Oregon election guide: Candidates for legislative districts in Marion, Polk counties
Corrections & Clarifications: This article has been updated to reflect that Democrat Karyssa Dow is challenging incumbent Rep. Rick Lewis, R-Silverton, in House District 18.
The following are snapshot looks at candidates for the Oregon Legislature who are running in districts that include representing portions of Marion and Polk counties.
Candidates elected as state senators serve 4-year terms and candidates elected as state representatives serve 2-year terms. Those elected Nov. 5 will be sworn in on Jan. 2025, when the Legislature convenes.
Oregon Senate District 9
Oregon Senate District 9 covers portions of Clackamas, Linn and Marion counties. These are the candidates:
Mike Ashland
Mike Ashland, 73, lives in Silverton with his wife and describes himself as “Santa” and “Grampa.” He has been a minister for more than 40 years and is the pastor at Church of the Moment. He also is chief executive officer of Straw Publishing, which publishes books by local Oregon authors. Ashland previously served in the Air National Guard and owned a retail boutique.
He said Senate District 9 needs help addressing issues such as homelessness, crime, mental health, poverty, housing and education. Among his priorities as a state senator would be providing more funding to schools, health care for all Oregonians, and behavioral health crisis alternatives to law enforcement.
Sen. Fred Girod, R-Silverton
Sen. Fred Girod is a 73-year-old dentist who has served in the Oregon Senate since 2008. Girod and his wife have lived in Silverton since wildfires destroyed his home near Mill City in the Beachie Creek fire in 2020. Before becoming a state senator, Girod was on the Stayton City Council and served as a state representative. He is on the Joint Committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response and co-vice chairs the joint committee on Ways and Means and Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Wildfire.
If reelected, Girod said his priorities would be being a voice for rural Oregonians and prioritizing funding for additional Oregon State Police and public safety. Girod said he also would work to address the decline of the timber industry in the state.
Oregon Senate District 12
Oregon Senate District 12 covers parts of rural Yamhill and Polk counties including Dallas, McMinnville and Newberg. Incumbent Rep. Brian Boquist, R-Dallas, is barred for reelection for having more than 10 unexcused absences during the 2023 GOP walkouts. These are the candidates:
Scott Hooper
Scott Hopper, 61, of Monmouth, is an attorney and cattle rancher. He has no prior government experience but said he has been solving difficult problems since 1988 in his work as a lawyer. He and his wife have two children.
In his campaign announcement, Hooper said he wants to make a positive change and collaborate with other lawmakers to solve issues. Hooper said he would prioritize supporting farmers, small businesses and working families. He said his other priorities would include working to tailor solutions on housing and homelessness for small cities and rural communities, defending reproductive rights, and bolstering education programs and public education.
Bruce Starr
Bruce Starr, 55, is looking to return to the Oregon Legislature. He served as a state representative for District 3 from 1999 to 2003 and as a state senator representing District 15 from 2003 to 2015. He and his wife have two adult children. He served on the Business and Transportation Committee in the House and Senate. Starr is a Dundee City Council member and was a Hillsboro City Council member from 1995 to 1998. Starr also is a small business owner, co-founded a Christian preschool and works as a fence contractor.
On his website, he said his priorities in the Legislature would include reducing barriers to incentivize small and medium businesses to grow in Oregon, strengthening laws against crime and investing in transportation.
Oregon Senate District 29
Oregon Senate District 29 spans Wallowa, Union, Umatilla, Morrow, Gilliam, Sherman and parts of Wasco, Jefferson, Marion and Clackamas counties. Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena, is not running for reelection so there is no incumbent. There is one candidate.
Todd Nash
Todd Nash, 61, Enterprise, is running unopposed for Senate District 29. Nash currently serves on the State Weed Board and as Wallowa County Commissioner. He was previously president of the Oregon’s Cattlemen’s Association and co-chair of the Natural Resource Committee. He and his wife have four children.
Nash said he wants to carry on in the state Senate the tradition of representing eastern and rural Oregon. He said he is committed to sharing “common sense” and conservative values. His top priorities would be public safety, lowering taxes, incentive programs for housing investment and tenant law reform.
Oregon House District 11
Oregon House District 11 covers parts of Linn and Marion counties. These are the candidates:
Rep. Jami Cate, R-Lebanon
Rep. Jami Cate, 36,has served in the Oregon House since 2021. She is a a fifth-generation grass seed farmer. Cate has served on the board of directors for the Lebanon Strawberry Festival, Lebanon Museum Foundation and the Lebanon Community Foundation. In the Legislature, she serves on the House Committee on Housing and Homelessness, Commerce and Consumer Protection and Joint Committees on Legislative Audits.
If reelected, Cate said she would continue to prioritize rural Oregonian’s needs, “defending” police, state agency accountability, the Second Amendment and “family rights.”
