The candidates for the 4th District seat in the U.S. Congress will meet with local voters this week, but they won’t do it together.
Republican Art Robinson will hold a public meeting in Sweet Home at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 4, at the Jim Riggs Community Center, 880 18th Ave.
Incumbent Congressman Peter DeFazio, D-Springfield, will hold town meetings in Albany and Corvallis on Thursday, Aug. 5.
The Albany town hall-style meeting will be held from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. at the City Council Chambers at Albany City Hall, 333 Broadalbin St. The Corvallis meeting will be from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library Main Meeting Room, 645 NW Monroe Ave.
Robinson, a medical research scientist and businessman who lives on a farm near Cave Junction, south of Grants Pass, has been aggressive on the campaign trail since winning the Republican primary in June, appearing at 17 events throughout the district the end of July.
Wednesday will be his first appearance in Sweet Home, after stops in Albany and Lebanon in July.
Robinson has won the nominations of the Republican, Independent, Libertarian and Constitution parties for the seat held by DeFazio since 1986.
DeFazio plans to speak about the House of Representatives’ recently adjourned session and will address issues such as unemployment, transportation and infrastructure investment, Wall Street reforms, U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, and his efforts to extend the county payments program. The meetings will provide constituents with an opportunity to voice concerns and ask questions, according to a statement from DeFazio’s office.
DeFazio and Robinson have engaged in an aggressive war of words in the past few weeks, mostly via Robinson’s Web site, http://www.artrobinsonforcongress.com and, in DeFazio’s case, the fax machine, accusing each other of dodging face-to-face debate situations.
Robinson announced in early July that he will hold seven debates, one in each county in the district, beginning at 6 p.m. Aug.
12 at the Valley River Inn in Eugene, followed by a second at the Douglas County Fairgrounds at 6 p.m. on Aug. 17.
Defazio fired back later in the month, calling Robinson’s debate schedule “phony” and accusing Robinson of setting dates “in direct conflict with DeFazio’s existing schedule,” including his stated desire to schedule any debates after Aug. 24, when all nominating conventions are finished.
The candidates have traded barbs over phraseology in letters they’ve exchanged, debate formats, debate monitors €“ specifically the qualifications of the League of Women Voters to moderate a debate, and more.