[0:06] All right. Uh, can you hear me? Okay,
Andrew.
[0:10] » We can, Mr. Chair. Thank you.
>> Right. Well, good afternoon everyone and
[0:13] welcome all. I will now call to order
this October 23rd, 2025 joint meeting
[0:19] with Wasco County, Hood River County,
Multma County, and Clakmus County Board
[0:24] of County Commissioners. I'm Craig
Roberts, chair of Clakamus County, and
[0:29] the Secretary of State has asked me to
chair this meeting. I will now ask
[0:35] Clakamus County Clerk Board, Andrew
Geraki, to call the roll call for us.
[0:42] » Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'll call the roll
by county. From Wasco County,
[0:48] Commissioner Phil Brady,
>> present.
[0:51] from Wasco County, Commissioner
Jefferson,
[0:55] » present
>> from Wasco County, Chair Scott Pedy.
[1:02] » He just stepped into his office, Andrew,
so he should be joining as a panelist
[1:06] just a moment.
>> I will return and ask for his presence
[1:12] after we finish the list.
Moving on to Hood River, Commissioner
[1:16] Arthur Babbittz,
>> present.
[1:20] from Hood River, Commissioner Leticia
Moretti,
[1:22] » present.
>> From Hood River, Commissioner Chad
[1:25] Muner,
>> present.
[1:28] » From Hood River, Commissioner Ed
Weathers.
[1:34] » Commissioner Weathers of Hood River
[1:41] from Hood River. Chair Jennifer Uer
>> present.
[1:46] from Multma, Commissioner Julia Brim
Edwards,
[1:50] » present.
>> From Multma County, Commissioner Vince
[1:54] Jones Dixon,
>> present.
[1:57] » From Multma County, Commissioner Megan
Moyer,
[2:01] » present.
>> From Multma County, Commissioner Shannon
[2:04] Singleton,
>> present.
[2:07] » From Multma, Chair Jessica Vega
Peterson,
[2:10] » present.
And from Clakamus County, Commissioner
[2:14] Diana Helm,
>> present.
[2:17] » From Clakamus County, Commissioner Paul
Savis,
[2:19] » present.
>> From Clakamus County, Commissioner
[2:21] Martha Shrader.
[2:27] Commissioner Shrader.
[2:31] » I'm here.
>> Thank you. Commissioner from Clackamus
[2:35] County, Commissioner Ben West.
[2:42] having problems on with muting.
>> Commissioner West.
[2:54] » Chair, I will just return because I
understand that a couple of our
[2:58] commissioners may have just been joining
as we're taking the role. With your
[3:00] permission, chair, I'll check to see if
Wasco Chair Scott Hedgy, if I'm saying
[3:06] that correctly, is present.
[3:11] And I see he's in the attendee list. So
I will promote him to panelists.
[3:16] Thank you for your patience.
[3:22] And I also see from Hood River,
Commissioner Weathers
[3:26] has joined. I will also promote him to
panelists.
[3:35] Sherhi, can you hear us?
Yes, I can.
[3:40] » Thank you very much. And checking uh
from Hood River, Commissioner Weathers,
[3:44] are you with us?
>> Yes. Yes, I can hear you.
[3:46] » Thank you very much. And finally,
returning to Clacamus, Commissioner
[3:50] West, are you present?
>> Can you hear me? I'm present.
[3:53] » Yes, we are.
>> Okay, we're working. Thank you.
[3:56] » And from Clakamus County Chair Craig
Roberts,
[3:59] » present.
>> Thank you, Mr. Chair. All commissioners
[4:02] are present and accounted for. That
concludes the role.
[4:05] » Thank you. But the purpose of our
meeting today is to fill a current
[4:09] vacancy in the state senate district 26.
As prescribed by law, the political
[4:15] party to which former senator Daniel
Bonham uh belonged has chosen nominees
[4:20] for us to consider.
The nominees are Representative
[4:25] Christine Drezen, Mr. John Grant,
Representative Jeffrey Helfridge,
[4:32] and now I will introduce our staff to
support uh today's meeting. So, our
[4:37] legal adviser today is Clackmus County
Senior Assistant Legal Counsel Jeff
[4:42] Muns. Our clerk today from Clackmus
County, clerk to the board, Andrew
[4:46] Geraki. And I will now turn to our clerk
and ask him to explain the procedure of
[4:51] today's meeting for us.
>> Thank you, Mr. Chair.
[4:57] The order of today's meeting will be as
follows. Public comment followed by
[5:02] nominee opening statements, questions
for nominees from each board, nominee
[5:07] closing statements, deliberations,
voting, an optional statement by the
[5:12] selected nominee, and finally, closing
statements. In a few moments, Chair
[5:17] Roberts will open the meeting for public
comment. Members of the public may
[5:20] comment for up to one minute each. As
Chair Roberts has requested, those who
[5:25] wish to speak to register advance, I
will use the list of registries to
[5:28] announce the next speaker. Once public
comment has concluded, the nominees will
[5:32] be invited to make opening statements.
Each nominee shall have an opportunity
[5:36] to make a two-minute opening statement.
The nominees will be called upon in
[5:40] alphabetical order of last name.
Dreisen, Grant, Elfridge.
[5:45] Once opening statements are complete,
Chair Roberts may call a brief recess as
[5:49] needed. We then will move to the
question and answer portion of the
[5:52] meeting. Each county's board may ask up
to two questions. The order of the
[5:57] questions will be Wasco County first,
then Hood River, then Multma, and
[6:03] finally Clackamus. After each board
question, all nominees will have two
[6:08] minutes to answer. I will rotate the
nominees speaking order for each board
[6:11] question. As a reminder to the public,
this is not a public hearing, so no
[6:16] testimony will be received during or
after the Q&A portion.
[6:20] Once the Q&A portion of the meeting is
complete, each candidate will be called
[6:23] upon to provide a one-minute closing
statement in reverse order from the
[6:27] opening statements. I will keep time for
all speaking during this meeting. Chair
[6:32] Roberts may again call a brief recess
after Q&A as needed. Following that, we
[6:37] will begin deliberations. All
commissioners will have a chance to
[6:40] comment during deliberations.
After commissioner comments, Chair
[6:44] Roberts will call for a vote. The votes
were made in alphabetical order ending
[6:48] with the four chairs. Only commissioners
who are present may cast votes. No
[6:53] proxies are allowed. If a commissioner
is absent, their vote is recorded as
[6:58] zero and that county loses the ability
to use that commissioner's votes. As
[7:03] provided by the secretary of state,
commissioner's votes are weighted to
[7:06] reflect the share of voters in Senate
District 26 living within each county.
[7:11] Wasco County Commissioners will each
have five votes. Hood River County
[7:15] Commissioners will each have 3.4 votes.
Multma County Commissioners will each
[7:21] have 1.8 votes. And Clacamus County
Commissioners will each have 13.8 votes.
[7:27] Because this process is governed by a
weighted formula and is not the usual
[7:32] one vote per one commissioner system,
staff will show the voting matrix in
[7:36] real time for clarity and transparency
during the vote. As a reminder, state
[7:41] law requires a nominee to receive only a
plurality to be appointed. This means
[7:46] the nominee who gets the most votes,
even if not a majority of all votes,
[7:50] will be appointed. If two or more
candidates are tied in votes, Chair
[7:54] Roberts will call for additional
deliberations and votes as needed until
[7:58] a nominee is selected. That concludes my
overview of the meeting. Mr. Chair, may
[8:03] we begin with public comment?
>> Okay. Just uh before we begin a public
[8:08] comment, I just want to thank those who
submitted written comments and that we
[8:14] appreciate all the public participation.
And since we are having a lot to
[8:18] accomplish today, uh let's just aim uh
comments that take no more than 30
[8:23] minutes total. So, clerk, uh could you
go ahead and uh begin the moderation?
[8:30] » Thank you very much, Chair.
Please hold while I pull up the most
[8:35] recent list of those who pre-registered
to ensure fairness.
[8:40] As a reminder for everyone who wishes to
speak, I am using the list of those who
[8:45] pre-registered. I will announce one name
who will have one minute and afterwards
[8:50] I will announce the person who will
follow them so that they may begin to
[8:54] prepare while the first person is
speaking.
[8:58] First,
I see Adam Marl. Adam Marl, if you are
[9:04] present and still wish to speak, I ask
you to please raise your hand. And this
[9:08] is a reminder to everyone that you will
have one minute.
[9:20] Mr. Marl, I do not see your hand, so
I'll move down the list. Akimi Norish.
[9:25] Akimi Norish, please raise your hand if
you wish to speak still.
[9:39] I'll continue to move on. Alex Blosser,
Mr. Alex Blosser, if you wish to speak,
[9:43] please raise your hand.
[9:52] Seeing no hands, I'll move on. Miss
Allison Williams. Allison Williams, if
[9:56] you wish to speak, please raise your
hand.
[10:02] Moving on. Andrea Moore. Andrea Moore,
if you still wish to speak, please raise
[10:07] your hand.
[10:14] Seeing none, Angela Peterson. Angela
Peterson, if you wish to speak, please
[10:18] raise your hand.
[10:25] Seeing no hand, I'll move on. Anne
Walker, please raise your hand if you
[10:28] wish to speak. Annne Walker,
[10:35] seeing no hand. Ashley Graph. Ashley
Graph, please raise your hand if you
[10:39] wish to speak.
[10:45] Just a reminder to our audience, if you
are attending and you indicated in your
[10:49] pre-registration you wish to speak, I'm
using this list to call your name. If
[10:52] you still would like to speak during
this meeting, this is your opportunity
[10:55] to please raise your hand and I will
call on you. Moving on, Ashley Kunzie.
[10:59] Ashley Kunzie, if you'd still like to
speak, please raise your hand.
[11:06] Moving on, Audrey Tran. Audrey TR,
please raise your hand.
[11:14] Moving on, Bradley Cross. Bradley Cross.
[11:23] Moving on, Brendan Finn.
[11:27] Brendan Finn.
Moving on, Brian BBE. Ryan BBE.
[11:39] Moving on. Bryce Dole. Bryce Dole.
[11:51] Mr. Chair, Commissioner Vince Jones
Dixon had his hand raised. I'm not sure,
[11:56] Commissioner, if that was a question or
a mistake.
[12:00] » It's just a comment. I think most of all
of my staff, you mentioned their names.
[12:04] So, I think all of our staff might have
um when they filled out the application
[12:09] that they want to um they might have
clicked the the button to provide
[12:13] provide comment. It might be easier to
do it on the reverse like have folks
[12:17] that want to provide public testimony
just raise their hand now. Um or you can
[12:21] just read through the list.
