The race for the Third Senate District in southern Oregon was triggered by the sudden death in August of Dr. Alan Bates. Bates, a Democrat, was widely respected, especially for his work on health care issues.
Now, Democrat Tonia Moro – an attorney -- and Republican Alan DeBoer -- an auto-dealer -- are each making the case that they are the best choice to succeed Bates in a race that has implications for the balance of power in Salem.
On a recent evening, nearly 20 people gather in the living room of a south Ashland home. They’ve come to meet Tonia Moro, the Democratic candidate for the Oregon Senate’s Third District. After everyone has grazed the wine and hors d’oeuvres, Moro makes her pitch, evoking the memory of Dr. Alan Bates.
“Like him, I intend to be a voice in Salem for the folks he cared deeply about: small businesses, working families, students and seniors and young people starting out with families,” she says.
Moro spent about ten years as a federal public defender. Later, in private practice, she served as counsel for several small cities. After losing a write-in bid for a seat on the Jackson County Board of Commissioners in 2014, Moro won a seat on the Rogue Valley Transportation District board. She served as chair and led the successful campaign for a tax measure to restore bus service that had been cut after voters shot down a previous tax proposal. Moro says she’d approach the Senate job much as she believes Alan Bates did.
“What’s important is that we elect somebody that’s like Dr. Bates and really wants to make everybody’s lives better,” she says. “We don’t need to send anybody that’s more inclined to represent the biggest corporations and the wealthiest individuals. Those people are already very well-represented.”
The next evening, I go walking Ashland’s Railroad District with Republican candidate Alan DeBoer. He’s knocking on doors.
If someone answers, he introduces himself, offers a campaign brochure and asks folks if they have any questions. Mostly they don’t, so DeBoer thanks them and moves on. In between houses, I remark on DeBoer’s low-pressure sales pitch …
“You will find I’m a very low-key person,” he says. “I love doing the work. That’s who I am, so … This is hard for me to do the campaign where you talk about stuff you’ve done, because I don’t’ do that.”
Still, DeBoer says the things he’s done are exactly what make him the better candidate for this Senate seat. DeBoer graduated from Ashland High School and worked at the family auto dealership. He’s been on the Ashland School Board and also served a term as Ashland’s mayor. He claims credit for getting both the town’s YMCA facility and the local hospital on solid financial footing.
“I’ve volunteered for everything, almost everything that’ll touch your life over the last 30 years and been very successful at it, and have a lot of education that I’ve learned by the school of hard knocks and just doing the job,” he says.
DeBoer campaign contributions tend to come from Republican political sources and industry groups, including realtors, agriculture and landlords. His single largest contribution so far was a $50,000 check from Nike co-founder Phil Knight.
Tonia Moro draws much of her campaign cash from Democratic political sources and from labor unions. Her biggest contribution was $50,000 from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
Neither Moro or DeBoer are calling much attention to their party affiliation in their campaign materials. But this race has drawn attention because the Third District is pivotal for control of the Oregon Senate. Bill Lunch is professor emeritus of political science at Oregon State University.
“If the Democrats are to retain their 18 to 12 so-called ‘supermajority’ in the state senate,” Lunch says, “they need to retain control over the Third District position.”
Democrats are expected to hold their majorities in both houses of the legislature this election. But the Dems’ supermajority in the senate allows them to move revenue legislation without needing Republican votes. If the Republicans can gain the Third District seat, they’d be in a position to block key parts of the Democrats’ legislative agenda.
