Document text
0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Who you going to call? School has its own rodent-buster Day of the undead: Thousands pack downtown Ashland Oregon Climate proposes carbon cost be redistributed Swing Tree Brewing Company More than health at stake in GMO debate, speakers say Education Who you going to call? School has its own rodent-buster And the winners are ... Ashland students Marketta Gregory: Stretch yourself for God Every minute counts, so make punctuality a habit Helman students illustrate kindness, love Environment Oregon Climate proposes carbon cost be redistributed Rite Aid cub well, could come back to southern Oregon Report: Smaller streams need further protection Bear cub wanders into Rite Aid Kalmiopsis' future at stake if mining goes forward Business Swing Tree Brewing Company Shenandoah Living Funerals Will TV makeover do the trick for Mystic Treats? Volvo V60 R-Design is all work, all play Newly renovated Ashland Hills hosts open house Politics and elections Election equipment fails, delaying ballot counting Senator Merkley brings campaign to SOU Second write-in candidate makes commission position a contest Underdog Christofferson holds out hope of upsetting Walden Aquatics backer announces write-in candidacy for Parks & Rec board State News Nation - World Obituaries Death Notices Jean Ann Haar Death Notices Death Notices Bess Hamers Sports Latest Stories Putting himself on the line Grizzlies roar into playoffs with rout of Eagles Giants do it again Grizzlies serve way into Sweet 16 Raiders move up to No. 5 in Top 25 High school Grizzlies roar into playoffs with rout of Eagles Grizzlies serve way into Sweet 16 They're twins, and they're good Ashland mourns death of former coach Stan Gida What slump? Grizzlies drop-kick Eagles Southern Oregon University Putting himself on the line Grizzlies roar into playoffs with rout of Eagles Raiders move up to No. 5 in Top 25 No. 11 SOU volleyball team returns home for two key matches Ashland mourns death of former coach Stan Gida Opinion Latest Stories Our View: Preparing for the worst Herb Rothschild: Tell us how they vote Granlund cartoon: Election winners Frank Talk: Power to the people Philip Maddocks: Unapologetic Christie frees God from Ebola quarantine Editorial Our View: Preparing for the worst Our View: Divestment is just a gesture Our View: Keeping the lid on Other Views: Help for Oregon's forests Our View: The Hills are alive Letters Letters to the Editor, Oct. 24 Letters to the Editor, Oct. 23 Letters to the Editor, Oct. 21 Letters to the Editor, Oct. 21 Letters to the editor Guest opinions Herb Rothschild: Tell us how they vote Guest Opinion: Oregon poised to mandate GMO labeling Guest Opinion: Three ways to take action against carbon pollution Guest Opinion: An aristocracy of the people Teaching the First Amendment Revels Latest Stories Q&A: The John Dough Boys Spookadelic Halloween Funktacular promises a lively dance party Best bets for things to do around Ashland Listings for Varsity Theatre and Ashland Street Cinemas 'I'm in this for the love' Theater New plays debut at ANPF Music Best bets for things to do around Ashland The Farr Side: On ‘1989,’ Taylor Swift lightens up 'I'm in this for the love' Repertory singers prepare 'powerful' opening concert Q&A: Broken Down Guitars Visual Art Movies Movie review: ‘Nightcrawler’ delivers on creep factor Christopher and Jonathan Nolan go ‘Interstellar’ Listings for Varsity Theatre and Ashland Street Cinemas 'St. Vincent' is a revelatory experience Movie review: ‘Whiplash’ hits high notes Food and Drink Cruelest Month: Poetry Blog Lifestyle Latest Stories Lloyd Garver: Let the dogs out Woman hospitalized in Milwaukie for Ebola testing Frank Talk: Power to the people First thing to do is solve the 84th problem Kent Bush: Sometimes technology and stuff won’t save you Aging Happens Inner Peace Column Inner Peace Blog Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Photos Videos Blogs NEWS NOW Our View: Preparing for the worst ... Herb Rothschild: Tell us how they vote ... Woman hospitalized in Milwaukie for Ebola testing ... Our View: Preparing for the worst ... Herb Rothschild: Tell us how they vote ... Woman hospitalized in Milwaukie for Ebola testing ... ELECTION 2014 Underdog Christofferson holds out hope of upsetting Walden John Darling For the Daily Tidings DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Oct. 26, 2014 @ 5:51 pm Posted Oct. 26, 2014 @ 5:51 pm » RELATED CONTENT • Walden easily tops Klamath Falls challenger • Bend Democrat challenges Walden » Social News Despite its status as Oregon’s "Red Zone," with a heavily Republican voter registration, Democrat Aelea Christofferson believes there is some chance Oregon’s 2nd District will hand her victory in her race against longtime Rep. Greg Walden.   