Westlund’s independent candidacy comes to Ashland
Coke, not beer, for gubernatorial candidate at ‘Beer with Ben’ event

By Jennifer Squires
March 9, 2006

Ben Westlund brought his anti-party candidacy and love of pepperoni pizza to Standing Stone Brewing Co. on Tuesday evening.

Westlund, a state senator from Bend, is the only independent candidate in the crowded race for governor. He’s out early — Tuesday was is third trip to Ashland in recent months — not to win a heated primary election, but to bring a competitive third- party candidate to the contest and, he says, to crack the partisan deadlock in the state legislature.

“We’ve been out talking about our message of reducing paralyzing partisanship, answering the question of how to fund education and drumming up support for universal health care,” he said.

He started Tuesday morning in Grants Pass, meeting with the Rogue Community College board of directors and K-12 teachers. Westlund visited with more teachers in Medford and met with Southern Oregon University President Elisabeth Zinser in Ashland.

The day wrapped up with the “Beer with Ben” event at Standing Stone, a chance for community members to meet the candidate set on shaking up the state government.

Westlund wants to overhaul the tax system to create a more-stable revenue source for state programs such as education and health services. He has plans — Draft Plan A to stabilize state revenue and a 60-cent cigarette tax for dedicated to health care — and wants to get to work.

Draft Plan A, a project with several other state leaders, would give Oregonians a tax cut while increasing state revenues, Westlund said. In its current form, the plan enacts a 5 percent sales tax, but Westlund explained the “consumption tax” could be one of several things — not necessarily a sales tax.

In fact, he considers “sales tax” a bad word. When a little girl sitting at the table next to him screamed after he said it, he pointed.

“See,” Westlund joked.

The Family Health and Wellness Act would be funded through the cigarette tax. That program would provide health care for all uninsured children through the Oregon Health Plan, add more adults to that state program and help small employers offer their workers health insurance.

And health care is big for Westlund.

Professionally, he consults on increasing efficiencies in health care. Personally, he survived a lung cancer diagnosis, although he was never a smoker. During the 2005 legislative session, Westlund championed efforts to decrease healthcare costs and increase access.

“Affordable health care is a fundamental human right,” he said, but in the legislature it’s been “stifled and squashed at every turn.”

After a Coke and coffee — Westlund gave up alcohol a quarter- century ago — and conversations with Ashlanders, Westlund headed home to Bend. But in the eight months between now and the results of the governor’s race, he’ll be back several times.

“We’re in this thing to win it,” Westlund said. “This state needs new leadership. I aim to provide it, and when you’re taking on the political establishment of both parties, you need better be working hard and you better be working early.”