Lori Chavez-DeRemer
Lori Chavez-DeRemer, 54, has lived in Happy Valley for 22 years, where she and her husband Shawn, her high school sweetheart to whom she’s been married 31 years, have raised their twin daughters, 27, who attended schools in Clackamas County. Their daughter Annie works in their family health care business and Emilie is a public defender.
Chavez-DeRemer, a graduate in business from California State University Fresno, with her husband, owns and operates Anesthesia Associates Northwest and Evolve Health. She was mayor of Happy Valley from 2010-18 and served as a City Council member from 2004-10.
Contact: (503) 732-0334
Jimmy Crumpacker
Jimmy Crumpacker, 43, of Bend, is a seventh-generation Oregonian who was born in the 5th Congressional District, attending the same public school in the district as his grandfather and parents. He earned a bachelor’s degree in government at Georgetown University; as a collegian he interned for U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith in 2001. He has worked for 16 years on Wall Street, focusing on the energy sector for the last 13 years.
Over the past decade, Crumpacker says, he’s delivered more than 5,000 meals for Meals on Wheels and has sat on the Board of Directors as the organization delivered roughly 1.3 million meals a year. He helped rescue Oregon Ballet Theatre from bankruptcy and the potential loss of 250 full and part-time workers as treasurer and the youngest chair of the board. He has served on the board of the Portland Japanese Garden as it completed a $37 million expansion, was the second-most visited attraction in the region and a massive economic engine for the community.
Contact: [email protected]
John Di Paola
John Di Paola, 71, is an orthopedic surgeon. He and his wife Lori have three sons and a daughter. He earned an undergraduate degree in biological sciences and went on to become a medical doctor, completing his degree at Rutgers Medical School. He has lived in the 5th District for 42 years. He has never held political office.
Contact: (503) 383-1866
Madison Oatman
Madison Oatman, of Bend, did not submit a completed questionnaire. A graduate of West Salem High School, she works as a mitigation technician for Summit Cleaning and Restoration after working in the fields of asbestos and mitigation, and disaster restoration.
Contact: [email protected]
Laurel L. Roses
Laurel L. Roses, of Mulino, did not submit a completed questionnaire. A graduate of Sam Barlow High School, she co-owns a trucking company and is a longtime piano teacher. She also coached tennis at Molalla High School for 19 years.
Contact: [email protected]
Describe your view of the proper role of government under the U.S. and Oregon constitutions and how you, as a U.S. representative, would carry out your responsibilities as a member of Congress, accordingly.
Di Paola: The government’s role should be to provide security, infrastructure, and public safety. There’s currently too much government overreach into social justice and politicized issues which should be subject to the will of the people. Government’s role is to respond to the wishes of the governed.
Crumpacker: The proper role of government is to strictly follow the U.S. and Oregon Constitutions. My role as a U.S. representative is to be a voice for the people.
Chavez-DeRemer: I believe in the role of limited government and allowing the free market to thrive. In Congress, I will work to cut spending that has driven up the inflation crisis we are seeing and secure our border that has brought drugs and crime into our cities. Every city is a border city now.
Why did you decide to run for the Fifth District seat?
Crumpacker: I was born and raised in this district and believe the federal government is responsible for many of ills that Oregon faces.
Chavez-DeRemer: In just the past year, Joe Biden and the radical left have caused an inflation crisis, failed to protect our communities, and created a crisis at our southern border. We need to keep this administration in check and get back to America first policies. I believe with my experience as a local mayor where I’ve fully funded the police, kept our taxes low, and supported our veterans, I can flip this seat and be your next Congresswoman.
Di Paola: The American Franchise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, ensured by the Constitution and our Bill of Rights and the privilege of each citizen casting their vote, has been under increasing and accelerating assault. The protection of this franchise asures each citizen of any race, religion, sexual orientation, etc., that they will be able to live a free and safe life. I decided to run to protect and restore the American franchise.
What do you see as the biggest challenges facing Oregon and what solutions would you propose to address those if you are elected as a U.S. Representative?
Chavez-DeRemer: The economy – specifically the inflation crisis we are seeing every day with the gas prices, groceries, and utility bills. If we don’t rein in spending, the inflation crisis will get worse. We must promote energy independence by allowing projects like the Keystone Pipeline to reopen. Lastly, the border crisis we are seeing is affecting U.S. in our communities. Crime has skyrocketed because of the crisis on our southern border. We must lock up our border and stop illegal immigration.
