Westlund seeks fresh approach
LEBANON — Oregon
needs a fresh and different approach in state government, said state Sen. Ben
Westlund, and that is what he wants to offer the voters.
The independent from Bend fielded questions from nearly 200 Lebanon High School
students on Tuesday afternoon, the third gubernatorial candidate to speak at the
school this spring. Democrat Pete Sorenson and Republican Ron Saxton spoke
earlier.
Westlund told the students he recently became an independent, having served in
the Oregon Legislature for 10 years as a Republican.
When asked why he changed his political affiliation, Westlund replied that his
beliefs no longer fit the mold of either the Democrats or Republicans.
“I’m pro gun rights and pro gay rights. Neither side fully represents my views,”
Westlund said. “As an independent, I’m the tip of the iceberg for the
fastest-growing segment of voters in the country.”
Westlund said he got tired of the “intolerant views and cliche dogma” passed
down by the Republican party, which didn’t work for Oregon. He added that he
doesn’t expect to have any problems meeting the required number of signatures
for an independent to get on the primary ballot.
Westlund described himself as an entrepreneur and a risk-taker, two of the
qualities that have made America great, he said.
In response to a question of what his first task as governor would be, Westlund
said that reformation of the tax structure tops his list.
“You’ve all the seen the movie ‘Dumb and Dumber?’” Westlund asked the students.
“Well our current tax structure is ‘dumbest.’”
Westlund told the crowd that Oregon is spinning into mediocrity because of
misspent revenues and a lack of funding in the state’s budget.
He said his plan would include reducing property and income taxes while adding a
60-cent tax onto every package of cigarettes.
In response to a question on his approach to the meth problem, the senator said
that in his opinion meth should be viewed the same as every other drug that
kills people, not as an isolated problem.
Street drugs kill about 19,000 people per year in the United States, while
alcohol is responsible for 40,000 deaths and tobacco for about 400,000 deaths,
he said.
“Meth is a huge problem, but substance abuse is bigger,” Westlund said.
Westlund said he favors making health care more affordable and accessible to
more people. He also spoke of the need to curb society’s mass consumption of
resources and the necessity of moving toward more alternative fuels, such as
biodiesel, ethanol, and wind and solar power.