[12:28] » Thank you, Commissioner. Uh Mr. chair.
It's possible that uh those who have
[12:32] signed up to speak may have either
unintentionally checked the box that
[12:36] they wish to speak or have changed their
mind. Would you like me to continue
[12:40] reading the lists of those who have
pre-registered or would you like to
[12:44] change to a hand system as Commissioner
Jones Dixon has suggested?
[12:48] » Yes. Why don't we go ahead and uh switch
to raise your hand?
[12:54] » Thank you, Mr. Chair. If you're
attending this meeting, regardless
[12:56] whether you pre-registered and wish to
speak, please raise your hand. I will
[13:01] call on you in the order that I see.
[13:08] First up, I see Lori Kimmel. Lori
Kimmel. I'll meet you. Second will be
[13:14] Thomas Busy. Lori Kimmel, then Thomas
Busy. A reminder that you each will have
[13:19] one minute. Please begin your comments
by introducing yourself with your name
[13:22] and your area of residence.
[13:29] My name is Master Sergeant Lori Kimmel,
South Clackamus County.
[13:36] I wish to address uh you county
commissioners because I am a veteran and
[13:42] Christine Drezen has done so much for
the veterans. Just recently, she
[13:48] introduced a house resolution
for um we had it was for honoring
[13:56] Vietnam vets who were killed in action
in Clackamus County. There were 18 names
[14:03] and I serve on a veterans advisory
committee. We went to uh Representative
[14:10] Drezen's office and we went and uh
crafted a house resolution which uh
[14:18] Senator Bonham carried in the uh Senate
and it was passed uh overwhelmingly.
[14:25] And um as a returning veteran from post
911,
[14:31] we do not have a strong enough lobby in
the Oregon legislature. Now, Christine
[14:38] Drezen has uh done a great job of
>> Miss Kimmel, that is one minute.
[14:44] » Okay. Uh let me sum this up. She is our
strong lobby in the Oregon House. we
[14:50] need it in the Oregon Senate. And as a
freshman, she did a wonderful job in uh
[14:57] sponsoring a bill when she was a
freshman
[15:01] way back, I believe it was 2018 for
House Bill 2203-1
[15:05] for a statewide veterans treatment
court. But she is the voice that we need
[15:11] in the Oregon Senate. Thank
>> Thank you, Miss Kimmel. Next, Thomas
[15:16] Busy. Thomas Busy, I'll unmute you and
you'll have one minute.
[15:25] » Uh, thank you very much. Uh, I don't
know why you can't see my video. Uh, I
[15:31] am a Multma resident and I am the
elected treasurer of the Libertarian
[15:35] Party of Oregon. I'm hoping that we can
use this question and answer session to
[15:41] uh put the candidates on record about
issues that are important to us because
[15:46] I only have one minute. I'm going to
bring up one specific issue which I hope
[15:49] a commissioner will ask uh which is the
urgent and desperate need for reform of
[15:56] professional and occupational licensing
in Oregon. The Institute of Justice has
[16:01] ranked Oregon dead last with a Dminus
grade in terms of professional lensure.
[16:06] And as a Moltnoma resident, I would say
to my Multma commissioners,
[16:10] this is the problem with our preschool
program because the oppressive
[16:15] occupational lensure regime uh for
preschool teachers in the state of
[16:20] Oregon where multma where where Oregon
ranks dead last. So, if I would urge the
[16:27] candidates to put on the record if they
will put occupational lensure uh reform
[16:33] on their legislative agenda. Many
thanks.
[16:38] » Thank you, Mr. Busy. Next, Michael
Abrams. Michael Abrams. And this is a
[16:44] reminder if you are attending this
meeting, regardless whether you
[16:47] pre-registered as a member of the public
and wish to speak to please raise your
[16:51] hand. Mr. Abrams, go ahead, please.
Thank you. Michael Abrams, Multma County
[16:58] Commissioners on behalf of the American
Civil Liberties Union of Oregon. My name
[17:01] is Michael Abrams. My pronouns are they,
them, and I serve as policy counsel. The
[17:06] ACLU of Oregon is a nonpartisan,
nonprofit organization dedicated to
[17:09] defending and advancing democracy, civil
liberties, and civil rights with more
[17:13] than 40,000 members and donor supporters
statewide. Oregonians deserve leaders
[17:17] who will defend our constitutional
rights, our sovereignty as a state, and
[17:21] the safety of our communities, not bend
to political intimidation. Right now,
[17:25] that means a senator who will
unequivocally oppose the federalization
[17:28] of National Guard troops for deployment
to Portland or elsewhere in Oregon, and
[17:32] who will stand firm against the Trump
administration's efforts to create a
[17:35] national police force through
militarized federal agents or the
[17:38] military, which threatens the rights of
all. The administration and its allies
[17:42] may hope to divide us, but they
underestimate the state. We will
[17:45] continue to expose dishonesty and abuses
of power and we will keep showing up for
[17:49] one another peacefully with courage and
resolve. Our representatives must do the
[17:53] same. We ask that all elected leaders
and all candidates be stalwart in their
[17:57] positions that they will protect
Oregon's constitutional right to local
[18:00] self-governance by opposing any and all
forms of federal abuse of power. Thank
[18:04] you.
>> Thank you very much.
[18:10] This is a final call. If you are
attending this meeting and wish to
[18:14] comment, regardless whether you
registered in advance, do please raise
[18:18] your hand and I will call on you in the
order that I see.
[18:33] » Mr. Chair, I see no other members of the
public raising their hand to wish to
[18:36] speak.
>> Thank you, Mr. Drai. And thank you to
[18:41] all the members of the public who spoke
or wrote in today. And want to turn to
[18:45] our clerk as to what's next.
>> Mr. Chair, next is opening statements
[18:50] from the nominees. Nominees, this is a
reminder that you each have two minutes
[18:54] for your statement. As was explained,
the order for opening statements will be
[18:59] in alphabetical order by last name and
for concluding statements will be in
[19:03] reverse order. So to begin,
Representative Drezen, you will have two
[19:07] minutes.
[19:10] Uh thank you. Thank you so much for
having me here today. It is a privilege
[19:15] to be with all of you. Again, my name is
Christine Drezen and I am the state
[19:19] representative for House District 51 and
I'm honored to be a nominee to fill the
[19:23] vacancy left by the resignation of
Senator Daniel Bonham. I first stepped
[19:28] into the Capitol building uh all the way
back in 1995 as a young staffer. I uh
[19:34] worked in the House Majority Office at
the time and rose to chief of staff for
[19:37] the majority leader and then the speaker
of the house. That was my first
[19:40] opportunity to really see the good that
can come from public service inside our
[19:45] state capital. I also saw opportunities
where our elected leaders fell short and
[19:50] failed to really serve the full needs of
Oregonians across our state. Uh it left
[19:54] an indelible mark on me and I'm deeply
committed to continuing that work. I had
[19:58] the privilege of returning to the
legislature in elected capacity in 2018
[20:03] uh where I served as Republican leader
always with a commitment to improving
[20:07] the lives of Oregonians and standing up
for the future of our state on behalf of
[20:12] families and businesses statewide. I am
deeply grateful to have the endorsement
[20:16] of Senator Daniel Bonham uh for this
position to complete his term through
[20:20] this appointment process. and I
recognize that he's got very big shoes
[20:24] to fill. And uh this next year, it would
be a privilege to work on behalf of
[20:30] Senate District 26 and continue to
tackle the problems that face our state.
[20:35] Whether or not that's youth
homelessness, uh wildfire response,
[20:38] increasing agency accountability, or
tackling the high costs which burden
[20:42] Oregon families, it would be a privilege
to represent this Senate District in the
[20:47] state legislature, and I look forward to
our conversation today. Thank you so
[20:50] much.
Thank you very much. Mr. Grant, you are
[20:56] next.
[21:00] » All right. Thank you everybody. Uh good
afternoon. My name is John Grant. Uh I'm
[21:06] deeply honored to be considered uh for
the appointment to Senate District 26.
[21:12] Um, I have raised my family here in in
Mads within Oregon and I uh have came to
[21:24] uh coach quite a few teams um and youth
teams and this year was much more
[21:31] important uh where I taught a a group of
kids perseverance and I think
[21:39] perseverance is extremely important when
it comes to uh filling the roles of
[21:44] Senate District 26. Um I'm I'm no
stranger to perseverance uh growing up.
[21:50] Um just when I was 2 months old, uh my
father passed and I uh grew up being,
[21:57] you know, kind of a troubled youth and
uh luckily the military straightened me
[22:03] out and I continued on in leadership, in
management, and in sales. Um, and it was
[22:12] through my my friend Daniel Bonham who
uh was my first boss when I came to the
[22:19] Dallas. Um, and he got me into uh being
a PCP for the Wasco County Republicans.
[22:27] Um, I eventually became the vice chair
and then became the chairman and I've
[22:34] been serving in this capacity for the
last seven years. Um, I have ran on
[22:40] boards for the school budget committee
as well as being a planning
[22:44] commissioner. Uh, I've worked with the
OP and I have also um been worked with
[22:52] the the Chamber of Commerce as on the
board of directors. Um, so I've
[22:58] continued my leadership and I hope to
continue that in Salem. Thank you so
[23:03] much.
[23:08] Thank you very much. And finally,
Representative Helfridge, please go
[23:12] ahead.
>> Hey, good afternoon everybody. For those
[23:14] who don't know me, I think I've talked
to just about everybody here. My name is
[23:17] Jeff Elrich, state representative for
House District 52. Um, I entered uh into
[23:21] politics actually when I was a police
officer with the city of Portland and
[23:24] small community cascade locks.
Eventually, that led to me being coming
[23:28] in the state representative and I got to
be the state representative. Daniel
[23:32] Bonham and I both came in to the state
legislature. Um, at the same time in
[23:35] 2017, I lost my race, but I came back
and I came back uh in 23. And so with
[23:41] that, it's a true honor. He was my
roommate. Uh, he's done a great job as
[23:45] senator and I would love to be able to
fulfill his role his rest of his term.
[23:50] He's done a great job. But for me, um,
there's a lot of politicians who do the
[23:55] work because they want the title. They
get caught up with the attention, the
[23:58] headlines, uh, all while nothing really
changes. That's really not me. Politics
[24:04] today seems to be about who gets the
credit, who gets the check, who gets the
[24:08] power, instead of who actually gets to
get helped. I'm not interested in
[24:12] playing that game. What I'm interested
in is problem solving. As a problem
[24:17] solver, um during my time as House
Republican leader, I led the charge on
[24:22] recriminalizing drugs and started fixing
Measure 110's failures. We took steps
[24:26] that were real to get money out of
politics, but also
[24:31] um be able to get things done. And none
of these things were what would be
[24:35] considered my perfect solution to these
problems, but they were progress. And
[24:39] that's how real change starts. You know,
I've seen I think you guys have seen
[24:43] where watching in Salem has turned into
a place where both parties care about
[24:47] more about making headlines and making a
difference. I am a Republican, but I
[24:52] don't see Democrats as being the enemy.
