The Core of This Campaign
This campaign starts from a simple truth: what we are doing right now is not working. People feel it here at home, in the Gorge and around Mt. Hood, in the cost of living, in their healthcare, their schools, their housing, and the land we depend on. Life is getting harder and more expensive, while the supports people rely on aren’t keeping up.
When politics offers only small fixes to long-standing problems, trust erodes. That’s where we are.
I am running because we need a bigger vision, one that makes life more affordable and actually meets people’s needs. This is possible, if we choose it.
A Vision That Meets Real Needs
Each of my priorities lowers the everyday costs that are squeezing families and communities. Together, they form a coherent affordability agenda.
Affordable housing at scale, for renters and homeowners alike, so people can stay in the communities they love.
Strong, well-funded public education, from K-12 through higher education-supporting teachers, lowering class sizes, investing in proven practices, increasing student achievement, and making college affordable again by lowering tuition.
Healthcare for all, so access to care isn’t determined by your job, your income, or your luck.
Preschool for all, so families can work, children can thrive, and educators are supported.
Serious environmental stewardship, including wildfire prevention, forest and watershed restoration, and climate resilience—because caring for the land is inseparable from caring for people.
These are common-sense foundations of a society that works. And we will not reach them through half-measures.
The Principles That Get Us There
Supporting One Another
Strong communities are built when we make it easier for people to care for their families, do their jobs, and stay rooted where they live. The state should help meet essential needs and help people make practical changes, whether that’s supporting housing affordability, home hardening to reduce wildfire risk and insurance costs, childcare workforce support to meet gaps in accessibility, or help navigating government bureaucracies.
Paying Your Fair Share
If we want a society that works, we have to fund it. That means reclaiming revenue lost to Trump-era tax cuts and decades of choices that shifted responsibility onto working people while wealth concentrated at the top. When the very wealthiest pay their fair share, we can invest at the scale required, because a society with broken foundations doesn’t work for anyone.
Stopping Practices That Take Advantage of People
Too many parts of our economy are built to take advantage of people when they are most vulnerable. Payday lending, insurance denials of those critically ill for profit, and housing speculation that drives up rents and prices are not accidents, they are choices we’ve allowed to stand. We can choose differently and make sure no one’s hardship becomes someone else’s business model.
Keeping Decisions as Local as Possible
Big goals don’t require one-size-fits-all solutions, or unnecessary complexity. The state should provide the resources, fairness, and stability, while keeping programs simple to navigate and empowering local communities to shape what works for them whenever possible.
Why This Matters Now
People hear a lot of talk about progress, but in daily life it still feels like things aren’t working the way they should. We have to change that. As federal policies pull resources away from states and communities, trust erodes, and the consequences are very real.
That makes this the central question of this race: How will Oregon replace the billions of dollars being pulled out of our budget—and what are you prepared to do in the 2027 legislative session to fund the services Oregonians rely on?
Federal cuts already passed are projected to pull $5.7 billion out of Oregon’s budget in 2027-29 and another $8.4 billion in 2029-31. That is healthcare, education, housing, and environmental protection on the line, unless we choose a different path.
Another choice is possible. Not long ago, before Trump-era tax cuts for the wealthiest, Oregon was collecting the revenue needed to meet these needs and expand essential services. If the very wealthiest Oregonians return to paying their fair share, we can protect what people rely on, and invest in what communities need, without cutting vital services.
I am ready to build the coalitions necessary to pass real solutions in the 2027 session, not just talk about them. Small measures and vague promises are no longer enough. If people don’t feel, in their bodies and their bones, that life is becoming more stable, more dignified, and more humane, then politics loses legitimacy.
This campaign is about being honest about the scale of the challenge, clear about what people actually need, and serious about fighting for a future worth believing in.
Here in the Gorge and around Mt. Hood, people know what it means to take care of one another. State government should reflect that same ethic.
That is what is worth fighting for.
And that is what this campaign will be about, every step of the way.