Issues

Better Jobs through a Stronger Economy

As our economy struggles, we need to remember that government does not create jobs. Government’s role is to support workers and employers by doing its part to keep them competitive in a changing world. That means providing a regulatory structure that rewards hard work and innovation.

Schools Focused on Students

Being married to a teacher for 40 years has taught me a lot about the challenges facing our schools. More of our tax dollars need to find their way to local classrooms instead of being eaten up by administration and overhead. We should be encouraging investments in textbooks, technology, and teacher training while establishing a better process to reward teachers who deliver results in the classroom.

Addressing Our Health Care Crisis

We are putting a lot of money into health care in this state, but are not getting enough health care in return. It seems that the more government tries to fix our health care system, the more costs go up. We need a streamlined approach to make basic health care more affordable for families struggling with costs or going without coverage.

Protecting Families from Meth

Our family is one of the thousands in Oregon touched by meth addiction. With the number of local meth labs down, we must turn our attention to breaking up the large cartels selling the drug, expand drug courts, and to give judges the power to mandate treatment.

Encouraging Strong Families

The endorsement by Oregon Right to Life’s political action committee is an important one to me because I support efforts to protect the weakest in our society. I am pro-life, a firm believer in traditional marriage, and believe in rights for parents and foster-parents trying to do good for our children.

Better Roads

More vehicles cross the Highway 22 bridge over the Willamette River than take I-5 through Salem each day. Roads in our area are deteriorating and becoming more and more clogged. I will work on solutions to congestion in our area and push for an additional bridge over the Willamette River.