I see the enemy as the political culture
[24:55] that makes compromise
impossible and rewards people for
[25:00] playing politics instead of doing their
jobs as a public servants. I spent over
[25:04] 30 years in law enforcement as an Air
Force veteran, a police officer at the
[25:07] city of Portland for 25 and a half years
and from county for about six months and
[25:12] then from there I became a legislator.
My career has been based upon results,
[25:16] accountability, not ideology.
In law enforcement, there's a
[25:19] cornerstone of leadership, the
principles, which care, which is I
[25:22] cares, integrity, compassion,
accountability, respect, and excellence.
[25:25] I'm not running for this seat to be a
stepping stone to somewhere else. I'm
[25:28] doing it because I care. Proven
leadership. That's what it's meant to
[25:30] me. Thank you for your opportunity for
this.
[25:36] » Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. That
concludes the statements from all
[25:40] nominees.
>> Cler, let's now proceed with the board
[25:44] questions for the nominees.
>> Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, I will
[25:49] call on each county to ask their
questions. As I previously stated, each
[25:52] county will have a total of up to two
questions. After each question from a
[25:57] board, all three nominees will have up
to two minutes to respond. Wasco County
[26:03] will begin. Wasco County, please proceed
with your first question.
[26:07] » All right. Thank you.
So the question is with the economy in
[26:11] both the federal and Oregon starting to
falter, what can Oregon do to ensure a
[26:16] strong economic future? And what can you
do or will you do specifically in this
[26:21] role to ensure a strong economy for
Oregon?
[26:29] » First to rotate the order. Mr. Grant,
please answer first. And reminder, each
[26:35] nominee, you'll have two minutes.
All right. Uh, thank you, Commissioner
[26:41] Higgy, for that question. Um, you know,
I really believe in uh less taxation. I
[26:49] I believe, you know, the deregulation.
Um, for for businesses in a a healthy
[26:58] manner. um just making sure that
businesses can
[27:03] be able to get everything that they they
need um without the cost um that
[27:10] sometimes government can can uh imply on
them. So uh that would be um some of
[27:21] the ideas that I would I would have
going forward on that.
[27:28] Thank you very much. Next, Helfridge,
your turn to answer.
[27:34] » You know, it's not uh really a secret
that we've become unbus friendly with
[27:40] the amount of taxes that have gone on,
the amount whether it's the CAT tax or
[27:44] building homes. When we look at jobs
leaving our state, when Intel leaves
[27:48] with 2,400 jobs that leave, it's just
not Intel across the the nation or
[27:52] world. It's because it's unaffordable.
the housing is not affordable. The
[27:57] regulations aren't uh being
businessfriendly and we have to dial
[28:01] that back. We have to be smart about how
we build and we plan, but we can't keep
[28:06] asking businesses to continue to take be
the big burden of paying the taxes all
[28:11] the time. The problem is is we've had
numerous logging mills uh leave the
[28:15] state. We've had businesses leave,
relocate because of the tax structure
[28:19] that we have. We have to look at this.
We have to get back to the basics of
[28:23] what is the function of government, how
do we provide those services, and how
[28:26] does that money get spent appropriately.
[28:32] » Thank you. And finally, Drezen, your
turn to answer Wasco County's first
[28:36] question.
>> Yeah, thank you for this. I actually
[28:39] think that this is one of the most uh
critical issues facing legislators right
[28:45] now in our state. I think we are
absolutely in a position right now where
[28:51] we are hemorrhaging jobs and we feel it
in our communities, our families feel
[28:56] it, but here very soon our local
governments and our state government are
[29:00] going to feel it. And so if we want to
be a part of turning our economy around,
[29:06] we've got to listen to business. We've
got to listen to people that create
[29:09] jobs. And when they tell us that they
would love to see a moratorium on new
[29:13] rulemaking and new regulations, we need
to do our best to listen to that. We're
[29:18] in a position right now where public
policy makers at all all levels have a
[29:23] role to play in turning our economy
around in strengthening the economic
[29:27] viability of our state. We want to be a
welcoming place for business. We want to
[29:31] be a welcoming place for families to
come knowing that they can find a job,
[29:35] that their kids can get a good
education, that they can build a life
[29:37] here. And I believe that it is uh it is
it is important that every single one of
[29:44] us take responsibility for that. But
certainly at a state legislative uh uh
[29:48] in that lane uh we're the number one
problem for adding regulations to
[29:53] businesses and harming our economy and
making things more difficult for people
[29:56] to be able to to grow a business here.
And so the future is in our hands here.
[30:02] We can turn this thing around. We
absolutely legislatively can pause the
[30:07] heavy-handed rulemaking. we can help
businesses and work with them and see
[30:10] how we can begin to partner with them in
these tough times. And I believe as
[30:15] state state legislators, that's our job
and that we absolutely can do that.
[30:23] » Thank you very much. That concludes
Wasco County's first question. Wasco
[30:27] County, if you wish to ask a second
question, please ask it now.
[30:31] » All right. Our second question is with
the recent transportation bill passing
[30:35] in the last session, it included
significant funds for cities and
[30:40] counties for roads. So the conservative
side of the political spectrum is
[30:44] tending to support repealing this
measure. And if that measure is
[30:49] repealed, how do you suggest cities and
county replace the funding that came
[30:53] through that that bill?
>> Thank you very much. Continuing with our
[30:58] rotation of the nominee order, Mr. Mr.
Hridge, please answer first.
[31:06] » Thanks. Uh, transportation has been a
big issue. Um, it's been uh a huge
[31:10] thing, not just during long session, but
short of the special session. And
[31:14] Commissioner Hegy, you're exactly right.
How do we pay for those services? How
[31:17] does ODOT consider um how do we get the
money? ODOT's had record revenue coming
[31:22] in. We had bills as Republicans in the
House. How to keep them afloat? how to
[31:27] move it forward, whether it's using
emergency funding and or using um just
[31:32] freezing the the existing services. At
this point, I think we still have to
[31:35] look at that. Uh I know there's a tax
initiative that's been put or the
[31:39] petition initiative to stop that. We'll
see how that plays out. Once that does
[31:42] play out, then we have to come back to
the drawing board and fix it. But I
[31:45] think there's there's plenty of
opportunities within the agency itself
[31:49] to make the cuts that we need to have to
get you guys the counties and cities the
[31:53] money that they need to continue working
towards uh maintaining the road
[31:56] structure and that what you need what
you guys will need for future for the
[32:00] next bianium.
[32:04] » Thank you very much. Next, Miss Disen,
go ahead please.
[32:07] » Uh thank you and thank you commissioner
for that question. It's interesting this
[32:11] last legislative session, um, the
conversations that we perpetually had
[32:15] around transportation focused on the
state. I know you guys were keyed into
[32:20] those conversations. You guys were
active lobbyists in the in the process
[32:23] with us, coming into our offices,
talking to us about that. And we kept
[32:27] having conversations about uh the
Department of Transportation and how
[32:31] ODOT was struggling to make ends meet.
And what we weren't talking about as
[32:35] much in those public conversations was
the very good work being done by cities
[32:39] and counties and the fact that you guys
are not the ones uh that are on the
[32:45] chopping block for bloat and bureaucracy
and mismanagement of funds. That was
[32:49] that was never leveled at cities and
counties. Cities and counties were
[32:52] always partners in maintaining miles and
miles and miles of roads across our
[32:56] state and that was essential work. Um
but as policy makers in Salem, uh we had
[33:02] in front of us a proposal which would
just simply have sustained the status
[33:05] quo for the Department of
Transportation, an agency that really
[33:08] really needed accountability and really
needed to get back to the drawing board
[33:12] and say, "What are our core functions
and what are we doing that doesn't have
[33:16] to be done and how can we do this
differently to respond to the fact that
[33:20] Oregon families can't afford these cost
increases right now?" So from my
[33:24] perspective, I always supported the the
need to be able to balance the budget
[33:28] for ODOT without raising taxes and then
when we go to raise taxes, it would
[33:32] actually be for new lanes, expanded
systems, and to benefit Oregonians
[33:38] themselves. So, I absolutely uh believe
that cities and counties always have the
[33:43] opportunity to be able to go and
increase their own taxes as well, but
[33:48] certainly the partnership with the state
is a critical and long-standing
[33:51] tradition that must be maintained.
[33:56] » Thank you. And finally, Mr. Grant, go
ahead, please.
[34:01] » Thank you. Um, I think this is
definitely a budget question. um you
[34:07] know, where do we go as far as
continuing to spend on a state level and
[34:14] uh when we run out of money, we just
continue to tax our uh our people of
[34:20] Oregon. So, um I think that there are uh
budget budgets that can be drawn up to
[34:29] be able to bring funds in for our our
roads for our, you know, city and
[34:34] counties and uh our state. So, um you
know, I I don't think it's a I don't
[34:41] think we have to continue to to tax
people. Um,
[34:46] you know, we did have the House and the
Senate from the Republican party. um
[34:51] fight and come up with alternatives to
this uh measure that they came out with.
[34:59] Thank you.
[35:02] » Thank you very much. That concludes the
two questions for Wasco County. We'll
[35:06] now move to Hood River. Hood River
County, please proceed with your first
[35:09] question.
[35:14] » Thank you.
Since you are in the minority party, in
[35:18] what ways have you demonstrated or would
you demonstrate the ability to work with
[35:23] the majority to advance the needs of our
district?
[35:30] » Thank you. Continue with our candidate
rotation. Miss Drezen, please answer
[35:35] first.
>> Thank you. Um, and thank you for that
[35:38] question. You know, uh, people talk
quite a bit about bipartisanship in the
[35:42] state legislature, and to your point,
being in the minority party, the only
[35:46] way we get anything done is by being
bipartisan. And it has been a great uh,
[35:52] privilege of mine to be able to identify
issues where we can work across the
[35:56] aisle and where we do have shared goals
and um, and that we absolutely can uh,
[36:03] collaborate to get some of those things
done. Uh, one of the priorities for me
[36:07] through the years has always been youth
homelessness and addressing youth
[36:10] homelessness. I passed legislation in my
freshman term um that would expand
[36:15] access to programming in the rural parts
of my legislative district and then move
[36:20] forward in uh collaboration with the
majority leader while I was serving as
[36:24] the minority leader and we jointly
passed legislation to expand that
[36:28] programming statewide. And so I am very
proud of the multiple opportunities that
[36:33] we have seen to work together. I will
always put my foot down when there is uh
[36:37] overreach from single party control and
it harms Oregonians, but there are lots
[36:42] and lots of issues that are in fact not
partisan and that we can find ways to
[36:46] reach across the aisle. Um throughout
the period where we were addressing
[36:50] COVID in particular, uh we had five
special sessions that were very
[36:54] bipartisan in response to the needs of
Oregonians at that time. and we continue
[36:58] to find opportunities to work together.