Ivan Maluski
Ivan Maluski, 52, of Scio, is an independent candidate. Maluski was the policy director for Friends of Family Farmers from 2012 to 2020 and owns and operates a 70-acre farm. He previously served as director of the Colton Rural Fire Protection District in Clackamas County from 2010 to 2014.
Maluski's website cited his experience as policy director as proof he knows “how to get things done in Salem.” He said key issues he would work on if elected include supporting independent family farmers and agriculture; gun rights and keeping firearms from felons; improving healthcare affordability and access; supporting the timber industry and protecting natural resources. Maluski also said in his voter’s pamphlet statement he would prioritize holding state government agencies accountable against wasteful spending and “reining in” out-of-state corporations buying housing and farmland.
Oregon House District 15
Oregon House District 15 covers portions of Benton, Marion and Linn counties. These are the candidates:
Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis, R-Albany
Rep. Shelly Boshart Davis first started representing HD 15 in 2019. She lives just outside Albany with her husband, Geoff, and their three daughters. She is the daughter of a trucker and farmer and serves as co-vice chair of the Joint Committee on Transportation and on the Joint Interstate 5 Bridge Committee and the Business and Labor Committee. She now owns and manages the family trucking company created by her father and uncle in 1983.
Boshart Davis said on her website that if reelected she would continue supporting of Oregon’s transportation industry and would prioritize being a fiscally responsible leader, working to “amend and fix” Measure 110 — the voter approved law that first decriminalized possession of illicit drugs and redirects cannabis tax revenue to expand addiction services — and bridging a gap between urban and rural Oregon.
Terrence Virnig
Terrence Virnig, 74, of Albany, previously served on the Albany Public Safety Commission, the Albany Bicycle and Pedestrian Commission, Albany Traffic Safety Commission, and the Albany Budget Committee. He is an engineer who has worked for the Oregon Department of Energy and in the chemical manufacturing industry. He and his wife have two adult children.
Virnig said his priorities as a state representative would include protecting and preserving the environment, working to approve universal health care, improving mental health and protecting reproductive rights. Virnig said he would also prioritize every Oregonian earning a living wage and implementation of the gun control law Measure 114. He described himself as having a “strong grasp” of technical and financial issues.
Oregon House District 17
Oregon House District 17 spans portions of Linn and Marion counties from east Salem and Turner to Detroit and Idanha. These are the candidates:
Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Stayton
Rep. Ed Diehl, 59, became a state representative in 2023. He co-owned an engineering business and he and his wife have two adult children. He has served on the Behavioral Health Committee, Joint Conduct Committee, the Joint Committee on Semiconductors and as vice chair of the House Committee on Economic Development, Small Business and Trade. He also serves on the Santiam Hospital board of directors.
Diehl said his priorities if reelected include: reducing homelessness and addiction, opposing new taxes, holding government spending accountable, protecting Second Amendment rights, and supporting law enforcement and “pro-life” initiatives.
David Beem
David Beem, 73, Salem, regularly attends Marion County Commissioner meetings and Oregon Legislature hearings, testifying on various issues. He describes himself as a role model for the disabled and mentally ill. He has received more than 90 awards during the past four decades and run for office several times. He has previously served on the Oregon Disabilities Commission board, the State Fair Board and Marion County Fair Board.
Beem did not submit a voter’s pamphlet statement for the primary or general election but said he is committed to serving everybody in the district and advocating for the working class and the disabled. Beem said his goals are for every Oregonian to have a job and health care and to make public transportation in Salem more accessible.
Oregon House District 18
Oregon House District 18 covers portions of southern Clackamas and eastern Marion counties, including Silverton, Mt. Angel, Scotts Mills, Molalla, Hubbard, Aurora, Donald and St. Paul, among other small towns and rural areas. These are the candidates.
Karyssa Dow
Karyssa Dow, 33, of Silverton, is the Democrat running for Oregon House District 18. She was selected by her precinct after the Democratic primary write-in candidate decided not to proceed. Dow is cosmetologist who runs Opaline Salon in Silverton, a volunteer with Silverton Area Community Aid, and has served as a precinct committee person in her district. Originally from Washington, Dow also is serving a second term on the Silverton Food Co-op board and is a member of the Affordable Housing Taskforce in Silverton.
Dow's platform focuses on supporting public education, protecting access to reproductive healthcare, advancing the recommendations of climate change experts, increasing affordable housing, and defending urban growth boundaries. She has been endorsed by Clackamas County Democrats, Marion County Democrats and the Oregon League of Conservation Voters, among others.
Rep. Rick Lewis, R-Silverton
Rick Lewis, 74, was appointed in February 2017 to represent the district and was elected in 2018. He is running for his fifth term. He previously was police chief, interim city manager and mayor of Silverton. Originally from Wyoming, Lewis worked in law enforcement for nearly 40 years and served in the U.S. Army for three years.