Campaigning Saturday in Talent’s Downtowne Cafe, Christofferson told a tiny crowd she thinks voters should stop writing off the race, as she is a serious candidate with a $110,000 war chest and her focus is on creating realistic jobs for these times — infrastructure and clean energy — rather than harkening back to long-gone lumber work.  “Jobs are the main thing,” she said. “Eastern Oregon hasn’t seen the recovery the rest of the state has. Almost all counties with 10 or 11 percent unemployment are in my district. It used to be heavily into lumber jobs, but it’s a fantasy we can go back to the jobs of 20 years ago. Mills got automated and forests were mismanaged and heavily logged and need restoration. Saying the spotted owl did it is missing the point.”  Christofferson assailed her eight-term opponent, saying Walden “keeps floating this misrepresentation that if we just get the environmentalists in line, we’ll get our lumber jobs back.”  Christofferson just sold her ATL Communications, which she founded and managed for 23 years, during which time she was on the boards of Cover Oregon and Oregon Healthy Fund. She has a bachelor’s degree in constitutional law and master’s in business administration from universities in California. She worked in Washington D.C. on the staff of Pete Stark, a longtime Congressman from the East Bay. Her background in business, law and health care, she said, qualifies her to propose reforms for health care. The Affordable Care Act (aka "Obamacare") is here to stay, has massively cut the rolls of uninsured in this state and, she adds, “we should now improve what we have, starting with doing all kinds of tweaks on Obamacare instead of using it to make anti-Obama points.”  On the contentious issue of choice, Christofferson dismissed it, saying, “It’s irrelevant how I feel about abortion. I don’t have a right to make that choice for anyone else. It’s for the person and her doctor and pastor to sort it out, not the government.”  Queried by Talent mayoral candidate Darby Stricker on the controversial Supreme Court ruling that “corporations are people” and may spend liberally on campaign ads, Christofferson said she disagrees — and that “money is a disease that politics has” and can only be brought under control by strong campaign finance reform.  She said she supports net neutrality and GMO labeling, but not Measure 96 on education funding.  Asked about equal pay for both genders, Christofferson scoffed, “It’s so amazing we’re still fighting about this. The difficult thing is proving it (took place). It’s going to have to happen at the local level.”  During her decades in the telecom business, Christofferson worked with Walden and, she says, found him “very noncombative. He wants to look like a really nice guy and he is. I voted for him in 1998 because, back then he was a moderate and accessible. Then he decided to head the RCC (National Republican Campaign Committee) and moved further right. Fifteen years ago, we worked together on hunger and now he’s supported big slashes in food stamps and Oregon is one of the hungriest states.” Congress is “broken” and has ceased to have any meeting of minds, she says. If elected, Christofferson wants all freshmen to band together as a bipartisan force to fix it.  Stricker said she likes Christofferson’s “fresh approach, willingness to collaborate (with the other party) and isn’t going there pre-loaded. We need to unlock the deadlock there.”  Dan Goyette, owner of Downtowne Cafe and host of the event, said there’s always going to be a segment of the population disillusioned with Congress and the federal government but “people now are hungry for change. She is a fresh new choice for movement in a new direction.” John Darling is a freelance writer living in Ashland. Email him at [email protected].   DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Oct. 26, 2014 @ 5:51 pm » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2014 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. DailyTidings.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501