That will always be the gold standard.
[37:02] We're Oregonians and we're Oregonians
first. And while we enter this process
[37:07] under uh under a party banner, our work
is to do our absolute best to serve the
[37:12] needs of Oregonians regardless of party.
And that's certainly the case in
[37:16] legislative service. It's not about
serving Republicans. It's about serving
[37:20] our constituents and they are our shared
constituents. And I'm grateful for that.
[37:24] and I would look forward to additional
opportunities to work together to that
[37:27] end.
[37:30] » Thank you. Next, Mr. Grant, go ahead,
please.
[37:35] » Thank you for that question. Um, I
believe wholeheartedly that we're all
[37:40] Oregonians. Um, you know, I I think
fundamentally that we all want the same
[37:45] things for our state. You know, we want
a great education system. We want a
[37:50] thriving economy. Uh, we want affordable
housing.
[37:54] um you know, we want low crime rates,
you know, and the list continues on, um
[37:59] of the same goals. Um you know, some of
the differences come between how we get
[38:05] there and uh I've, you know, on a
community level. I've worked well with u
[38:12] a lot of people across the aisle um you
know when it's nonpartisan and you know
[38:19] I can continue to do that because I'm a
relationship builder and that comes with
[38:25] a bunch of different backgrounds people
from um different parties and uh you
[38:32] know from different parts of the country
from other countries so um I'm I'm a
[38:37] strong advocate for teamwork to get the
ultimate goal of have having a thriving
[38:45] organ. Thank you.
>> Thank you very much. And finally, Mr.
[38:51] Hellfridge, go ahead, please.
>> Thanks for the question. Uh, I think
[38:55] most recently for me to show that I can
work bipartisan is the measure 110
[38:58] reforms that we did. We recriminalized
hard drugs. But more importantly, as a
[39:02] police officer, when I showed up to
somebody's door, it was about solving
[39:06] problems. And it was about how do we get
to yes, not always, but how do how can
[39:11] we get to a yes here? And we all have
different ways of going about doing our
[39:15] business, but it's about relationships.
And in the House, you have to have good
[39:20] relationships with everybody. Uh you may
not like some of the politics sometimes,
[39:24] but you have to have those good
relationships. And then the Senate
[39:26] provides the opportunity to be expand
those relationships, but you're there
[39:29] longer to sit down there and get good
work done over the over a couple of
[39:32] sessions. So for me and how I've worked
across to get the to get uh things done
[39:37] for the district is because I've been
bipartisan. I've been able to bring home
[39:43] $105 million for the Hood River Bridge
because that was important and I knew
[39:48] how to be in that building and get
relationship and get a bill passed. Also
[39:53] part of that was is part of the bonding
that was going to happen with that bill
[39:57] was the ability they were going to bond
all that bill in one and they were going
[40:01] to take the whole 105 million which
would have taken out lottery bonds would
[40:04] have maxed them out. I recognized that
worked with the stakeholders and said
[40:08] how much money do we need now to work
over a couple of bianiums to get the
[40:12] money that's needed for the bridge so
you can spend it as you need it. So, we
[40:16] did that, but that what that did was
offered other opportunities for other
[40:19] legislators to bring home project money
for their projects at home. And so, it's
[40:23] just not bipartisan work within um the
each side of your political spectrum.
[40:28] It's about actually working with
together throughout the whole process.
[40:30] And it's about, as we said, it's about
people, not party. And that's how we
[40:33] have to look at look and serve our
constituents. It's about how do we do
[40:37] best for them and how do we get the best
results for them.
[40:43] » Thank you, Mr. Albridge.
Wood River County, if you have a second
[40:47] question for the candidates, please
proceed.
[40:50] » Given recent rumors, how can you allay
our fears that you won't have time to
[40:56] serve the residents of this district
rather than focusing on running for
[41:00] statewide office?
>> Thank you very much, chair. You are
[41:05] continuing with our nominee rotation for
answers. Mr. Grant, please answer first.
[41:10] » I'm I'm sorry I didn't get the first
part of that question. If we could
[41:14] repeat that one more time.
>> The question is um really specific to
[41:20] one of you.
Um given the recent rumors, how can you
[41:25] allay our fears that you won't have time
to serve the residents of this district
[41:30] because you're focusing on running for
statewide office?
[41:35] » Oh, well, um thank you for that
question. I uh do not plan on running
[41:42] for statewide office. So, you will have
my full time and attention to Senate
[41:47] Districts 26. Um
and
[41:52] » thank you.
>> Thank
[41:55] you, Mr. Grant. Next, Mr. Half, go
ahead, please.
[42:00] » Thanks for the question. I have never
sought I never thought in my growing up
[42:06] as a kid I would end up in politics, let
alone be the House Republican leader for
[42:11] that time and then make the impact that
I did. And the Senate for me is the end
[42:15] point for my political career. I don't
plan on seeking higher office. I don't
[42:19] want to go to DC. My wife and I have
talked about those things. anything else
[42:22] other than where I'm at. My kids are 11
and 13 and I want to be around to see
[42:27] what they do and all the great things
and experience them and about if
[42:31] guarantee, you know, I'm I have filed
for the Senate seat. I can plan on
[42:36] running for the Senate seat, but also
it's at least four years if not a second
[42:40] term on top of that. Eight years gets me
to where my kids are out just getting
[42:43] out of the house and I get to go follow
them around, chase them around and watch
[42:46] watch them do their sports and the great
things that their kids are going to do
[42:49] and follow them around. So that's my
commitment. I'm not going to seek any
[42:51] higher office than being in being a
state senator.
[42:57] » Thank you, Mr. Hellfridge. Finally, Miss
Drezen, please.
[43:01] » Thank you. So, I uh appreciate this
conversation and I certainly appreciate
[43:05] the question. You know, I am always
somebody that is going to give my
[43:10] absolute all and my absolute best to
whatever I undertake. And as I've had
[43:14] the privilege and the opportunity to
serve in the state legislature,
[43:18] um I have not I have not ever backed
down from a challenge. And I I believe
[43:24] that this Senate seat in particular has
very big shoes to fill um from Senator
[43:28] Bonham. And I think that he with his
endorsement of me and knew that I would
[43:34] give it my all, that I would give it my
best to serve this district. And had he
[43:38] completed his term, there's no doubt
that Senator Bonham also might have been
[43:43] looking at running for some other office
since he could not run for reelection.
[43:47] Um, unfortunately, he was not able to
run for re-election to this seat. And
[43:51] so, this Senate district was going to
have an open seat and an open contest
[43:55] under any and all circumstances.
So, I can tell you, I've talked to each
[44:00] one of you and I've really appreciated
those conversations. I am committed to
[44:05] uh to doing my absolute best to serve
this district uh throughout the
[44:09] remainder of Senator Bonham's term and I
am committed to um doing right by his
[44:14] endorsement and and serving this
district to the best of my abilities.
[44:18] Just the fact that you would uh consider
that I would be the person I'm assuming
[44:23] that it was directed to me that might
consider statewide office. Um, for me
[44:27] that is just a reflection of the fact
that I am always determined to do more
[44:31] than everyone else that everybody else
sometimes is willing to do to serve the
[44:36] greater good for the state of Oregon.
Um, but that begins with this district.
[44:39] Um, I would not have accepted Senator
Bonham's endorsement and been been
[44:43] willing to take on the responsibility
that he so dearly loved to to represent
[44:47] this Senate seat if I were not
completely committed to doing my best uh
[44:51] by the constituents in Senate District
26.
[44:56] Thank you very much. That concludes Hood
River County's two questions. Next,
[45:01] Multma County, please answer your f ask
your first question.
[45:05] » Yeah, great. Thank you. Thank you,
Andrew. Good afternoon again.
[45:08] Commissioner Jones Dixon here. Um I'm
going to build this is another
[45:11] transportation question. Um but with a
final point on, you know, SD26.
[45:16] Um the portions of Senate District 26 in
East Multma County have roads that are
[45:20] crumbling and a lack of transit
services. This impacts our our our a
[45:25] economy and our ability to promote agro
tourism. While the legislature took
[45:31] action on a short-term fix to
transportation funding, it it will not
[45:34] address the systemic issue which relies
on a declining revenue source. Besides
[45:39] doing more with less and uh
disinvestment in existing programs like
[45:43] public transportation, what is your
long-term vision for providing the
[45:47] revenue needed to build a transportation
system needed for our economy to thrive?
[45:53] Thank you, Commissioner. Continuing with
our nominee rotation scheme, Mr.
[45:57] Helridge, please answer first.
>> Uh, thank you, uh, Commissioner Dixon.
[46:01] Thank you. I know we were at the tour
that was at, uh, a few year, I guess it
[46:05] was last year or so when you and I were
out there looking at those roads,
[46:09] looking at the crumbling, looking
looking at the bridges. You know, I'm
[46:11] very keenly aware what's going on in
that district that also that part of
[46:14] that district is, you know, we talk
about agurism.
[46:19] I've always had the philosophy and
leadership. I'm not the if I'm the
[46:22] smartest one in the room, I'm in the
wrong room. And it's going to take a
[46:24] collective group of people to get
together to figure out how we're going
[46:28] to be able to fund this fund these
resources or fund these projects that
[46:31] need with the resources with the limited
dollars that we have, but also you have
[46:36] a lot of things going on out there in
East Point County when it comes to the
[46:39] water project that Portland's done and
tearing up those roads and who's going
[46:42] to be accountable for what's going on
out there with their water treatment
[46:45] project. Those are questions that we
have to sit down and have a conversation
[46:50] about. get everybody in the room and
say, "How are we going to slice this
[46:53] up?" Because if we don't have good
roads, people aren't going to want to be
[46:56] out there. If these roads cause problems
and cause accidents and even death at
[47:00] some points because of these things,
that's a problem. And I'm going to tell
[47:04] you right now, I don't have the answers,
but I'm willing to sit at the table and
[47:06] have that conversation and figure it
out. Being at being on the
[47:09] transportation committee, those are some
big heavy asks and big heavy lifts that
[47:12] we're trying to figure out. But it's
engaging local leadership like yourself
[47:16] at the city and county levels to get
this done. And so that's that's that's
[47:20] my commitment to make sure we can move
this forward to get the roads out there
[47:23] in East Mult County. Well, east mult
county west of me out there in Corbett
[47:28] in those areas like that that are really
rural that need the help.