He said he plans to introduce a bill to resolve what he described as “technical issues” with House Bill 4002, which recriminalized drug possession. He said he also will be focused on supporting veterans, including building the Roseburg Veterans’ Home, cutting government regulations on small businesses and ensuring rural areas are not neglected while the majority of state resources go to the Portland-metro area.
Oregon House District 19
Oregon House District 19 covers south Salem. These are the candidates.
Rep. Tom Andersen, D-Salem
Rep. Tom Andersen, 71, was elected to the Oregon Legislature in 2022. He and his wife have lived in Salem for 18 years. Andersen is an attorney who previously served on the Salem City Council for eight years and as leader of a Salem neighborhood association. He is vice chair of the House Judiciary Committee and serves on the House Climate, Energy and Environmental Committee and Early Childhood and Human Services Committee.
Andersen's website said his focus during a second term would include improving mental health and addiction treatment, working on affordable housing and addressing homelessness, strengthening gun safety laws and passing legislation for Salem to be reimbursed for use by the state for local taxpayer funded fire and police services.
David Brown
David Brown, 57, of Salem, is a youth sports coach and insurance agent. Brown served in the U.S. Navy and has lived in Salem for more than 40 years. He, his wife and their son operate a small business.
On his website, Brown lists public safety, quality and safe schools, and working families as his top three priorities. He said he supports incentivizing more people to become police officers, reversing the voted approved Measure 110, reinstating previous graduation standards in the school, funding school resource officers and preventing local governments such as Salem from passing payroll taxes. In his voter’s pamphlet, Brown said he also wants to reduce barriers to building homes.
Oregon House District 20
Oregon House District 20 covers Independence, Monmouth, and portions of south and West Salem. These are the candidates:
Kevin Chambers
Kevin Chambers, 34, of Monmouth is making his third run for state representative. He lost to the late Selma Pierce in Republican primaries in 2018 and 2020. Chambers is on Monmouth’s city budget committee and has been on the planning commission. He owns a water well drilling business that operates in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Chambers attended Northwest Nazarene University, Chemeketa Community College and the University of Phoenix.
Chambers’ campaign website says he got sober in 2021, and one of his main issues is advocating for programs to help people with addictions. His other priorities include police reform and supporting veterans and reforming the state’s education system, including creating school vouchers.
Rep. Paul Evans, D-Monmouth
Rep. Paul Evans, 54, has been a state representative since 2015. He is an U.S. Air Force veteran and was mayor of Monmouth from 1999 to 2002. He is a graduate of Western Oregon University, Oregon State University, and the Air Force Officer Training School and Air University and an instructor at Chemeketa Community College and a former school board member. Evans led a ballot measure in 2016 that sets aside 1.5% of lottery revenue for veteran services.
If reelected, Evans said he would be committed to education, including new career training opportunities and making investments to lower class sizes, increase graduation rates and expand summer programs. His priorities include strengthening the economy and addressing homelessness and addiction.
Oregon House District 21
Oregon House District 21 covers Keizer and north Salem. These are the candidates:
Rep. Kevin Mannix, R-Salem
Rep. Kevin Mannix, 74, is running for reelection in House District 21. Before Mannix was elected in 2022 by flipping the district, which had previously been held by Democrats, he served in the House and Oregon Senate as a Democrat and as a Republican from 1989 through 2000. The north Salem resident runs a law firm in Salem. He and his wife, Susanna, have three children and six grandchildren.
Mannix said he is focused on advocating for public safety, improving the housing crisis and advocating for affordability. He highlighted his legislative successes, including authoring the first anti-stalking law in Oregon and updating this law in 2024 to provide more protections, co-authoring the reform of the estate tax and securing funding to renovate local housing shelters. Mannix also pointed to pioneering the passage of House Bill 4002 to recriminalize drug possession and empower law enforcement accountability while providing compassionate care, and his work advocating against Salem’s proposed payroll tax.
Virginia Stapleton
Salem City Council member Virginia Stapleton, 43, opted to not run for reelection on the council this year and in May won the Democratic primary for House District 21 to challenge Mannix. Stapleton was elected to the Ward 1 position on City Council in 2020. The mom of two was born and raised in the Salem-Keizer area and previously owned a small business.
Stapleton said her focus — from serving on the council, running a Neighborhood Watch program, helping begin the Englewood Forest Festival and supporting Salem-Keizer schools — has always been on serving the community and getting results. Stapleton said she is running for state representative to bring down costs for families, fully fund our police and fire departments, invest in a quality education for kids, build more affordable housing, and address the homelessness, mental health and addiction crisis.
