U.S. Senate

Oregon Primary Election – May 17, 2016
U.S. Senate Candidates
 
There are 9 candidates for U.S. Senate, including 4 Republicans, 2 Independent Party members, and 2 Democrats besides the incumbent Senator, Ron Wyden, who seeks reelection.
 
Here is a brief summary of the candidates’ positions.  More complete information is below. 
 
Among the Republicans, Mark Callahan and Faye Stewart have announced detailed pro-enforcement positions on immigration.  The other two Republicans, Sam Carpenter and Dan Laschober have made general statements indicating support for immigration controls.  Of the two Independent Party candidates, Marvin Sannes favors amnesty and benefits to illegal aliens while Steven Reynolds recommends securing the border along with “a real path to citizenship for those undocumented immigrants already [here].”  Of the two Democrats challenging Sen. Wyden, Paul Weaver strongly opposes amnesty and Kevin Stine opposes international free trade treaties although he doesn’t articulate the connection between them and increases in foreign workers.  Sen. Ron Wyden is rated D- by NumbersUSA based on his votes on immigration issues during his career in Congress.
 
REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES
 
Mark Callahan of Portland is a graduate of Oregon State University with degree in Business Administration/MIS.  His occupation is Information Technology Consultant.  He is a member of the Board of Oregonians for Immigration Reform.  Here are his replies to the Oregon Abigail Adams candidate questionnaire:  22.  Do you support requiring all employers to verify employee eligibility to work in the United States?   Yes.   23.  Do you support securing the borders before any form of amnesty?  Yes.   24.  Do you support spending public funds to benefit illegal immigrants?   No.   25.  Do you support automatic citizenship to children born in the U.S. when both parents are not legal residents?   No.   42.  How would you propose screening war refugees to prevent potential terrorists from entering the country with them?   “Background checks, before admitting war refugees from entering the country, in order to prevent potential terrorists from entering the country with them.”
        Mark Callahan also responded to the NumbersUSA questionnaire for candidates and is rated by NumbersUSA as a True Immigration Reformer.  See his report at:  https://www.numbersusa.com/candidate-comparison/candidate/2016/senate/ma...
 
Callahan’s campaign website at http://callahanfororegon.com/ contains this statement on immigration in the Issues section:  “Immigration: Enforce Existing Laws; Secure the Borders; Work on Stopping Illegal Immigration; Say No to Amnesty:  The issue of illegal immigration has been a major topic for many years in America. I personally worked with, and strongly supported, those that were against Measure 88 in the November 2014 election to stop driver’s licenses from being given to illegal immigrants. As the election results indicated, most of Oregon, by strong majority margins in 35 of the 36 counties agreed that driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants was not a good idea, and Measure 88 was voted down.  As we are a nation of laws, I believe we should enforce our current immigration laws. With our current high rate of unemployment, and American families already struggling to make ends meet in our troubled economy, it makes no sense to add millions of those here illegally to the work force. If elected, I will fight to do what is best for American families, while keeping us safe by advocating for complete border security. We must get our arms around this issue before irreparable damage is done.”
          Email address: Mark@CallahanForOregon.com.
 
Faye Stewart of Cottage Grove is a Lane County Commissioner.  He attended Oregon State University through the junior year studying business management and has worked in the business field.  He replied to the Oregon Abigail Adams candidate questionnaire:  22.  Do you support requiring all employers to verify employee eligibility to work in the United States?  Yes.   23.  Do you support securing the borders before any form of amnesty?  Yes.   24.  Do you support spending public funds to benefit illegal immigrants?  No.   25.  Do you support automatic citizenship to children born in the U.S. when both parents are not legal residents?  No.   42.  How would you propose screening war refugees to prevent potential terrorists from entering the country with them?  “We should provide financial support for nations in the region, like Jordan, who are willing to house the refugees while we complete the mission to destroy ISIS. There is no infrastructure in place to properly vet refuges from Syria and other war torn nations. Until we can safely vet refuges we should not accept any new refuges from nations like Syria.”
        Faye Stewart’s campaign website is at http://fayestewart.us/.  It contains a statement on border security relating to immigration:  “Border Security – “America was founded by immigrants. We have always deeply believed that this nation should be a place where immigrants may lawfully come, assimilate into our society and build a future for themselves and their families. We must secure our borders, update technology to identify and track those here illegally, and create a fair, simple system for those who wish legally immigrate.”
        Email address:  info@fayestewart.us.
 
Sam Carpenter of Bend is CEO and owner of Centratel telephone answering service.  There is some information on his immigration positions in the candidate comparison section of the NumbersUSA website:  https://www.numbersusa.com/candidate-comparison/candidate/2016/senate/sa....  Carpenter is rated Yes for Opposing amnesty, implementing interior enforcement, assisting local police, and securing the border.  He’s rated No for reducing legal immigration.  
        His campaign website is at http://www.carpenterforsenate.com/.  It includes a statement on immigration in the Issues section:  “Illegal immigration is out of control.  The problem? Many elected officials at the federal, state, and local level refuse to enforce our laws.  The result is undue strain on our social services systems, and even the specter of serious national security threats on American soil, not to mention the impact on jobs.  Ours is a nation built by immigrants — legal immigrants. I’m for legal immigration — at levels currently allowed by law.  Let’s secure our southern border and enforce the laws currently on the books and let’s put Oregon first.” 
        Email address:  info@carpenterforsenate.com
 