[47:31] » Thank you, Representative.
[47:35] » Thank you. Next, Miss Brazen. Go ahead,
please.
[47:39] » Thank you. Thank you, Commissioner. Uh I
uh have been thinking a lot about this.
[47:44] Uh obviously when Republicans um and I
was the leader at that time um proposed
[47:50] an alternative to the $15 billion
transportation package, it was our
[47:55] intent to engage authentically in that
process and to say we understand the
[48:01] assignment here. We know how important
infrastructure is. We know how important
[48:04] transportation is and we recognize that
constituencies across the state use the
[48:10] transportation systems differently and
some areas are very dependent on transit
[48:15] and other areas need access to roads and
brid they use their roads and bridges
[48:20] and there's uh and there's actually a
little bit less of the population enga
[48:24] you know using their transit services
and so balancing out all those needs is
[48:29] actually always always the challenge and
that's really the important role that
[48:34] our local government partners play in
helping us better understand what on the
[48:38] ground needs are for our shared
constituents. But I would say this in
[48:42] particular about revenue sources moving
forward. I think we identified through
[48:46] this process, I think they gave us, you
know, it was just pages and pages and
[48:50] pages from the Department of
Transportation that they told us these
[48:53] are noncore functions that we engage in.
We're spending gas tax dollars on the
[48:58] following things that we don't view as
core to our mission. I think we have to
[49:02] balance these things out and so I think
that we can't assume that Oregonians can
[49:06] always afford more and I think that's a
premise I walk in with and you know
[49:10] there might be differences of opinions
on that but I think given the economy
[49:13] right now we could we could say what can
we do first that doesn't burden
[49:18] Oregonians and then second where else do
we need to go for that gap and when it
[49:23] comes to transit specifically I would
say that when we increased the funds in
[49:26] 2017 for transit and they instituted a
payroll tax what we saw was we saw
[49:31] transit districts not sharing that
burden with riders and they would make
[49:35] and they would be free rides instead of
instead of sharing those cost burdens
[49:39] they suddenly weren't charging anymore
for those rides and I think having that
[49:42] as a part of the conversation has to be
part of the solution here
[49:48] » thank you very much finally Mr. Grant,
go ahead, please.
[49:54] » Thank you for that question. Um, I uh
very familiar with the uh the East
[50:02] Multma County um roads and areas. That's
an area that I'm in on a regular basis
[50:10] uh for for my job. Um, you know, it's it
definitely would be a collective effort
[50:16] um coming from the local um
municipalities um and county and trying
[50:25] to be able to come up with some problem
solving efforts. Uh along with that um I
[50:31] don't want to sound redundant but I
think that accountability with budgets
[50:36] um is something necessary that we need
for for funding for these uh for
[50:42] transportation and you know for roads.
Um I think that Oregon as a whole we can
[50:49] we can do a little bit better. Thank
you.
[50:54] » Thank you. That concludes the answers to
Multma County's first question. Multma
[50:58] County, if you have a second question,
please go ahead.
[51:01] » Yeah, if we do, thank you. Thank you
again, Andrew, and thank you all for the
[51:04] responses. Um the final question for us
is in East Multma County specifically,
[51:09] we have um a lot of community members
that are on fixed um on fixed incomes.
[51:14] Um and they uh a lot of them are relying
on federal food access programs and
[51:19] healthcare benefits. Um, with the
current federal uh, legislation
[51:23] restricting and ending those benefits
for a lot of folks in our district and
[51:28] including in Senate District 26, what is
your plan as a state senator to ensure
[51:32] that no resident in Multma County, Hood
River County, Wasp County, or Clackmus
[51:38] County loses a losses healthcare and
food access benefits. Thank you.
[51:43] » Thank you, Commissioner. Continue with
our rotation. Miss Drazzen, please
[51:47] answer first.
Thank you uh thank you uh for that for
[51:53] that question. These are uh these are
times where the state has a
[51:57] responsibility to do uh what it can to
be more efficient with the resources
[52:02] that are available to us. I think part
of the challenges for why those numbers
[52:07] have been so stark as well is that the
state has in some of those programs
[52:11] massive error rates where they don't
actually check whether or not people are
[52:16] eligible which at the end of the day in
some cases means that people that might
[52:20] not be eligible for some of the some of
those services are taking those services
[52:24] from people that are actually needy and
actually are eligible for those
[52:27] services. Um, some of our review periods
are two years and we need to shift those
[52:31] review periods for eligibility back to 6
months. And those are things that we can
[52:36] do. And once we get our error rates down
into five and 6% instead of 16%, we'll
[52:42] actually um we'll actually see some of
those funds return as well. And so when
[52:46] you look at our state budget, that's
something that we are facing right now.
[52:49] And we're having those conversations
today about how the state can um can
[52:54] step up and be responsive to what's an
appropriate federal expectation that
[52:59] that the eligibility terms are met in
some of these programs and also for the
[53:03] people that are needy that the state
ensures that we actually are providing
[53:07] for our needy citizens across our state.
And so yeah, I'm in I'm I'm in that I'm
[53:12] in that with you to fight that fight and
make sure that folks get what they need.
[53:16] On the other side of it, I will insist
that the state uh just absolutely abide
[53:22] by the exact same eligibility standards
that they do across the rest of the
[53:25] nation and that we don't let the that
eligibility period lapse.
[53:33] » Thank you very much, Mr. Drezen. Next,
Mr. Grant, please proceed.
[53:38] » All right. Well, thank you for that uh
that question. Um, you know, it's uh
[53:44] definitely an
alarming situation to be in. Um, you
[53:49] know, we don't want to see people that
need benefits and and not be able to
[53:54] receive them. Um, you know, for as far
as something that I would be able to
[54:00] provide uh as an answer, um, you know,
simply put is without all the
[54:06] information, I wouldn't be able to give
a very good answer. And um you know
[54:11] without the education and and without
the um knowing what the state would be
[54:19] able to provide at this time I I
wouldn't be able to give you a a great
[54:23] answer for for this question. So my
apologies. Thank you.
[54:30] » Thank you Mr. Grant. And finally Mr.
Hellfridge please go ahead.
[54:34] You know, there's been a lot of
conversation, a lot of thought about
[54:37] this very uh question when it came to
the budget towards the end of the long
[54:41] session and the chairs uh the co-chairs
were very um concerned about budgets and
[54:48] we only have so much left in our
emergency fund and then how do you spend
[54:52] those dollars and then how do you create
the accountability portion of it? There
[54:56] is a answer to it but I don't know what
that is right now. Um, Representative
[55:01] Drezen, you know, spoke eloquently about
some of the processes that are there. We
[55:05] do know like OA has not done very well
with their accountability when they've
[55:09] lost hund00 million a couple years ago
and trying to figure out when they're
[55:12] paying out the dollars for measure 110
and the the services going out there.
[55:16] So, we really have to look and see where
that money's at, where the money is at
[55:21] under the couch cushions to get stuff
done. I don't have the answer to you.
[55:25] Again, I don't have that direct
knowledge of where we're at, but those
[55:29] are questions are going to be tough
questions to ask and the answers.
[55:32] They're going to be tough, even tougher
answers to figure out where what where
[55:35] our solutions are going to be going
from. But that is where we again get the
[55:39] right people in the room and having
those conversations and be having the
[55:42] internal fortitude to say yes or no to
these certain programs. But we don't
[55:46] want to leave anybody behind and we
don't want to sit there and watch people
[55:48] get kicked out of their homes or um not
be able to put food on the table. We
[55:53] have to adhere to what the standards are
across the nation.
[55:58] » Thank you, Mr. Hellfridge. That
concludes Multma Countyy's two
[56:01] questions. Finally, moving to Clackamus
County. Please proceed with your first
[56:05] question. Commissioners,
uh, Clackamus County Commissioner Ben
[56:09] West here. I'll be asking the first
question.
[56:12] Um, Clackamus County has adopted a
recovery oriented system of care and
[56:18] infrastructure for our substance use
treatment is still needed throughout
[56:22] Oregon and within our c and within our
counties. What are you willing to do as
[56:27] a senator to make sure serving services,
programming, and infrastructure can be
[56:32] elevated in our communities to meet this
need?
[56:39] » Thank you. Mr. Grant, please begin.
[56:43] Um, I think that we've statewide we've
had uh our
[56:49] numerous problems with uh with the drug
issue and um you know I would definitely
[56:58] uh love to see our legislation push for
um we we've we've repealed our former
[57:07] bills which is Representative HR has has
mentioned um you know we we need to get
[57:14] people as much help as we possibly can.
Um and I don't think that we do that by
[57:20] being any more lenient. Um I think that
we need to ensure that we have the uh
[57:27] proper structure in place to get them
help or um let them you know they they
[57:34] have to hit a certain point of rock
bottom to be able to get healthy again.
[57:40] I don't think it's a um
I don't think it's very humane to
[57:46] continue to let people um you know use
drugs and have addiction problems in our
[57:53] state of Oregon. Um but we also have to
have that infrastructure set up to be
[57:59] able to do so. So um that's all I got.
Thank
[58:06] » Thank you, Mr. Grant. Next, Mr. Hridge.
Go ahead, please. Thanks for the
[58:10] question, Commissioner uh West. For
people's history, when we were looking
[58:15] at 110, there was people in the room um
for the caucus room and the Republicans
[58:21] that didn't want to reform 110. They
wanted to sit there and call for special
[58:25] session, full repeal. I knew we needed
to have a plan and that's why I included
[58:28] you in that process, writing a good
bill, writing what you had. That's what
[58:32] we that's why we published what we had
and how we moved it forward. And part of
[58:36] that conversation was is how do we fund
these things? Do we get it? Does it go
[58:39] through OA? Does it go through another
nonprofit to get the money out there?
[58:43] And what we found was when it goes
through the nonprofits, it doesn't get
[58:46] to the right places at the right time.
And so the money's there. It has to get
[58:50] to the counties and it has to go to the
places that do the good work. And
[58:54] Clackman County is the shining example
of not just deflection and treatment,
[58:59] but also accountability with that. And
that's that's the good work that, you
[59:02] know, you and I did uh working on that
bill and moving that forward. But it's
[59:06] always about who's getting the money,
where's it going, and it's going to go
[59:10] back to OA with the accountability
portion of that. The money didn't get
[59:13] where it needed to go. And we had to
fight for you guys again to get the
[59:16] money and get those grants that you were
supposed to get. And we did. We stepped
[59:19] up and we got we got it done. But it
shouldn't take that to get people help
[59:23] that they need. You know, I've seen
people in their worst moments just like
[59:26] you have and every everybody else maybe
has seen this in this on the screen. And
[59:30] it's not a pretty sight. But we have to
do our job to help people and get them
[59:35] better. And we have to make sure you
guys have the tools to do that. And
[59:38] that's most of lot of that is just
really self-governance and self-control
[59:41] when it comes to the counties and the
cities knowing what's best for them and
[59:44] how they're going to go about doing it.
