Editor’s note: Due to space restrictions we had to limit some responses from candidates to our questionnaires in the election section, located below.
Sweet Home mayoral candidate Angelita Sanchez’s response to
State Senate Seat 6 candidate Jack Tibbetts provided lengthy responses to two questions. Here are his complete answers:
Question 4: What do you believe are the biggest issues facing Oregon and, if elected, what do you intend to do about them? What needs fixing and how do you intend to fix it?
Here are some of the issues I hope to address in the 2027 Legislative Session:
- Hand taxation and fee authority to the voters. Currently, the Legislature can pass tax and fee increases without voter approval. We saw this with the recent Gas Tax that was literally rammed through the Legislature by Gov. Kotek, despite massive oppositional testimony from the public. The public organized and put it on the ballot anyways, and the tax was crushed. To me, this was a resounding mandate from the voters of Oregon.
They’re taxed too much, and they want the power to decide on if, and how, their hard-earned money gets spent by their government. I want to introduce a constitutional amendment stripping the Legislature of its ability to pass taxes unilaterally, and shift its responsibility to researching a funding need, then presenting it to the voters directly for approval or denial by way of the ballot.
- Housing affordability. In the last biennium budget the Legislature spent $1.2 billion on affordable housing – almost entirely rental housing that does little to help people build equity and generational wealth.
Moreover, the state is spending an average of $540,000 per unit to construct. I don’t think this is very much bang for the buck. I’d like to see more of this money be shifted into a silent second downpayment assistance revolving loan fund program that helps people actually buy a home. And it would cost about $80,000 per home instead of $540,000.
Most importantly to me as a conservative, this money would eventually be returned to the taxpayers when the home eventually gets sold or refinanced, thus making it available to another family. Over time, this revolving loan fund would grow, become self-sustaining, and Oregon could stop spending billions in flash-in-the-pan money, saving the taxpayers a lot of money over time.
- Homelessness – Small cities are hamstrung in their ability to meet legal requirements, brought into effect by House Bill 3115, which made it nearly impossible to move homeless people camping in parks, and in front of businesses, creating a public nuisance and negatively impacting businesses. I want to introduce legislation to remove HB 3115 completely, or make exemptions for small cities under 100,000 people, which don’t have the resources to meet the legal standards.
For cities larger than 100,000 people, who make investments in homeless prevention and behavioral health, they should be rewarded with the ability to move people creating a public nuisance to better balance the needs of the homeless person and the general public.
This may sound callous, but I don’t think letting people rot in place, and do hardcore drugs with impunity, is kind and compassionate. And that is what we’re seeing. Everyone needs to live with accountability. Accountability is the guardrail that keeps us all moving forward.
Question 6: Multiple state agencies have come under scrutiny and criticism (ODOT, BOLI, DHS, the Department of Education) have come under criticism or scrutiny for alleged mismanagement and failure to follow through on their responsibilities. What concerns, if any, do you have in that area and, if elected, what role do you see for yourself in working to address/fix problems that you believe need to be addressed?
To be honest, to fairly and accurately address this question would require pages of your newspaper. But, in short, it is safe to say these issues need addressing, but to understand how to best address them, we need to look at our rankings 20 years ago versus now, and look at the history of recent decisions that have moved our rankings from among the best, to near-last.
When it comes to education, we moved away from a merit-based system, rooted in the concept that our kids must meet basic educational standards, such as reading proficiently by a certain age. Now, we have social emotional learning, and no standards to graduate. We are literally graduating kids into the world who cannot read or write proficiently. My wife is a teacher and we talk about this everyday. If we want to see changes in this area, we need to reintroduce standards, and not be afraid to hold kids back who aren’t meeting them. If a kid is held back, we wouldn’t forget about them either. Rather, they would be provided with intensive educational supports.
Mississippi did this through what is now called the “Mississippi Miracle,” and it moved them from the worst public education system in the nation to the top 10. We also need to get politics out of the classroom and focus on education. We are seeing social political agendas creep into the classroom and, as a result, we’ve seen tens of thousands of conservative and biblical families pull their kids from the public education system, opting instead for homeschooling and private school. This has a very real funding issue for school districts that lose money as a result. This loss of funding leads to teacher layoffs and larger class sizes.
When it comes to ODOT, the Republican Caucus presented a back-to-basics budget of $385 million to address ODOT’s road maintenance and snow plowing responsibilities, but it was voted down, with the Democrats opting instead for the $1 billion plus funding package that eventually became the gas tax. My solution is to re-introduce the Republican proposal and do away with the $250 million electric vehicle tax subsidy the state currently funds. Why subsidize Toyota, Tesla, and other electric vehicle manufacturers with a subsidy when we can instead uphold one of the foremost responsibilities of government – safe roads? This EV subsidy is a big chunk of the Republican proposal, and I am sure that in our state’s $121 BILLION DOLLAR budget we can find the remaining $135 million to avoid going to the voters for more taxes to fund road maintenance.
When it comes to BOLI, we need to ensure we have open and fair contracting. It’s not a stretch to say that BOLI is controlled by labor unions. Labor unions do play an important role in our society and ensure workers have a voice. I don’t dispute that. But when labor unions become the majority in government, public project prices go up, and available funds for core government services goes down. Period.
Balance is very important when it comes to the power of the purse and spending taxpayer funds, and it is important that non-union contractors can compete with union contractors when it comes to government-funded projects.
Here is Angelita Sanchez’s complete response to Question 10 of the Sweet Home Mayor’s questionnaire
Question 10. Why should voters check the box next to your name on the ballot? What sets you apart from other candidates in this race in your ability to serve Sweet Home residents?
I’m a homeowner, property taxpayer, landlord, renter, small business owner, truck driver, ratepayer, consumer, mother, gleaner, public servant, and a local.
I’ve experienced government from just about every angle. I’ve been on both sides of a rental agreement, run a local business, raised a family, and spent 15 years helping put food on the tables of struggling families.
Government has also intersected with my own life in devastating ways, with consequences that don’t simply go away. But I haven’t just lived with government decisions. I’ve spent six years working inside of Sweet Home to change them.
I’ve built relationships with state legislators, county commissioners, and other officials that have helped me advocate for Sweet Home and get results. I led the effort to put the direct election of our mayor on the ballot, challenged decisions I believed were wrong, and stood up for our community when it mattered. Sometimes alone.
I’ve also helped people when government bureaucracy stood in their way. When Little Promises faced a stalled well permit, I helped get the process moving. I’ve brought utility assistance programs to residents struggling to pay their bills.
I know how government works from the inside, but I also know what those decisions look like from the outside.
My vision for Sweet Home is a community where working people can afford to live, where businesses have opportunities to grow, where our children can find good jobs and build a future, and where residents have a real voice in their government.
I’ve lived here, worked here, raised my children here, and spent six years on council fighting for this community. I have a record people can look at, and I have more work I want to do.
Additionally, I am the only candidate who actively worked to give you the right to vote for your mayor: My opponent voted no. There is nothing more important than giving power back to the people.
Thank you for your vote.