that did not represent the Central Oregon business community. The behavior of some attendees in last night's state house seat forum was not what we expect or condone from our events. Our Chamber must work with all parties and believe different points of view and political affiliations are part of our political system and deserve respect."
The next Chamber candidate forum is Monday the 19th and will feature Bend Mayor and City Council positions.