[59:48] » Thank you very much. Finally, Miss
Disen, go ahead, please.
[59:52] » I'm sorry. Can I ask Commissioner West
to repeat the question? I'm want to make
[59:55] sure I'm responsive directly.
>> Yeah, no problem. Um, Clactamus County
[59:59] has adopted a recovery oriented system
of care and infrastructure for substance
[1:00:04] use treatment. Um, is and and it's not
it's not there's a typo here, so that
[1:00:10] might be part of the confusion.
Infrastructure for substance use
[1:00:13] treatment is still needed throughout
Oregon within that recovery oriented
[1:00:16] system of care and specifically within
our counties. um what are you willing to
[1:00:21] do as a senator to make sure services,
programming, and infrastructure can be
[1:00:26] elevated in our communities to meet this
need and crisis?
[1:00:30] » Yeah, thank you for that clarification.
So, um I was chair of the Clackamus
[1:00:35] Caucus, as you know, when I was a
freshman and have continued to work
[1:00:42] collaboratively across the aisle on
issues specific to Clacamus County. And
[1:00:46] I really think that that is uh going to
be a gold mine for moving forward is
[1:00:50] ensuring that our approach to recovery
based infrastructure that it's
[1:00:54] bipartisan. Uh budgets express
priorities and we are facing budget
[1:00:58] challenges right now. But unfortunately
what we've seen too often recently in
[1:01:03] response to uh addiction in the state of
Oregon has not been enough focus on
[1:01:07] recovery. And I think that uh Clackmus
County in particular has been so crystal
[1:01:12] clear on the importance of uh
infrastructure that that is built out
[1:01:17] assuming that people are going to get
into recovery and they're going to
[1:01:21] remain sober long term. And you don't do
that without supports. You don't do that
[1:01:25] you don't do that without the beds. You
don't do that uh without the
[1:01:28] infrastructure. And I know that you guys
had um a bipartisan supported ask in
[1:01:33] this most recent session that didn't
make it across the finish line. and I
[1:01:37] will look forward to advocating for that
uh in particular with our partners
[1:01:40] across the aisle to see if we can't get
that done in the upcoming short session.
[1:01:44] I think it's critically important that
recovery be a larger part of this
[1:01:47] conversation. It has not been. You know,
when we talk about beds um and we we we
[1:01:51] talk about recovery specifically, I
mean, whether or not it's homeless
[1:01:55] services or whatever, it's primarily
focused on assuming that people will
[1:01:59] remain in that state of addiction. And I
think Clackamus County has made it
[1:02:03] really, really clear that the future
must be recovery.
[1:02:10] » Thank you, Miss Drezen. That concludes
all nominee answers to Clackamus
[1:02:14] Countyy's first question. Clackamus
County, if you have a second question,
[1:02:17] commissioners, please proceed.
>> Yeah. Hello everyone. Uh, Commissioner
[1:02:22] Paul Savis here. Um, thank you for the,
uh, people being present here and
[1:02:26] answering our questions. I'm going to
qualify my question to give you context
[1:02:30] so I get as clear or we all get as clear
as an answer as possible. Uh when HB
[1:02:36] 2017 passed um it included a transit tax
called STIF stiff um as well as monies
[1:02:43] for uh for infrastructure large projects
and help to uh meet the uh the needs for
[1:02:51] not only the state but local cities uh
and counties. And in the earlier part of
[1:02:56] this discussion, we heard about
businesses and I was a business owner,
[1:02:59] but I I always consider myself an
employer first and a business owner
[1:03:03] second. And um and I say that because um
you know we are seeing more people
[1:03:09] falling in homeless economically.
Economic the economic drivers that are
[1:03:13] pushing people out of their homes um or
putting pressure on them financially
[1:03:18] really add uh challenges. Businesses are
leaving. uh they're not really seeing
[1:03:23] investment perhaps in infrastructure. We
talk about that a lot. Uh and though we
[1:03:28] have separate funding streams, um the
one again I'm talking about is the STIF
[1:03:32] and I want to bring that back. Um that
had the legislative intent of providing
[1:03:37] first and last mile connections.
Basically giving service to areas that
[1:03:42] have no service. This area has had a
historic this region has had an
[1:03:46] historical um challenge in providing
equal levels of of transportation
[1:03:52] transit in this case to all areas. And
there's areas that are served well and
[1:03:55] there's areas that are underserved. But
however, the stiff tax uh came the
[1:04:00] unique tax that came from people's
paychecks. And the promise was again
[1:04:05] more access and people paying in. And
yet there's a lot of people paying into
[1:04:09] the system but they're not seeing any
new service.
[1:04:13] and the state rules committee changed
the rules and allowed some backfilling
[1:04:16] with that. And now it appears as though
some transit agencies, the larger ones,
[1:04:21] um are really using it to backfill and
not honoring the intent and the promise
[1:04:25] that some state legislators voted for.
So my question to you all specifically
[1:04:29] is what will you do either to to to uh
uh get the service promised with this
[1:04:36] STI and have that dedicated to that
service to help people that really have
[1:04:41] the need? um that it's to help keep them
at their homes because transportation is
[1:04:45] getting expensive. What will you do to
again reinstate the purpose, the
[1:04:50] legislative intent of those STI dollars
on behalf of the people who need it
[1:04:54] most?
[1:04:58] » Thank you, Commissioner Savis.
Continuing with our nominee rotation,
[1:05:01] Mr. Hell, please answer first.
>> Thanks for the opportunity for this
[1:05:05] question. Uh, Commissioner Savis, uh,
that's a great question and I know with,
[1:05:10] uh, Commissioner Merleti, uh, she and I
served on the CAT board here in Hood
[1:05:15] River, which is the Columbia area
transit division or transit agency, and
[1:05:20] know firsthand what those dollars mean
to them and what it means to have those
[1:05:24] services. And Clakamus is not immune to
that. You have trime. I was in the
[1:05:28] transit police division as a police
officer. saw all the stuff that went on
[1:05:31] there and a lot of empty buses and they
are sucking up a lot of those dollars
[1:05:35] that need to go there. You have, I
think, three different uh smaller uh
[1:05:39] transit agencies, Sandy uh in Cami and
there's another one I believe that all
[1:05:44] need these dollars and they're it's
about getting people to the grocery
[1:05:47] store. It's about seniors that are
unable to get to uh the grocery store or
[1:05:51] get to their medical appointment or
veteran services, all those things. And
[1:05:54] so my commitment is to make sure those
dollars get allocated appropriately to
[1:05:59] these smaller agencies because it's not
always having a big bus and a big uh
[1:06:04] thing to go up and down the freeway to
get to to uh the airport, whatever it
[1:06:08] is. But we have to take care of these
smaller communities because these people
[1:06:12] depend on that service. And it can be as
simple as a dialer ride. It can be as
[1:06:16] simple as a van instead of a large bus
and how that service works. And so it's
[1:06:20] not one sizefits-all. And with that, I'm
going to make sure have that influence
[1:06:24] to have that make sure you guys have the
agencies, these small these smaller uh
[1:06:28] transit agencies, not just in the
district, but throughout the state, get
[1:06:31] the appropriate dollars that they need
instead of the big gorilla in the room,
[1:06:35] which usually is try getting sucking up
a lot of those funds that shouldn't be
[1:06:38] going there.
[1:06:42] » Thank you, Mr. Alfred. Next, Miss
Drezen, please answer next.
[1:06:48] » Thank you. And uh thank you for the
question, Commissioner. Uh this is the
[1:06:53] topic, right? Like you and I have talked
many times about transit and uh and and
[1:06:59] we both recognize that doubling the
payroll tax is something that Oregonians
[1:07:02] will struggle with. That that will
affect their take-home pay that that
[1:07:07] does have a direct impact on Oregon
families. And in the case of this
[1:07:11] particular um tax, 60% of it goes to
Trimet. And so I would say that in all
[1:07:19] cases whenever right now we're talking
about government, we just need
[1:07:22] accountability and we need that not not
in a way that says that government
[1:07:27] doesn't have a function but that begins
to set these expectations that when
[1:07:33] government is given taxpayer dollars, no
matter what the source, no matter what
[1:07:36] the intent, that they will do with those
dollars the absolute best that they can
[1:07:41] to meet the mission and and to serve the
citizens. And when it comes to transit,
[1:07:46] I think that there are transit districts
that are innovative and they're
[1:07:50] modernizing. And then there are transit
districts that are a little bit stuck in
[1:07:53] the past. That maybe the transit systems
that were first created have not in fact
[1:07:57] done as good a job uh being responsive
to that la first mile last mile u
[1:08:03] mandate that everybody expected them to
begin to close that gap with the 2017
[1:08:08] dollars. But instead, we're seeing those
same issues. And certainly ridership has
[1:08:12] not rebounded after 2020. Um it's
there's no doubt that the world has
[1:08:17] changed postcoid and not everybody is
getting on a bus to go to work anymore.
[1:08:21] A lot of folks are now working remotely.
Uh work life balance has changed. Uh but
[1:08:25] the transit system needs to change with
it. The transit system needs to be
[1:08:28] modernized and they need to be assuring
the people that are paying those payroll
[1:08:32] taxes that they aren't squandering the
money and that the money is actually
[1:08:36] going for first mile last mile and that
people are being served. And so I think
[1:08:40] we've got a ways to go in this issue
area. I know that you bird dog this all
[1:08:43] the time um in your work uh across
committees. Um and that's certainly in
[1:08:48] my capacity as the state senator
something that I would be anxious to
[1:08:52] partner with you on.
[1:08:56] » Thank you very much. Finally, Mr. Grant,
please proceed.
[1:09:00] » Thank you for that question. Um, no, I
definitely with the, you know, that
[1:09:04] taxation from um from that bill for
stiff, we're we go back into
[1:09:11] accountability and, you know, if we're
not being able to um spread out our our
[1:09:18] tax dollars uh to the communities that
that need it or, you know, if these
[1:09:26] transportation entities are not being
responsible with their funds, you know,
[1:09:30] that that needs to be taken into
consideration. Um, and you know, I'm a
[1:09:36] I'm a person that believes in in
teamwork on to uh you know, listen and
[1:09:42] and figure out solutions of how um how
to better serve you know, these these
[1:09:50] tax dollars that need to go into the uh
transportation um
[1:09:56] services. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Grant. Mr.
