Program date: Oct. 11, 2024
Air date: Oct. 14, 2024
From the City Club of Eugene:
In the upcoming election, voters in Congressional District 4 will have the choice of four candidates for representative. Running against incumbent Democrat Val Hoyle are Dan Bahlen, Monique DeSpain, and Justin Filip.
This forum is moderated by KLCC reporter, Rebecca Hansen-White.
Speakers:
Biographies are provided by the panelists and edited for length/proofreading
Dan Bahlen, a Native American Libertarian candidate in the 4th Federal Congressional District of Oregon, felt compelled to help our country after watching the Biden-Trump debate in June. He felt the country was in trouble and needed him at that time. His innovative approach to help our country address all the threats we are facing– a potential economic collapse, a large-scale global conflict, and climate change. Tackling these three issues is the most important thing, and he found it unfortunate that we have political polarization and gridlock in a severely dysfunctional U.S. federal government system. His unique approach starts with the homeless crisis and the culture of poverty and will assist with all our other national crises. With the way his approach is crafted, he aims to gain support from both Republicans and Democrats in Washington, D.C.
Monique DeSpain served our nation for 30 years in the U.S. Air Force, the Air Force Reserve, and the Oregon Air National Guard, retiring in 2019 with the rank of Colonel. For 20 years, she served as a lawyer with the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps in domestic and overseas locations, developing policy, handling investigations, and advising senior commanders on military justice and ethics. In private practice, she is an attorney and advocate for crime victims, businesses, government transparency, and commonsense policy reform, with a demonstrated record of integrity. She has lived in Oregon since 1995, where she raised her twin boys in Eugene. Monique is running for Oregon’s 4th District to bring an independent voice to Congress and fight for policies that reduce crime, tackle the homeless crisis, secure our borders, stop the flow of deadly drugs, and restore a prosperous, affordable economy for all.
Justin Filip is a graduate of the University of Oregon, and now works at the UO as a program coordinator. He is currently the Secretary of the Pacific Green Party and served as a member of the State Coordinating Committee from 2021-2024. He is also the co-chair of the Eugene chapter of the Pacific Green Party. In April of 2024, Justin and other concerned faculty and staff at the University of Oregon founded the UO Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine to help support and protect the student protesters. Justin’s top priorities include ending the genocide in Palestine and reining in our military spending, bringing federal dollars back to CD4 to help address the housing and unhoused crisis, and ensuring strong protections for federal lands.
Congresswoman Val Hoyle has built a career fighting for working people. Before entering public service, she worked in retail sales and international trade for 25 years. Val then served as the Majority Leader in the Oregon Legislature and as Oregon’s Labor Commissioner, where she fought to expand apprenticeship and job training programs and ensure workers were paid the wages and benefits they were owed. In Congress, Val sits on the Natural Resources and Transportation and Infrastructure committees, where she has continued fighting to represent the interests of Oregonians.
About the City Club of Eugene:
The mission of the City Club of Eugene is to build community vision through open inquiry. The Club explores a wide range of significant local, state, and national issues and helps to formulate new approaches and solutions to problems. Membership is open to all, and Club members have a direct influence on public policy by discussing issues of concern with elected officials and other policy makers. The City Club’s mailing address is PO Box 12084, Eugene, OR 97440, and its website is cityclubofeugene.org.
Video and Broadcast
This program will be live streamed, and the videotape will be made available on the City Club of Eugene’s Facebook page and You Tube Channel, in addition to our website. It will be broadcast on Monday, October 14 at 7:00 p.m., on KLCC 89.7 FM.
Contact: For more information, visit CityClubOfEugene.org.