Congressional District 5
September 30, 2014
The incumbent Representative in Congressional District 5 is Kurt Schrader (D), of Oregon City, who is running for reelection. His major party challenger is Tootie Smith (R), of Molalla.
TOOTIE SMITH replied to the 4 immigration questions in the Oregon Abigail Adams Voter Education Project’s questionnaire, and 3 of her 4 answers are in agreement with OFIR’s positions. In the 4th question, she supports birthright citizenship, while OFIR stands with other true immigration reform organizations in supporting an end to birthright citizenship.
19. Do you support requiring all employers to verify employee eligibility to work in the United States? Yes.
20. Do you support securing the borders before any form of amnesty is legalized? Yes.
21. Do you support spending public funds to benefit illegal immigrants? No.
22. Do you support automatic citizenship to children born in the U.S. when both parents are not legal residents? Yes, according to the US Constitution, all natural born people are awarded citizenship.
Mrs. Smith has a campaign website at http://tootiesmith.com/. A statement on immigration is prominently linked from the homepage; the statement is rather general. She proclaims support for enforcing immigration laws while also expressing concern for the desires of immigrants and employers who use illegal labor.
Her website’s “About” section gives a full biography. She has served in the Oregon House of Representatives, and more recently on the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners.
KURT SCHRADER (D), incumbent, has a poor record on immigration issues. He is rated D- on his career in Congress, 2009-2014, by NumbersUSA. The record of his votes in Congress on immigration bills is summarized at
which gives links to details on each vote.
He has voted on immigration bills in several categories of the subject matter considered by NumbersUSA in calculating grades. In each of the following categories, he is graded F-: on reducing illegal immigration at the borders, on reducing unnecessary workers visas, on reducing amnesty enticements, on reducing illegal immigration rewards, and on reducing refugee and asylum fraud. On bills in all of these categories, he voted against the interests of citizens and for the interests of immigrants, especially illegal immigrants.
Schrader’s earlier record in Oregon -- While serving in the Oregon State Senate in 2003, he voted in favor of SB 10, “relating to resident status for higher education.” That bill would have granted instate tuition to illegal aliens, but as it failed to pass the House, largely due to strong opposition from OFIR and friends, it did not become law. In February 2008, he voted with the majority of both parties, in favor of SB 1080, the bill requiring proof of citizenship to obtain an Oregon driver license.
OTHER CANDIDATES – The Constitution Party candidate is RAYMOND BALDWIN, of Canby. His website is at: http://rbaldwinelection2012.wix.com/raymond-baldwin. It includes his platform principles, and under the heading, Sovereignty, says “We are firmly committed to the protection of our borders, our trade and our common defense.”
He replied to the Oregon Abigail Adams Voter Education Project questionnaire as follows:
19. Do you support requiring all employers to verify employee eligibility to work in the United States? Yes.
20. Do you support securing the borders before any form of amnesty is legalized? Yes, absolutely.
21. Do you support spending public funds to benefit illegal immigrants? No, only to arrest, fine, detain, and return to origin …
22. Do you support automatic citizenship to children born in the U.S. when both parents are not legal residents? No.
MARVIN SANNES is running as the candidate of the Independent Party. His website, at http://www.marvinsannes.com/ contains an Issues section, but there is no mention of immigration. He replied to the Oregon Abigail Adams Voter Education Project questionnaire, and all 4 of the stated positions there are exactly opposite to OFIR’s positions.
19. Do you support requiring all employers to verify employee eligibility to work in the United States? No.
20. Do you support securing the borders before any form of amnesty is legalized? No.
21. Do you support spending public funds to benefit illegal immigrants? Yes.
22. Do you support automatic citizenship to children born in the U.S. when both parents are not legal residents? Yes