[1:10:03] Chair, that concludes all board
questions for nominees today.
[1:10:09] » Thank you, Andrew. Let's move to closing
statements. So, clerk, could could you
[1:10:13] please moderate those closing statements
for us?
[1:10:16] » Yes, Mr. Chair. As a reminder to the
nominees, you will each have one minute
[1:10:20] for your closing statements.
First, Representative Hellfridge, please
[1:10:25] begin.
You guys have a tremendous uh heavy
[1:10:30] weight on your shoulders to choose who's
going to be the next senator and I'm
[1:10:33] asking for your vote to be the next
senator to fill Senator Bonhams and
[1:10:36] continue to run in that role. I have a
proven track record in bipartisan work
[1:10:41] and problem solving. That is what I've
done for my career from public services
[1:10:46] trying to figure out how to solve
problems. Understanding that we're not
[1:10:49] going to get there all the time, but we
have the ability to sit and have a
[1:10:51] conversation and you can't walk away.
You have to sit there and be at the
[1:10:55] table or you can be at the menu. On the
menu. I don't want to be on the menu. I
[1:10:58] always want to sit at the table and have
those conversations because it's
[1:11:01] important. We understand we're going to
disagree on certain things, but let's
[1:11:04] focus on the things that we can get to
and fix the problems and then we can
[1:11:07] tackle those bigger issues. That said, I
believe my five years basically in my
[1:11:12] five years almost in the legislative
body has helped prepare me for this next
[1:11:16] step. Do I know all the answers? No. Do
I know where to find the answers and
[1:11:19] look for them and get the right people
in the room? Absolutely, I can do that.
[1:11:22] So, I'm asking for your vote to become
the next senator for Senate District 26.
[1:11:28] » Thank you very much. Next, Mr. Grant,
please proceed.
[1:11:33] » Thank you so much for uh having me
today. Um, you know, I have the utmost
[1:11:39] respect for Representative Drezen and
Representative Health. Um, you know,
[1:11:44] I've helped out on both of their
campaigns.
[1:11:47] um you know, but we know that they're
going to be there in Salem this
[1:11:52] February. Uh no matter what the decision
is here today, um I know that I'm not in
[1:11:58] a representative position at the at the
moment. Um and sometimes going into this
[1:12:06] this uh process can feel a little
overwhelming, but uh I'm no stranger to
[1:12:13] adversity and taking on hard challenges.
Um what I do is I I manage things well
[1:12:22] and I get results and um I ask for your
vote and uh you know let's hopefully end
[1:12:30] this process today instead of going to I
don't know do this process all over
[1:12:36] again. Thank you.
>> Thank you Mr. Grant. Finally,
[1:12:40] Representative Drezen, please begin.
>> Uh thank you. It has just been um it has
[1:12:46] been just a pleasure to be with
everybody today and talk about the range
[1:12:49] of issues that affect uh affect your
counties and we've had a great
[1:12:54] conversation about transportation, a
great conversation about bipartisanship
[1:12:59] and preserving the safety net and making
sure that Oregonians can in fact get the
[1:13:06] most that they deserve out of our public
services and with our shared work
[1:13:10] together to serve our shared
constituents. Um, the conversation that
[1:13:14] we have had has been one I think that
has reflected what Oregonians would want
[1:13:18] this Senate district to to work on on
their behalf. And I am anxious and ready
[1:13:25] to do the job on behalf of our shared
communities. I'm honored to have the
[1:13:29] endorsement of Senator Bonham. I he I'm
sure did not give that lightly and I do
[1:13:34] not take that lightly. Um this is a
responsibility uh which I which I would
[1:13:38] give uh my full heart and work to and I
look forward to having the opportunity
[1:13:43] to to serve Senate District 26 in the
upcoming year. Thank you.
[1:13:48] » Thank you very much Mr. Chair. That
concludes closing statements from all
[1:13:52] nominees.
>> Thank you. Let's uh take a short recess
[1:13:57] before we move on. So it's 2:16 now. So,
let's uh return at uh 2:25
[1:14:04] and we'll resume at that time. So, let's
take a short recess.
[1:14:09] Thank you.
[1:14:13] All right, we'll go ahead and reconvene
and right now it's uh we're going to
[1:14:18] move to deliberation. And before we
begin, clerk, would you please remind us
[1:14:22] of the process so everybody's really
clear about that?
[1:14:26] » Of course, Mr. share. As provided by the
Secretary of State, commissioners votes
[1:14:31] are weighted to reflect the share of
voters in Senate District 26 living
[1:14:35] within each county. Wasco County
Commissioners will each have five votes.
[1:14:41] Wood River County Commissioners will
each have 3.4 votes. Multma County
[1:14:46] Commissioners will each have 1.8 votes.
And Clackamus County Commissioners will
[1:14:52] each have 13.8 votes. And as an
additional reminder, state law requires
[1:14:58] a nominee to receive only a plurality to
be appointed. This means the nominee who
[1:15:02] gets the most votes, even if not a
majority of all votes, will be
[1:15:07] appointed. That concludes my summary,
Mr. Chair.
[1:15:11] » Thank you. So, I just want to make sure,
colleagues, that there aren't any uh
[1:15:15] questions or confusion about the voting
structure uh before we begin this
[1:15:20] deliberation.
[1:15:24] Okay, not seeing any hands raised. Uh
for deliberations, I'll open the floor
[1:15:29] to anyone who would wish to speak. Uh
after everyone's had a chance to speak,
[1:15:34] I will call for a vote.
[1:15:39] So just again as a reminder we have u
many commissioners here today and I just
[1:15:43] asked my fellow commissioners to keep
their comments as brief as possible to
[1:15:48] be respectful of everyone's schedule and
uh do any of my fellow commissioners
[1:15:53] wish to comment and uh just please raise
your hand and our clerk will call on
[1:15:57] you. So now's the time.
[1:16:14] here. Roberts, I had a question. Is this
the time to make any comments or will we
[1:16:19] also have time to make comments as we're
voting?
[1:16:24] » Um, this is really the time for comments
and then I'll uh call for a vote after
[1:16:29] the comments have been made. um is is
how this is set up.
[1:16:35] » Okay, great. Thank you. Thanks for
clarifying that. Um and I'm I'm happy to
[1:16:39] make a comment now um at this at this
time. Um so just I I first wanted to
[1:16:43] just say how much I appreciate everyone
stepping forward for this appointment
[1:16:48] process whether it is Mr. Grant who is
new to elected office or representatives
[1:16:53] Halen Drezen. Um stepping into public
service or further public service is
[1:16:57] always um both a big sacrifice on a
personal level and family level but also
[1:17:02] an incredible privilege of being able to
do that work. So I just wanted to thank
[1:17:06] everyone for that. Um and I think we
have some very well-qualified candidates
[1:17:10] here. It was great to hear from everyone
um about this. um you know for me I
[1:17:16] think that um whether it is an
appointment to fill a term or for long
[1:17:20] term you know this district deserves the
best representation it can have and um I
[1:17:26] will just say coming into this for me
the experience that I've had um I've had
[1:17:30] the most experience I think working with
Repridge um I know that both um he has
[1:17:35] um always been available always met with
Multma County staff and our government
[1:17:39] relations team and has worked bipartisan
um with us on on issues um and even
[1:17:43] though it's only a very small um part of
um Senate District 26. Multma County
[1:17:47] still is a part of that and and I um and
I appreciate the way that he has gotten
[1:17:52] to know our district and um or gotten to
know our county and um and worked on
[1:17:56] that. So, I will be supporting um
Representative Halridge today. Thank
[1:17:59] you.
>> Thank you.
[1:18:09] » Right,
>> Andrew? I'm not seeing any other hands
[1:18:12] raised. Do you see any? Am I missing
anything?
[1:18:15] » No, Mr. Chair. Just as a reminder to all
commissioners, if you wish to comment to
[1:18:19] please raise your hand as Madame Chair
Vega Peterson did, and I will call on
[1:18:23] you.
[1:18:32] Mr. Chair, I have two hands. I saw
Commissioner Brim Edwards hands first.
[1:18:37] Please go ahead, Commissioner. you know
what um so we don't have two county
[1:18:42] individuals going in a row. I'll just
defer and I'll follow um
[1:18:47] Commissioner U.
>> Okay.
[1:18:53] Um I would also like to thank the people
who are being considered uh two people
[1:18:58] with the experience and a new face from
Wasco County. Um, because my county
[1:19:04] asked a question about whether or not it
might be distracting to run for a
[1:19:11] statewide office, I've thought about how
I would think about the answer to that.
[1:19:15] And um, I think there's two ways to look
at it. One, that person would be very
[1:19:20] busy. And the other is if you want
things done, ask a busy person. And I'm
[1:19:25] not saying that that's an adage that I
live by always, but um I think the
[1:19:30] confidence that you have the connections
also might to to run might also indicate
[1:19:35] that you have the connections to get
things done. And I'm not saying uh that
[1:19:40] I'm for or against uh either. I'm just
um I'm just pointing out that I think
[1:19:47] that's one of the ways that I would look
at it. is uh the confidence to run could
[1:19:53] indicate
effectiveness. So, I'll just leave it at
[1:19:58] that and thank everybody.
>> Thank you, Madam Chair. Commissioner
[1:20:03] Brim Edwards, I also see Commissioner
Schrader's hand raised. Would you still
[1:20:06] like to defer or would you like to speak
now?
[1:20:08] » Defer. Let um that the counties uh chime
in. I don't I was just going to go
[1:20:12] because nobody else had their hand
raised.
[1:20:14] » Share. With your approval, then I'll
turn to Commissioner Shrader.
[1:20:17] » That's fine. Go ahead.
[1:20:23] Commissioner Shrader, we're not able to
hear you.
[1:20:39] » Commissioner Shrader appears to be
having technical difficulties with our
[1:20:42] audio. Mr. Chair.
All right, we might go ahead to Julia
[1:20:48] then.
>> You want me to go? Okay. Um, I'll go.
[1:20:52] Um, I want to thank all three of the
individuals who stepped up um and your
[1:20:57] willingness to serve the state in this
capacity. I really appreciated hearing
[1:21:01] your opening statements and also the
discussions I had in advance um on some
[1:21:05] issues that are really important to
um Mult County and my district whether
[1:21:10] it was housing, economic development,
public safety, community corrections,
[1:21:14] and also the president's um call to
deploy the military in Portland. Um I
[1:21:21] want to just share that I've um Mr.
