Democratic State Representative John Lively faces Republican challenger Alan Stout in the race for Oregon’s House District 7 in Springfield. Last week, the two debated at a Springfield City Club forum.
Asked what they would have changed during the COVID-19 crisis, Stout had a fairly long list. He said, “I don’t think I would have closed businesses while some stay open. If we close them we close them. I don’t think the closure of schools was wise. I think that our own communities should have decided, and not have a unilateral decision from the governor’s office.”
After stating that hindsight makes critiques easy, Lively said the governor performed her duties as Oregon’s constitution intended, however, he said “One of the things I think we should have done earlier, is we should have relied on the legislature. So at times if we’re not in session we can call a special session, and I think we should have done that. We should have used our collective knowledge to understand the issues and how they were impacting people.”
Lively has served in the Oregon House since 2013. Stout is a local business owner who is making his first attempt at winning a seat in the legislature.
The two expressed similar views on several issues, such as managing forests to prevent wildfires, adding more housing to combat homelessness, and reducing polarization in the legislature. One key difference concerns abortion. Lively is an abortion-rights supporter, and Stout said he opposes abortion rights.
Democrats have a significant registration edge in HD-7. In the latest figures available from the Oregon Secretary of State, Democrats outnumber Republicans by 4,603 voters in the district. The largest single block of voters in the district are those who are not affiliated with a political party at all.
