Issues

Education – The statistics about our public education system are terrifying. Oregon has the second largest elementary school class sizes in the country.  Many students share textbooks and we have one of the shortest school years. We need to invest in and reinvent our schools if we want to provide a community our children want to call home for their families and their children’s families or to attract businesses with a ready workforce. We need to fund our schools fully and ensure we get results. We need to expand vocational training and provide the resources so our children have the education that prepares them to be successful. Sandy believes in the New Educator Mentoring Program and finding efficiencies that allow students and teachers more time for learning and teaching.

Seniors – In her legal practice, Sandy is a strong advocate for seniors and she will be a strong advocate for seniors in her role as a legislator. She believes in increased funding for long term care, supportive services, and Oregon Project Independence. Solutions should be found that allow senior citizens to live independently in their own homes for as long as possible and to ensure no senior feels isolated in their home. Sandy will work to make the Medicaid qualification process more transparent and consistent, and she will fight for lower prescription drug costs, including support for bulk purchasing pools. Too many seniors live in poverty and have to declare bankruptcy - Sandy feels all caring and compassionate people would agree this situation is unconscionable.

Rainy Day Fund and Kicker Reform – We do not have adequate savings in our state budget to deal with down times. Sandy supports placing up to 10 % of the total General Fund in a savings account. This savings account would be available to protect critical services only during future downturns; it would not be available as discretionary project spending.

Housing Crisis – The housing crisis cannot be ignored. There are too many empty houses, too many short sales that cannot go through because mortgage companies ignore homeowner needs, and too many real estate industry professionals are unemployed or seriously underemployed. Sandy will work on legislation to mandate that mortgage companies make timely response to short sale offers and to make the foreclosure process speedier so that homeowners who are in financial difficulty can move on with their lives.

Family Wage Jobs – Oregonians should have the opportunity to provide a home, food, clothing, and healthcare for their families - Sandy supports economic and business development that leads to good family wage jobs.  Sandy believes the State should work cooperatively with business groups and communities to develop incentive programs and tax reform proposals that are good for Oregon, businesses, and the people who live here.  Good working wage jobs can be created consistent with the Oregon philosophy of environmental stewardship, sustainability, and buying local and selling everywhere. Oregon needs to regain the market on the manufacturing jobs that made it such a great place for blue collar workers to live and work.

The Environment – Oregon was first in environmental leadership when it passed the Bottle Bill, land use planning protections, marine reserves, and climate change legislation. Oregon now needs to be aggressive in setting new long term water strategy as it lags its less progressive neighbors in water quality protections and planning for sufficient quantities to be available to farmers, business and manufacturing, and residential uses.

Land Use – Oregon has a first class land use protection system that has successfully protected our farms and forests. Sandy opposes attempts to needlessly change the system but will work to make reasonable amendments that address the economic and environmental concerns of this district, including ensuring family farmers can accommodate multiple generations of homeowners on their lots.

Annexation – When Sandy is elected she will continue the work to end the reprehensible annexation tactics the City of Tigard attempted to use to annex Bull Mountain.

Manufactured Home Parks – When Sandy spoke with residents in her district she learned about a dreadful and appalling situation manufactured home park residents face when the park they call home closes. She was even more appalled when she learned our current Representative voted against the legislation intended to protect them – voting against allowing park residents to form co-ops to buy their park from the owners who want to close and voting against the funding mechanism to assist these co-ops to buy the land under their homes.

Roads – Everyone in our district knows the frustration of sitting in traffic - whether on Interstate 5 or Highways 217 or 99W. The countless hours we waste on the road are aggravating and keep us from our families when we should be home for dinner and family time. It is important that businesses looking to locate in Wilsonville and Sherwood know our district is an accessible and wise choice. Last session, the Oregon House approved a $960 million transportation and jobs bill, HB2001, that creates 4,600 jobs and reduces congestion and increases safety. Our current Representative voted against this bill. The largest projects created in HB2001 included work on the Woodburn interchange at I-5, improvements along Highway 26, improvements to the Newberg-Dundee bypass, and an extra lane on Highway 26 from 185th to Cornell Rd.

Supporting our Veterans – Sandy is married to a Navy Reserve Commander.  Her personal connection to a veteran gives her a special insight on the needs of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and only reinforces her commitment to providing the services you and your children require. Sandy will work to get the support to the people who need it to ensure they can resume their lives here in Oregon – to return to work, their families, school and everyday life.

Health Care – Access to the Oregon Health Plan should be expanded to cover additional Oregon families. We cannot wait for the federal government to figure out the solution to covering all Americans, we must expand health care coverage to ensure all Oregonians are covered. Neither health care nor insurance are a luxury - rather a right and necessity.  Sandy supports legislation to expand coverage and improve the coverage/services. Last session the House Democrats made substantial strides to cover all Oregon children and added coverage for an additional 600,000 Oregonians. Matt Wingard voted against the bill, House Bill 2116, that provided this important coverage.