Grant, I'm sorry that I haven't had a
[1:21:24] chance to work with you, but I
appreciate that you have stepped up in
[1:21:27] your local community um to volunteer.
Um, I have had a chance to work with uh,
[1:21:32] Representative Drezen. I've seen her in
action. Um, I know she understands the
[1:21:35] legislative process. Um, and appreciate
her willingness to step up. Um,
[1:21:40] Representative Hiltridge, I've also, um,
seen you in the legislative arena and,
[1:21:45] um, also working on behalf of the
constituents and taking in mind um, sort
[1:21:49] of some of the complexities and sort of
the differences um, and our comm the
[1:21:53] differences in our communities across
the state. Um, I really appreciate um
[1:21:57] that you know through your professional
work um my commission district and the
[1:22:02] neighborhoods and the challenges um and
opportunities that exist. Um
[1:22:08] so um appreciate your your prior uh
professional service. Um but I really um
[1:22:15] feel that we um in some ways is no lose
situation. there's going to be um
[1:22:21] effective representation in um that
Senate district and also in the House
[1:22:27] district um with whatever we decide.
[1:22:36] » Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I
believe Commissioner Shrader is
[1:22:38] currently working on solving her
technical difficulties.
[1:22:42] She may need just one more moment. Uh
with your permission, Chair, I'll ask if
[1:22:46] there's any other commissioners who
would like to speak.
[1:22:59] Okay. Can you hear me now?
>> Yes, we can. Commissioner Sher.
[1:23:02] » Okay. Thank you so much. Uh, for some
reason my uh mute was not working on my
[1:23:07] screen touch. So, if it happens again,
I'm going to have to depend on you to
[1:23:11] unmute me. Um, let me just start by
saying that I don't think I'm going to
[1:23:15] say anything earthshattering that um,
the rest of us are thinking and that my
[1:23:21] other colleagues have just said. I want
to thank Mr. Grant uh, for stepping up
[1:23:27] to the plate. this is uh it can be a
pretty grueling experience and as
[1:23:32] someone who is uh looking to serve I
want to thank you for coming today and
[1:23:37] for giving this uh giving yourself the
opportunity uh to begin to hopefully
[1:23:44] longer term begin a life of public
service. Um uh Mr. Hridge, I have always
[1:23:50] admired you. You are a gentleman. you
work tirelessly for the good of the
[1:23:57] people and uh I believe that the work
you have done in the legislature has
[1:24:04] been absolutely stellar. So thank you
for that sir. And uh finally um Miss
[1:24:10] Christine Disen I've known you for so
very long. uh you're a Cambi native as I
[1:24:16] once was
and we've had many conversations uh
[1:24:22] together where I think that we have
worked across the aisle on the issues
[1:24:26] that matter most to Oregonians. So thank
you all and that's all I have to say at
[1:24:31] this time and I would like to hand it
over to another commissioner or the
[1:24:36] chair.
>> Thank you Commissioner Schrader. Mr.
[1:24:40] Chair, I will make a final call for any
other commissioners wish to speak. I see
[1:24:44] no other hands, but I will ask one more
time if any commissioners wish to speak
[1:24:48] to please raise their hands.
I see two hands, Mr. Chair.
[1:24:57] » Yeah,
>> three first. Uh I saw Commissioner Jones
[1:25:02] Dixon first and then Commissioner Savis.
Uh Mr. Chair,
[1:25:06] » go ahead. Great.
>> Mr. Jones Dixon, Commissioner, please
[1:25:09] proceed. Yeah, great. Thank you. Thank
you, chair, and thank you, Andrew.
[1:25:12] You're doing an amazing job. Uh just
want to go go around and just say thank
[1:25:15] you to all of the applicants uh this
this afternoon, especially Grant. I've
[1:25:20] been out to Wasco County, hosted a bull
riding camp out there. It's beautiful
[1:25:23] and amazing. Um Mr. Hridge as well. I
really really appreciate your your
[1:25:28] advocacy for the district, uh
specifically um around the water
[1:25:31] filtration plant and then being out
there with you and the community as far
[1:25:34] as the as far as the roads. Um and then
same with you, Rep. Drazen. Um, thank
[1:25:38] you for your advocacy and your your
thoughtful responses uh this afternoon.
[1:25:42] And it's always interesting, we continue
to think about Baltimore County as far
[1:25:45] as being one county and how we fold into
the rest of the 35 counties here within
[1:25:50] the state of Oregon. And both of you
guys are great represent uh
[1:25:54] representatives of that. So, uh, thank
you again for taking the time and I
[1:25:57] appreciate being being a part of this
process. Back to you, Andrew.
[1:26:02] » Thank you, Commissioner. Commissioner
Savis, I saw your hand next. Yeah, I I
[1:26:06] too want to just just join the join the
crowd here and just say to thank all
[1:26:10] three of you for uh your roles and um
and to um Mr. Hell and uh Mr. Disen um
[1:26:17] thank you for your public service and in
the uh in the state capital. I know that
[1:26:22] no matter what happens here, both be
there serving us all.
[1:26:25] » Um but I do want to say probably more
than anything, this is not an easy
[1:26:29] decision. I know you both. I know you're
all hard workers and I know you really
[1:26:32] care. So, I just want to just say this
is not easy for me. Um, and um I I do
[1:26:38] appreciate you being here and I do
appreciate your your public service. So,
[1:26:41] no matter what happens, I hope that you
will all still be engaged. Thank you.
[1:26:50] » Thank you, Commissioner Savis. Mr.
Chair, I see no other hands of
[1:26:54] commissioners who wish to speak at this
time.
[1:26:56] » Okay. At this point, I'll call for a
vote and I'll ask the clerk to call the
[1:27:00] votes in alphabetical order by last name
ending with the chairs. And as again, as
[1:27:06] a reminder, folks, each commission
commissioner's vote is weighted
[1:27:10] according to their county's population
shares, not one commissioner, one vote
[1:27:15] system. So, clerk, would you please call
for the votes and show them in real time
[1:27:20] on the screen for really clarity and
transpar?
[1:27:26] » Of course, Mr. Chair. And I'll have
Blackmus County Assistant Council Jeff
[1:27:30] Muns. Please share his screen. You will
see the votes tallied in real time as I
[1:27:34] call the votes.
From Hood River, Commissioner Arthur
[1:27:38] Babetts. Uh,
>> thank you very much. I will cast my 3.4
[1:27:42] votes for Representative Hell.
[1:27:47] from Wasco County, Commissioner Phil
Brady.
[1:27:50] » I will cast my five votes for
Commissioner Jeff Hridge.
[1:27:56] » From Multma County, Commissioner Julia
Brim Edwards.
[1:28:00] » Casting my 1.8 votes uh for
Representative Hridge.
[1:28:07] » From Clakamus County, Commissioner Diana
Hill. I cast my vote for Christine
[1:28:12] Drezen
[1:28:15] » from Multma County. Commissioner Vince
Jones Dixon.
[1:28:19] » I'll cast my vote for Representative
Drezen
[1:28:24] » from Wasco County. Commissioner
Jefferson.
[1:28:28] » I'll cast my vote for Representative
Hridge
[1:28:34] » from Hood River County. Commissioner
Leta Moretti.
[1:28:38] » Thank you. I will cast my vote for
Representative Jeff Hridge
[1:28:43] » from Multma County. Commissioner Megan
Moyer.
[1:28:47] » I will cast my vote for Representative
Hridge
[1:28:52] » from Hun River County. Commissioner Chad
Muer.
[1:28:55] » I will cast my vote for Christine Drezen
>> from Clakamus County. Commissioner Paul
[1:29:02] Savis.
[1:29:07] » I will cast my vote for Christine
Drezen.
[1:29:12] » From Clakamus County, Commissioner
Martha Shrader.
[1:29:15] » I'll cast my vote for Christine Drezen
[1:29:21] » from Multma County. Commissioner Shannon
Singleton.
[1:29:25] » I will cast my vote for Representative
Halrich.
[1:29:31] from Hood River County, Commissioner Ed
Weathers.
[1:29:35] » Thank you. I vote for Representative
Jeff
[1:29:41] » from Clackamus County. Commissioner Ben
West.
[1:29:44] » I'll be casting my vote today for
Christine Drezen.
[1:29:51] » Wasco County Sheriff Scott Hedgy. I cast
my votes for Helfridge
[1:29:59] » from Hood River. Chair Jennifer Uer,
[1:30:12] » Jeff Hilfri.
[1:30:16] » Thank you from Malttoma. Chair V Jessica
Vega Peterson.
[1:30:22] » Thank you. I cast my vote for
Representative Hrich
[1:30:29] » and from Clakamus County, Mr. Chair Greg
Roberts.
[1:30:33] » I cast my vote for Christine Drezen.
[1:30:39] » Thank you, Mr. Chair. That concludes the
vote roll call. All commissioners have
[1:30:43] voted.
>> All right. Council, has clearity uh been
[1:30:47] reached?
>> It has, chair.
[1:30:50] » Right. Thank you. So on uh behalf of our
boards uh congratulations to Christine
[1:30:57] Drezen and wanted to give uh Miss Disen
a chance to have any comments if she
[1:31:04] would like uh brief remarks.
>> Uh thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And
[1:31:11] uh thank you everyone for this
opportunity to really vet the issues
[1:31:15] today and have a discussion uh with both
Representative Halridge and Mr. Grant. I
[1:31:21] look forward to the opportunity to work
with all of you and to uh serve this
[1:31:25] district to the best of my abilities and
certainly to continue my partnership
[1:31:28] with uh Mr. Hellfish moving forward. So,
thank you guys for the time today that
[1:31:32] you've invested in this process and uh
and thank you for giving all of us an
[1:31:36] adequate opportunity to really go
through our approach and our thinking as
[1:31:40] it relates to the central issues for
your counties and this larger Senate
[1:31:44] District. So, thank you today. I
appreciate it very much. I'm honored to
[1:31:47] have the opportunity to serve.
>> Well, thank you very much and thank you
[1:31:52] to all those residents watching today
and provided written comment. It's only
[1:31:57] through community involvement that we
can collectively work to best represent
[1:32:01] you. Colleagues, our board clerk will
coordinate with your staff shortly after
[1:32:06] this meeting and coordinate the signing
of the required documents for the
[1:32:09] Secretary of State and um council. Is
there anything else before closing the
[1:32:15] meeting? Not at this time chair, just
that form for the secretary of state.
[1:32:19] » Right. And uh just again before we journ
I want to thank all of the candidates
[1:32:25] and for their community service for
stepping up and um uh appreciate the
[1:32:31] time and effort that everyone's takes.
So thank you and if there's nothing else
[1:32:35] will be ajourned.
Thank you.