2022 Election: Paul Evans, Dan Farrington vie for House District 20
Incumbent Rep. Paul Evans, D-Monmouth, is facing Republican Dan Farrington in the race for Oregon legislative House District 20.
The candidates were previously challenged as well by Libertarian Taylor Rickey, who has since suspended his campaign due to family issues.
House District 20 includes rural and urban communities in Independence, Monmouth and portions of South and West Salem.
While both candidates share a passion for working with local agencies and perspectives on the key issues facing their district — such as strengthening the local economy, enhancing education and keeping communities safe — they have starkly different backgrounds and approaches to how they would accomplish their goals.
On your ballot:Read more about what's on your ballot for the 2022 Oregon November general election
Evans, a military veteran and community college educator, has spent nearly eight years in the Legislature and served as a senior policy advisor to former Gov. Ted Kulongoski.
Entering his fifth term if re-elected, Evans said there is a lot of work that still needs to be done, especially when it comes to recovering from COVID-19 and the wildfires that have impacted so much of Oregon in recent years.
Fully funding K-12 education, better preparing students for jobs in Oregon's workforce and reorganizing the state's approach to college debt and post-secondary education investments are among Evans' top priorities in education.
His other priorities include addressing homelessness and addiction, protecting access to abortion and improving and providing resources for veterans.
Farrington, a small business owner and long-time coach, is less seasoned in Oregon's political scene but ran 10 years ago for Salem's House District 21, currently held by Democrat Rep. Chris Hoy. He did not win and has not run for office since.
Farrington said he ran at the time on a similar platform to this year, focusing, in part, on the economy and Oregon's tax structure. When the state's recent redistricting brought Farrington into HD 20, he said it allowed him to see "a pathway to win."
Farrington said he wants the state to do more to support law enforcement and first responders, and he wants the government to act more thoughtfully when stewarding taxpayer dollars.
He also wants to see academic standards in K-12 schools raised and the removal of certain tax programs. Among the most notable things Farrington is proposing is to eliminate the state's 2019 Corporate Activity Tax, or CAT. The CAT tax money is a dedicated funding source for K-12 education and is in addition to the state's general fund.
Incumbent Evans looks to tackle lingering issues
Evans, 52, was born in Salem and raised in Monmouth. He’s an educator by trade, he said, with more than 20 years of experience. In addition to his time in the Legislature, Evans has prior experience serving in elected roles as a school board member, city councilor and the mayor of Monmouth.
Evans is not married, nor does he have children. He is, however, the proud owner of Beau, who he described as "a very big, fluffy, 80-pound golden retriever."
Evans told the Statesman Journal he wants to see further progress in Oregon when it comes to issues like emergency management preparedness. But he said he also sees opportunities to focus on issues state lawmakers haven't tackled yet, such as combatting domestic terrorism.
Additionally, if re-elected, Evans plans to prioritize increased treatment for mental health and support for community members battling addiction, saying he is committed to "making our streets safer for everyone by getting people into safe, stable housing."
But like Farrington, education is one of the key topics in Evans' campaign, complete with a three-point plan for what he plans to tackle if re-elected for a fifth term.
Evans' first goal is to fully fund the state's Quality Education Model, known as QEM, which Oregon has never done.
The 2001 Legislature established the Quality Education Commission to determine the amount of funding needed to meet the state's quality education goals. In other words, they were meant to determine how much it would cost to run ideal Oregon schools.
For the 2021-23 biennium, the Quality Education Model called for a funding level of about $11.16 billion, according to the 2022 QEM executive summary report. The Legislature approved $9.3 billion.
The aforementioned CAT tax established in 2019 helped increase the state's funding for the QEM from 75% to 80%.
"Imagine what state we could have if we got to 100%," he said.
"As far as people who say they love education and support education but don't want to fund education, to me, that's just more nonsense," Evans said, speaking to removing the CAT tax entirely.
Evans also wants to see better apprenticeship programs in education that are aligned to existing jobs and jobs needed in the 21st century. And, if re-elected, he plans to orchestrate a fundamental reorganization of student debt and how Oregon funds post-secondary education.
Evans has pursued a bill on this subject in the past with no success.
Evans' plan, he explained, would provide the opportunity up front for people to pay a percentage of their gross income tax over time until they retire. He said this option would be pre-tax, so it wouldn't affect an individual’s credit score or their ability to buy a house.
Though the concept hasn't picked up steam before, he said every legislative term brings new opportunities to push conversations further.
"As long as I'm able to continue to serve and bring forward ideas — whether or not my ideas are accepted — (and) they're helpful to stimulate a meaningful conversation,” he said, “then we're doing our job."
Farrington and others have made claims about the state lowering the bar for Oregon students, pointing to examples such as pausing state assessments during the peak of COVID-19 and pausing high school standards as the state evaluated what best practices should be moving forward.
