Oregon governor candidate Q&A: Stan Pulliam

Editor's note: NewsChannel 21 reached out to all of the Democrat and Republican candidates for governor and asked if they would respond to the same set of questions. We are presenting their answers online, in full and as sent, except for any minor typos/spelling errors.

Republican candidate Stan Pulliam
https://www.stanpulliam.org/

What sets you apart from the other candidates?

I think a mayor is uniquely suited to the office of governor as they are both executive positions that require leadership. I’ve led Sandy for two terms and kept every promise I made. We focus on public safety, transportation, and infrastructure projects – getting buy-in from across the aisle. Sandy now has more police officers, a better transportation system including new roads, and we stand up for our local small business owners. Politicians in Salem live in a bubble and don’t understand the priorities of real Oregonians. It’s time to get back to serving the greatest need for the most people. I think most of us would rather have a third lane on a highway than a third public bathroom.

What are your top three priorities and plans to address them?

The first two are intertwined: the festering culture of criminality and mass homelessness decaying every corner of our state. There has been a massive uptick in crime and riots that we’ve watched on the nightly news, all the while politicians have slowly defunded our police with their words and actions. We used to have 30 state troopers per hundred thousand people. That number today is 8. Meanwhile, in Sandy, we’ve fully funded our police.

As Governor, I would triple the size of state police, restoring their former strength. I will also deploy the Oregon National Guard to the front lines to stop riots and clean up our streets. I will take a page out of President Trump’s playbook and deputize a small portion of the state police as U.S. marshals, to ensure that rioters go into the federal court system, outside the jurisdiction of the soft-on-crime Multnomah County District Attorney. Finally, I have a plan to address mass homelessness, starting with the most visible aspect of the homeless problem, which is people camping in public right of ways and committing crimes. We must offer help to those who want it and enforce the law for those who don’t.

Finally, I will work to reverse Oregon’s slow decline into educational failure. We need a culture shift in focusing education on preparing students for the real world. If I were a 16-year-old aspiring carpenter who spent more time being taught that the color of my skin makes me a victimizer than how to use fractions to measure and cut a piece of crown molding – I’d be less than enthusiastic about school. Curriculum has become overwhelmed with indoctrination – at the expense of education and training – and that needs to stop.

Above all, we need leaders who promote school choice and personalized learning options that parents and students can choose based on their needs. Every student deserves their own IEP to ensure continued learning.

What one accomplishment are you most proud of and why?

As Mayor, I took a police budget that was nearly one million dollars in debt and fully funded and staffed our police! Make no mistake, this wasn’t easy. We had to make some tough budget decisions. But I followed through on my campaign promise and put the safety of Sandy citizens first. I plan to bring that type of common-sense decision making to the governor’s office.

Why should Central Oregonians vote for you?

I think you can find in me someone who isn’t afraid to take a stand and who backs words with actions.

I can’t stand the politicians who complain about a problem and then don’t lift a finger when they have a chance. And I can’t stand those who are even afraid of the issues! Frankly, I don’t see many out there taking bold positions on issues and sticking to them. What we’re seeing is more of the usual rhetoric, and it’s not backed up with actions.

I talk about the issues that I have been in the trenches fighting for. I don’t talk about supporting our Main Street businesses because it’s cool, but because I’ve been fighting for them publicly for years. I don’t talk about funding our police because it’s trendy, but because we’ve done it in Sandy and we need to do it statewide.