Oregon Republicans gather, talk issues in Bend

Several prominent Oregon Republicans were at a meeting at the Riverhouse in Bend Thursday night, and there were plenty of hot-button issues to talk about.

Among them is the opioid crisis, which President Donald Trump on Thursday declared a national public health emergency. Most of the senators, representatives and candidates in the room said they support the president’s pledge to fund public programs that would help people with addiction.

One of them is Sam Carpenter, who just announced he is running for governor. Carpenter is branding himself as the Trump voters’ choice, saying one of his opponents, Rep. Knute Buehler, also of Bend does not fall enough in line with the president’s agenda.

Carpenter said he supports Trump’s pledge to fund public opioid programs, but added there are other things he’d do that he thinks would be more effective in slowing down the epidemic.

“Of course I would support that, but that’s not going to fix it,” he said. “What’s going to fix it is jobs, again. Our rural communities are devastated.”

Carpenter said his expertise as a CEO has prepared him for a job he says Democratic Gov. Kate Brown has not done well.

Another issue being discussed was a cap-and-trade bill aimed to reduce emissions that Oregon’s governor wants to pass. It was not very popular in the room.

“I think it’s a death knell to businesses and consumers here in Oregon,” Oregon District 26 Sen. Dennis Linthicum said. “It’s a redistribution scheme. It doesn’t solve the pollution problem, but it does take tax revenue and distributes it to elites.”