Di Paola: The erosion of public safety, but rising from drug addiction, mental illness, homelessness and failure to enforce our existing laws. The infiltration of foreign sex trafficking and drug cartels into our state. Border security must be reestablished and guaranteed. Sanctuary cities should not receive federal funding. Our immigration laws, state laws, and municipal laws must be enforced by a well trained, well equipped, fully staffed law enforcement establishment.
Crumpacker: The biggest challenge facing Oregonians is the ability to reopen the forests. The federal government is directly responsible for curtailing the logging industry. My grandfathers were both in the timber business and it is devastating that the federal government has limited Oregonians from harvesting tress on the 53% of the state which is managed by the federal government. We have lost 60,000 jobs from when I was child until now.
Crime and law enforcement have raised concerns for Oregonians in recent years. What do you see as the big issues in this area and how would you address those?
Di Paola: Criminals should be prosecuted and victims should be afforded justice. Laws should be enforced at all levels of government. Border security is essential. Homelessness is a rehabilitation problem and not a housing problem. Adequate mental health and drug treatment should be combined with retraining programs to end homelessness. The federal government may be able to lend logistical support to states who implement a sensible and effective homeless resolution policy.
Crumpacker: The biggest issue has been a lack of funds and local support for law enforcement. As a federally elected official it will be incredibly challenging. This is a local issue but what we can do is tell law enforcement how much they are appreciated. The lack of government support at all levels has devastated certain law enforcement agencies.
Chavez-DeRemer: The city of Portland slashed their police funding by more than $25 million and we are seeing the impact of that over the last year with record crime and homicide rates. We must fully fund our police and give our law enforcement the resources they need to keep our communities safe.
What do you see as the biggest challenges facing Oregon and the nation in terms of budget/state finances and what solutions would you propose to address those?
Crumpacker: The federal government is directly responsible for the inflation running rampant through the economy. The massive spending and federal handouts, combined with the ultra-low interest rates have been extremely detrimental to those in our country who can least afford it. We need to bring spending under control. A $30 trillion deficit is unsustainable and is an Achilles heel to the security of our nation. The import numbers, throughput happening in our ports and stretch employment landscape is a product of overheated economy.
Chavez-DeRemer: Spending has been out of control with the national debt surpassing $30 trillion in February. I am in favor of a balanced budget amendment. As mayor, we balanced our city budget every year, put more than $2.4 million in fiscal reserves while maintaining one of the lowest city tax rates in the state. I’ll bring this same approach to Congress as we address reckless spending.
Di Paola: Less legislation and less spending should be our goal. Passing more laws and allocating more money has not been a successful method of resolving important issues that face our country. The American people and American industry can be and should be engaged in solving many of the problems that we face. The big problem is too much government, too many taxes, too much regulation, and too much government overreach into the the lives and businesses of the American people.
What do you see as the biggest challenges facing Oregon in the area of transportation and what solutions would you propose to address those?
Chavez-DeRemer: Infrastructure is a critical need that we all recognize. The Build Back Better Plan proposed by Joe Biden was disguised as a socialist spending package. The dollars that come through the pipeline are never invested into our roads. If the new Congress in 2023 proposes an infrastructure package, I’d like to make sure that the dollars that are allocated go directly into fixing our roads.
Di Paola: Oregon needs to invest federal dollars into improvements in our roads and transportation infrastructure. Light rail and public transportation investments will not solve all of our problems. Our development policies, housing, and industry must be adjusted to the new stay at home economy.
Crumpacker: The biggest challenge facing Oregon is having another link from the valley to Eastern Oregon. There just aren’t enough routes across the Cascade mountains.
What do you see as the biggest challenges facing Oregon in the area of environmental protection or lack thereof and what solutions would you propose to address those?
Di Paola: Instead of implementing more technology, destroying our energy infrastructure, fundamentally changing our government system, and dismantling our economy, we should focus more on conservation and mitigation of our impact on the environment. Programs with proven success are already available and can be easily adopted by the American people so that we all can play a role in protecting the environment and improving its ability to absorb the impact of our activities.
Crumpacker: The forest fires having been devastating over the last few years in Oregon. We are losing a million acres of timber a year and this has a devastating impact on our communities. The smoke is terrible for vulnerable citizens, especially the elderly and pregnant women. The Federal government is directly responsible for the fires occurring across Oregon.
Chavez-DeRemer: Wildfire and lack of water – drought – has been devastating our rural communities. We need better wildfire management and that starts with giving our firefighters the resources they need. I’ll work with Congressman Cliff Bentz to find drought relief to help our irrigators with the water supply.
The lack of affordable housing and homelessness have become big issues in Oregon. What do you see as necessary steps to address these issues?
