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Our View: Mike Moran in House District 6 Thursday Oct 27, 2016 at 12:01 AM Medford's House District 6 has been a reliably Republican seat for many years, thanks to a solid registration  advantage. There's nothing wrong with that, as long as the Republican holding the seat is effectively representing the district in Salem. This year, Mike Moran makes a good case for replacing Republican incumbent Sal Esquivel with a Democrat who isn't beholden to upstate Democratic leaders and won't be an automatic party-line vote. Esquivel, a former president of the Medford City Council, has held the District 6 seat since 2005. In that time, he has achieved the position of vice chairman of the Veterans and Emergency Preparedness Committee. Meanwhile, Rep. Peter Buckley, D-Ashland, elected the same year, rose to become chairman of the powerful budget-writing Ways and Means Committee. Another member of the Southern Oregon delegation, Rep. Mike McLane, R-Powell Butte, who wasn't elected until 2010, is House minority leader, the top position in the GOP caucus. Esquivel is a reliable conservative vote, but not much more. Moran, who is retired from a law enforcement career as a Medford police officer and most recently Talent police chief, is a former chairman of the Medford School Board and served on the school district budget committee, the Rogue Valley Transportation District board and the Medford Parks Commission. Moran says he hasn't received much support from party leaders in Salem, so he owes no one any favors. He says he's not a guaranteed vote in the House Democratic Caucus, and he figures he can have more influence "inside the tent," as he puts it, than outside. He opposes Ballot Measure 97, the gross receipts tax on large corporations, because he says tax measures should be decided by lawmakers hammering out the details, not in the broad strokes of an initiative. At the same time, he recognizes the need for better school funding. Esquivel has been a diligent if not spectacular representative. It's time to thank him and give someone else a shot. We recommend Mike Moran for state representative, District 6.