Congressional District 4

 

There are 4 candidates in this race: one Democrat/Independent/Progressive/Working Families candidate, one Republican/Constitutional Party candidate, one from the Pacific Green Party, and one from the Libertarian Party.

 

1. The Democratic Party candidate is incumbent Representative Peter DeFazio, of Springfield, who seeks reelection. He is also the candidate of the Independent, Progressive, and Working Families parties. DeFazio has been in Congress continuously since 1987.  For the period 2015-2016 he is rated F by NumbersUSA based on his voting record on immigration issues.  In earlier years he was more inclined to support immigration controls; thus over his career from 1989 (when NumbersUSA records begin) to date he is graded C+.  For recent years 2013-2016, he gets only a D.  You can view details of his voting record on particular bills at: https://www.numbersusa.com/content/my/congress/677/gradescoresheet/. There are links to bill descriptions and history.

 

In 2016, he voted:

NO on the King amendment to FY 17 defense spending bill to block amnesty for DACA recipients.

NO on the Gosar amendment to FY 17 defense spending bill to block amnesty for DACA recipients.

 

In 2015, he voted:

YES to the FY 2016 Omnibus Spending bill to increase foreign guest workers.

NO to granting the President authority to expand immigration levels without Congress’ consent via Trade Promotion Authority.

YES to the FY 2016 Omnibus Spending bill to increase refugee resettlement.

NO on the  Brooks amendment to remove military amnesty from National Defense Authorization Act.

YES on funding Executive Amnesties by opposing clean DHS Appropriations bill, H.R. 240.

NO on the Blackburn Amendment to H.R. 240 to defund Pres. Obama’s DACA amnesty.

NO on the Aderholt Amendment to H.R. 240 to defund Pres. Obama’s Nov. 2014 amnesty.

 

His campaign website at http://www.defazioforcongress.org/ contains a webform for contact.

 

2. The Republican Party candidate is Art Robinson, of Cave Junction.  He is also the candidate of the Constitution Party. Robinson's website is at http://artforcongress.com/.    About himself, he says:  “As a scientist I’m always looking for solutions to problems. After graduating from CalTech and receiving my PhD in Chemistry from the University of California in San Diego, I co-founded the Linus Pauling Institute and the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine, which today lead the way in developing advanced diagnostic and preventive medicine to help the people of Oregon.”

 

In earlier campaigns he spoke firmly against illegal immigration.  See OFIR’s report on his General Election campaign of 2014 here.  On his current website, in the Issues section, topic “American security,” he says “We must secure our borders and end illegal immigration.”

 

Webform for contact:  http://artforcongress.com/contact

 

3. The candidate of the Pacific Green Party is Mike Beilstein, of Corvallis.  He is a retired chemist and a long-time member of the Corvallis City Council.  His website at http://www.newmenu.org/mikebeilstein contains a detailed statement of policy recommendations, one of which is:  “Support the right of all workers to organize. $15 per hour minimum wage. Stop trading with countries that practice slavery. Full rights for immigrant workers.”

   

Of course, legal immigrant workers have many protections, but illegal immigrant workers are a serious problem in this country, one of the most serious.  This candidate’s recommendation for “full rights for immigrant workers” is vague and needs clarification.  It appears to show abysmal lack of knowledge of the subject, or a belief in open borders.