Oregon House District 22
Oregon House District 22 spans Woodburn, north Salem, Gervais, Brooks and Labish Village. These are the candidates:
Rep. Tracy Cramer, R-Gervais
Rep. Tracy M. Cramer, is finishing her first term as a state representative. Cramer was a dental assistant and owns a small business. In the Legislature, she has served on the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Education, the House Committee on Early Childhood and Human Services, and the House Committee on Education.
If reelected, Cramer said her priorities would be expanding housing, supporting rollbacks on regulations that increase utility bills, continuing drug reform, and increasing school standards.
Lesly Munoz
Lesly Munoz is an education advocate and labor organizer. She is the daughter of Mexican immigrants and lives in Woodburn where she is a single working mom of four children. Munoz works as a UniServ Consultant at the Oregon Education Association and was a council representative for Oregon AFSCME, a labor union representing more than 30,000 Oregon public workers. As a labor organizer, Munoz said she advocates for fair wages and empowering workers.
If elected, Munoz said her priorities would include education, affordable housing, community safety, quality healthcare, and clean air and water. She said she also supports fully funding police and fire departments, building affordable housing and bringing local solutions to the mental health crisis.
Oregon House District 23
Oregon House District 23 covers portions of Yamhill and Polk counties. These are the candidates:
Rep. Anna Scharf, R-Amity
Rep. Anna Scharf, 55, was elected to the Legislature in 2020. Scharf and her husband live in Amity and have a family farm. Before becoming a state representative, she worked at Hewlett-Packard, FMC Corporation, GK Machine and SEDCOR and as a policy analyst for House District 23. Scharf also previously served on the Polk County Fair Board, the Polk County Farm Bureau and Perrydale School Board. She has served as vice chair of the Early Childhood Committee and the Agriculture and Land Use Committee, Business and Labor Committee and House Rules Committee.
If reelected, Scharf said in her voter pamphlet statement, her priorities would include protecting businesses from what she describes as government overreach, additional drug reform and tools for law enforcement to deal with illegal drug users, and protecting natural resources. Scharf also said she would focus on natural resource jobs.
Kriss Wright
Kriss Wright, 59, of Newberg, has served on the Newberg Planning Commission since 2019 and serves on the Rules Advisory Committee of the Oregon Ethics Commission. She is a former research scientist who worked as a health technician. This is her second time running against Scharf.
Wright said her priorities as a state representative would include supporting the state agricultural industry, protecting Oregon land, lowering grocery prices, public safety, and affordable childcare.
Oregon House District 24
Oregon House District 24 covers portions of Polk and Yamhill counties. These are the candidates:
Rep. Lucetta Elmer, R-McMinnville
Rep. Lucetta Elmer, 54, was elected in 2022 as a state representative. She owns and manages businesses including a boutique hotel and coffee shop. Elmer said her first business experience as doing payroll for her father’s timber company. She and her husband have four children. Elmer has served on the McMinnville Chamber of Commerce, McMinnville Downtown Association Board, McMinnville Government Affairs Committee and is on the Business Oregon Commission. In the Legislature, she has served as vice chair of the Business and Labor Committee, on the Early Childhood Committee, Economic Recovery and Prosperity Committee and Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee.
Elmer's website said if reelected, her priorities would include opposing new taxes, being tough on crime, supporting farmers and small businesses, and “protecting our constitutional rights.”
Lisa Pool
Lisa Pool, 49, is a small business owner in McMinnville. Pool serves on the McMinnville Urban Renewal Advisory Committee and has served on the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services’ Essential Health Benefits Committee. She has a master's degree in business from Colorado State University.
Pool said she is running as a working-class candidate and if elected would focus on housing and health care and advocate for infrastructure and agricultural communities. She said her priorities also include education and bringing addiction resources to the community.
Oregon House District 57
Oregon House District 57 encompasses, Morrow, Gilliam, Sherman, Wheeler and portions of Wasco, Jefferson, Marion, Umatilla and Clackamas counties. Incumbent Greg Smith is running unopposed.
Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner
Rep. Greg Smith, 55, has served as a state representative since 2003. Smith is a business owner and serves on the Board for Morrow Development Corporation and as contract director of the Small Business Development Center at Eastern Oregon University. He’s previously served on several other boards and committees. In the Legislature, Smith has served on the Human Resources, Transportation and Economic Development, Public Safety and General Government Ways and Means subcommittees. He has served as chair of the Transportation and Economic Development Ways and Means subcommittee. During the 2024 session Smith was part of the committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response and Committee on Revenue. He was vice chair of the Ways and Means Committee.
He lists his priorities in the Legislature as investing in infrastructure and businesses, Second Amendment rights, fiscal responsibility, “sanctity of life” and education.
Reporters Bill Poehler, Whitney Woodworth and Isabel Funk contributed to this article.
Dianne Lugo covers the Oregon Legislature and equity issues. Reach her at dlugo@statesmanjournal.com or on X @DianneLugo
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon voter guide: Legislative races in Marion, Polk counties