Evans said the state is still pushing students and providing quality education, pointing to the number of credits required in Oregon to earn a diploma, for example, being higher than many others states.
Still, Evans said he's keenly aware the state needs to make some changes. That's why, he said, he voted in favor of Senate Bill 744 in 2021.
The bill, among other things, directed Oregon's education department to review existing requirements for earning each of the state's diplomas and alternative certificates. It also temporarily suspended the requirement for students to demonstrate proficiency in the state's nine "Essential Skills," which include the ability to read and comprehend a variety of texts, write clearly and accurately, and apply mathematics in a variety of settings.
More: Oregon needs to change high school graduation requirements to be more equitable, report says
For 2022, campaign filing records show Evans' campaign has recorded $283,027 in contributions and $211,830 in expenditures, as of Oct. 5. Friends of Paul Evans started the year with a beginning balance of about $15,633.
A variety of groups from different sides of the political spectrum have endorsed Evans. Among them are the Oregon Association Chiefs of Police, the Oregon League of Conservation Voters, the Independent Party of Oregon, the Basic Rights Equality PAC and the Planned Parenthood PAC of Oregon.
"I'm seen in the Legislature as a moderate," Evans said. "I try to focus on issues as independently as I can without real concern for party, and I think at the end of the day, the endorsements showcase that I have a reputation for working across party lines to try and find value-based, principle-based outcomes."
Farrington highlights business, police, taxes
Farrington, 62, was born and raised in Newport and has been a part of the Salem community for about 30 years.
He is the father of six — the grandfather to six as well — and the owner of Sunrise Medical Consultants, Inc., which, according to his campaign website, he started in 2002. Farrington has been involved with various community groups over the years, including coaching youth sports for 40 years and mentoring men at the Union Gospel Mission of Salem.
His wife, Linda Farrington, who unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the Salem-Keizer Public Schools governing board in 2021, has been a leading voice with the parent advocacy group Salem Keizer We Stand Together formed in the last year.
Pointing to examples of mask mandates and allegations of Critical Race Theory in K-12 schools, Farrington's campaign website states, "(T)he classroom has become a political stage and our children are the ones who are hurt by it."
Farrington said it's important to not only prepare students for graduation but also for life after.
"When we lower our standards in our states, and just pass kids through and not prepare them, we're not doing our job as a government," he told the Statesman Journal. "I think we'll have more success if we raise the standards back to where they were, or higher."
A large focus of Farrington's campaign has been on him being pro-business and frustrated with taxes.
"I think our society needs to focus on supporting businesses and not have tax structures that kind of keep them from growing," Farrington said. "If we get rid of some of the tax pressure, (businesses are) gonna hire more, they're gonna give more back to the community, but, right now, everything's so tight for everyone."
If elected, Farrington wants to remove the CAT tax entirely, arguing it's not fair, it's hurting business owners and "there's other funding for education."
Education aside, Farrington is advocating for more addiction recovery programs, mentorship opportunities during recovery and support for individuals after. He also wants to provide more funding and support for the police.
Additionally, Farrington would like to change some of the language in Measure 110.
In November 2020, Oregon voters passed Ballot Measure 110, which, in part, reduced penalties for drug possession and made Oregon the first state to decriminalize the personal possession of some illegal drugs.
The measure also anticipated savings achieved from the prior cost of enforcing criminal drug possession penalties to be combined with the marijuana sales revenue to fund a new drug addiction treatment and recovery grant program, according to legislative documents.
Farrington said the measure is a "great idea (for) recovery, but ... it's allowing people to carry drugs with them wherever they go."
As it's written, he believes it limits law enforcement's ability to do its job and puts officers in danger.
When it comes to working across the political aisle, Farrington said he's used to working with people of all kinds of ideologies. As a coach, he said, he talked to everybody.
"I never looked at their political background or race or anything," he said. "I looked at them as individuals and (said), 'How can I make this the best situation for them possible?' "
Farrington is endorsed, among others, by the Oregon Farm Bureau, Crime Victims United of Oregon, Ag-PAC and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) OR PAC. Since suspending his campaign, former Libertarian candidate Rickey has voiced his support for Farrington.
For 2022, campaign filing records show Farrington's campaign received about $108,235 in contributions and spent about $80,044 in expenditures, as of Oct. 5.
Farrington knows he has a larger challenge facing an incumbent.
"I'm working hard. I've got lots of signage. I'm walking the streets and knocking on lots of doors," he said. "And I think it's the right way to do it. Grassroots."
Natalie Pate covers education for the Statesman Journal. Send comments, questions and tips to her at npate@statesmanjournal.com or 503-399-6745. Follow her on Twitter @NataliePateGwin.
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Education, economy among key topics for Oregon's HD 20 candidates
