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Sparacino congratulates Golden on Senate win By Damian Mann Updated: Nov 11, 2022 01:51 PM A A Medford Mayor Randy Sparacino, right, called state Sen. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland, Friday to congratulate him on his win in the race for Senate District 3. Oregon Sen. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland, received congratulations from Republican opponent Randy Sparacino in the Senate District 3 race Friday morning. “He congratulated me on a well-run race,” said Golden, referring to a voicemail message from Medford Mayor Sparacino. “He stressed how much he would like to collaborate as the mayor of Medford.” Golden, who represents southern Jackson County, has 32,827 votes, or 51.79%, to Sparacino’s 30,486, or 48.09%, according to the Friday update posted by the Oregon Secretary of State. Golden has remained about 3 percentage points or more ahead of Sparacino since the first round of results were released on election night. Senate District 3 includes Medford, Phoenix, Talent and Ashland as well as Jacksonville and the Applegate. The two issues that will be top of mind for Golden as he begins his next four years as senator will be wildfires and homelessness, an issue that has many facets including mental health, drug addiction and the chronic lack of housing in the valley. “Someone working full time at minimum wage can’t afford a two-bedroom apartment,” Golden said. Solving this problem won’t be easy because over the past few decades wages have remained relatively flat while housing costs have skyrocketed, he said. Homelessness is an issue that many cities have tried to resolve, but Golden said it’s difficult to find programs that have been successful. Golden wants to meet with local developers to hear their concerns about harmful regulations that are hindering their ability to speed up projects in the valley. He cited two local developers who have projects in the works in Medford who have shown an interest in pursuing more lower-cost housing. Barry Thalden plans to build New Spirit Village, an 84-unit, 3-D-printed housing project in west Medford. Laz Ayala, who is building a 62-unit workforce apartment complex in downtown Medford, is working on other plans that could bring more housing to west Medford. Golden said the state has provided money to help convert 24 hotels around the state into low-income apartments, including both the conversion of the Super 8 Motel in Ashland and the ongoing Redwood Inn conversion in Medford. Golden also got a $1 million grant for Medford to create a permanent location for the Urban Campground on West McAndrews Golden said he would like to meet with local mayors to better understand and address their concerns to solve these thorny issues. He said he’s had many discussions with Medford City Manager Brian Sjothun over the past few years but looks forward to having additional discussions with the mayor or city councilors. Golden said wildfires are another difficult issue, which will require more regulations to make sure the valley doesn’t see the kind of devastation wrought by the 2020 Almeda fire, which destroyed 2,500 residences. Golden said he’ll be working on a comprehensive bill dealing with better preparing communities for fires. After his win four years ago, Golden, an Ashland Democrat, gave Democrats a supermajority in the Senate, which provides an easier avenue to enact tax legislation. Even with Golden’s win, Democrats will no longer have a supermajority in the Senate because of losses in other races. Reach freelance writer Damian Mann at [email protected].