Crumpacker: The most effective way the federal government could combat the homelessness issue is by opening up the Federally managed lands. The industry has been reduced from 85,000 blue collar jobs in Oregon when I was a child to 25,000 now. The Federal government needs to stem the flow of extremely addictive substances such as Fentanyl from streaming across the southern border. The access to drugs, lack of living wage blue collar jobs, embarrassingly low public-school performances, over regulated real estate markets and abysmally low mental health care spending has been a recipe for disaster.
Chavez-DeRemer: This is a multifaceted approach. To address affordable housing, we need to loosen up Oregon’s land use system. We need more affordable housing options such as middle housing and mixed-use development. Drug addiction and unaddressed mental health issues are the direct cause of the rampant homelessness in Oregon.
The policies our state has adopted, allowing people to live on the streets and in encampments is cruelty masquerading as compassion. The first thing Congress needs to do is secure our southern border. Under the Biden administration, we faced record illegal crossings in just the last year. There are drugs pouring into the country which penetrates our homeless population. We need to clean up the streets and enforce our laws.
Di Paola: We must enforce existing laws relating to vagrancy, drug use, public camping, etc to move people off the streets and into the court system where they are presented with a choice of incarceration versus rehabilitation.
As people recover they may be given productive work, undergo vocational training, and transition back to productive life. The choice the person makes should be voluntary and contingent on maintaining sobriety and cooperation with the program.
What are top issues you see in the area of healthcare in Oregon? How would you address those, if elected?
Chavez-DeRemer: The rising cost in premiums and lack of choice are the biggest concerns. As someone who works in the health care business, we see this daily. In Oregon, premiums have increased by 144% since 2013 when Obamacare was implemented. Before Obamacare, there were 10 insurers and now has dropped to five insurers. We need to create an incentive program to allow patients more opportunities which will drive down costs.
Di Paola: I am generally opposed to more government or corporate infiltration into healthcare. The COVID situation and its gross mismanagement have revealed how ineffective the involvement of corporations, governments, and bureaucracies into health care has been as evidenced by worse public health outcomes and increasing spending.
Physicians and direct healthcare providers need to be adequately compensated and supported in order to produce better-quality healthcare. Technology has been focused on eliminating human interactions in the delivery of healthcare which is counterproductive.
Crumpacker: The Medicare trust is supposed to go bankrupt by 2026 according to the trustees report. The deficits it has been running the last few years are unsustainable. The trustees have been warning the federal government the last couple of years, but nothing has been done. Unfortunately, the situation is dire and not getting better.
In addition to the above, what are the biggest issues you see facing rural Oregon and, particularly, the residents of the 5th District?
Di Paola: Our forest infrastructure needs to be intelligently maintained and accessible to Oregonians and the Oregon timber and lumber industry. Federal lands must be accessible to Oregon timber and lumber companies to properly maintain and sustainably harvest our forests. Conservation and mitigation programs should be implemented for private residential, corporate, and government properties to restore native tree and plant species, birds, animals and pollinators needed to optimize our agricultural businesses. Appropriate tax incentives should be provided to all participants. Similar to current farm deferrals.
Crumpacker: Childhood poverty across the 5th District is very concerning. The average family of four is spending $300 more than they did a year ago on food and energy. When families have to decide between putting gas in their car to get to work or food on the table, that is the fault of federal government overheating the economy.
Chavez-DeRemer: As mentioned before, the water drought and wildfire issues are devastating our rural communities. If we don’t tackle these issues now, it will impact the daily lives of our farmers.
In the field of candidates in this year’s primary election, what sets you apart from the other individuals running for this office?
Crumpacker: I was born and raised in the district. I don’t have the option to move out of state. I am pro-life and am the only candidate in the fifth that has been endorsed by Oregon Right to Life.
My knowledge of economics and world affairs set me apart from the other candidates. This isn’t a job you can learn on the fly.
Chavez-DeRemer: I have a proven track record of getting things done. As mayor of Happy Valley, I fully funded our police services, balanced the city’s budget, kept taxes low, and supported our veterans by building a veterans’ memorial.
I’m a mom of twin daughters through the education system where I volunteered on my local parks committee and in PTA. I will support a parents’ bill of rights to keep the political agendas out of the classroom and support school choice. It takes a leader who has dedicated most of their career to volunteer service to go to Washington D.C. and fight for our communities.
Di Paola: I have lived in the 5th District for over 40 years where I have raised my family and served the needs of our communities as an orthopedic surgeon.
I bring experience, a strong work ethic, an inquiring mind and analytical approach to problems and a focus on practical solutions to the issues we face each day.