Daniel Laschober of Wilsonville is a self-employed software and general finance consultant.  He holds a Bachelor’s degree in finance and accounting from Arizona State University and a master’s degree in finance and international marketing from Northwestern University.  He presents a full account of his personal and extensive business background on his website at www.laschober2016.com.  It also contains a list of pledges on various subjects, the first being:  “I Pledge… to protect the United States from external threats. Without secure borders there is no sovereign nation and there is no liberty.”  No further information on his positions on immigration was found.  
        Email address: dan@laschober2016.com
 
INDEPENDENT PARTY CANDIDATES
 
Marvin Sannes, of Salem, is self-employed, owning and managing real estate.  He has also had experience as a lobbyist.  He holds a bachelor’s degree in social sciences from Portland State University.  He replied to the Oregon Abigail Adams candidate questionnaire with these answers:   22. Do you support requiring all employers to verify employee eligibility to work in the United States?  No.  23.  Do you support securing the borders before any form of amnesty?  No.  24.  Do you support spending public funds to benefit illegal immigrants?  Yes.  25.  Do you support automatic citizenship to children born in the U.S. when both parents are not legal residents? “Decline.  It is the law.”  42.  How would you propose screening war refugees to prevent potential terrorists from entering the country with them?  “Less than 60 Americans have been killed by terrorist acts since 2001, the war on terror is a fraud. From the U. of Maryland International Data Base on Terror. 28,000+ American bombs dropped on Islamic countries in 2015 - from the Council on Foreign Relations.”
        Email:  marvinsannes@msn.com
 
Steven C. Reynolds (“Cody”) of Portland is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point with degree in information systems.  He has a website at www.codyfororegon.com which contains this statement on immigration:  “Our Borders - Our immigration policy is broken. We as a nation must first secure our borders, and then create a real path to citizenship for those undocumented immigrants already within them.”
        Email available on webform at: http://codyfororegon.ruck.us/?target=_blank
 
DEMOCRATIC PARTY CANDIDATES
 
Kevin H. Stine of Medford is a City Councilor in Medford.  He hold an Associate’s degree in applied sciences/electronics from Thomas Edison State College, and he served 9 years in the US Navy, 2004-2013.  His campaign website is at http://www.kevinstine.org/ .  While it does not contain a statement specifically on immigration, his statement on international trade policy is relevant, as trade deals have massive impacts on entry of foreign workers.  Stine says:  “Free trade is not free, as the cost of these agreements have been an enormous detriment to the middle class in our country. The Economic Policy Institute reports that Oregon has lost or displaced more jobs on a percentage basis, than any other due to China entering the WTO. More of these trade deals will further outsource our jobs.”
        Email address: info@kevinstine.com
 
Paul B. Weaver  of Toledo is retired from his occupation as locomotive engineer.  He’s a graduate of Eastern Washington University with degree in business administration.  He replied to the Oregon Abigail Adams candidate questionnaire:  22.  Do you support requiring all employers to verify employee eligibility to work in the United States?  Yes.  23.  Do you support securing the borders before any form of amnesty?  Yes.  24.  Do you support spending public funds to benefit illegal immigrants?   No.   25.  Do you support automatic citizenship to children born in the U.S. when both parents are not legal residents?  No.   42. How would you propose screening war refugees to prevent potential terrorists from entering the country with them?   “Stop all immigration. Period. Set up refugee camps closer to their home country so they can be repatriated when the war is resolved.”
        His website at http://www.paulweaverforussenate.com/ contains this issue statement on immigration:  “AMNESTY - We should close the border and suspend all immigration immediately!  I will never vote to give automatic citizenship or voting rights to illegal aliens.  No matter what the Obama Administration says, we have about 20 million unemployed that need jobs!  I believe we should put our American citizens first!   There is no data base with which to vet the Syrian refugees, therefore we should not allow any into the United States! Our policies should put American safety and security first.”
        Email address: pbweaver@peak.org
 
Ron Wyden of Portland, the incumbent Senator, seeks reelection.  He has been in Congress for 35 years, as a Senator since 1996 and as a Representative, 1981-1996.  His immigration-reduction report card compiled by NumbersUSA gives him an overall career grade of D-.  On particular immigration subjects, he is graded F- on reducing chain migration, D+ on reducing the visa lottery, F on reducing unnecessary worker visas, C- on reducing refugee and asylum fraud, F- on challenging the status quo, D- on reducing illegal jobs and presence; C on reducing illegal immigration at borders, F- on reducing amnesty enticements, and F- on reducing illegal immigration rewards.  See his immigration reduction report card at:  https://www.numbersusa.com/content/print/my/congress/667/printreportcard//.  See his career voting record at: https://www.numbersusa.com/content/my/congress/667/gradescoresheet/#tabs....  There are links to the particular bills he voted on.
        Senator Wyden’s campaign website is at: https://www.standtallforamerica.com/.
        Email through webform at:  https://www.standtallforamerica.com/contact/
 
According to Open Secrets, as of April 14, Sen. Wyden has accumulated $9,571,127 in his campaign treasury, an enormous sum, more than twice as much as all other Oregon Congressional candidates put together including U.S. House and Senate candidates in all three parties.  This raises questions as to whose interests the candidate is serving.  That most of the high-figure campaign chests are associated with long incumbency raises further questions.  When we see the way Congress has failed in recent years to correct major problems with immigration, it certainly appears that money has played a role in long incumbency and not a beneficial one for the public.