KLCC’s Brian Bull moderates this forum between two of the three candidates for Oregon’s 4th Congressional District. This district includes the southern half of Oregon’s coastal counties, including Coos, Curry, Douglas, Lane, and Benton counties and most of Linn and Josephine counties.
We hear from Rep. Peter DeFazio (D), incumbent congressman, and Alek Skarlatos (R), author and forest management advocate. Daniel Hoffay, an artist and certified nursing assistant representing the Pacific Green party, did not participate in the forum.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XajYYlqrzk
Program Date: October 16, 2020
Air Date: October 19, 2020
From the City Club of Eugene:
Speakers:
Peter DeFazio (Democrat) began his work in public service as a staff member for Oregon Congressman Jim Weaver. He was then elected as a Lane County Commissioner. After four years, he was elected to Congressional District 4, where he has served ever since. He is the chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. During his time on the Committee, he has served as Chair or Ranking Member of four of the six subcommittees: Aviation, Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, Highways and Transit, and Water Resources and Environment. DeFazio previously served as the Ranking Member on the House Natural Resources Committee, where he focused on energy, federal lands, ocean and fisheries, and Native American issues. Between earning a BA at Tufts University and an MA at University of Oregon, he served four years in the Air Force Reserve.
Alek Skarlatos (Republican) spent his adolescence in Roseburg and attended Umpqua Community College. He served five years in the Oregon National Guard, including nine months of deployment to Afghanistan. He attended Air Assault School and Sniper School, achieving the rank of specialist. He earned the US Soldier’s Medal for heroic action taken with four others to subdue an armed terrorist in France in 2015. Since leaving military service, he has written a book and acted in a movie about the incident and toured the country “encouraging others to take control of their lives.” At home in Roseburg, he advocates for responsible forest management in Southern Oregon.
