U.S. Senate

 
Oregon General Election – November 8, 2016
U.S. Senate
 
 
There are four candidates, one each from the Republican, Democratic, Independent, and Pacific Green Parties
.
1.  The Republican Party candidate is Mark Callahan, of Portland, an Information Technology Consultant and graduate of Oregon State University with degree in Business Administration/MIS.  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 the report on him at:  https://www.numbersusa.com/candidate-comparison/candidate/2016/senate/ma...
 
Callahan’s campaign website at http://callahanfororegon.com/ contains a long list of Issue statements, including this one on immigration: 
 
“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.
“In regards to sanctuary cities, we don’t need to import and provide sanctuary for those that break our laws in the first place to be here.  We have our own homeless and jobless Americans that are suffering in Oregon, and across the nation, directly because of the abuse of the current immigration system. Trading Americans’ jobs and the ability to feed and take care of their families, in order to help people from other countries instead, is cruel to both parties, and only results in both populations falling into poverty, and nations collapsing under the economic weight of stagnation. We cannot claim to want to solve human rights abuses in the world just by giving food, clothing and housing to one group of people, and by taking it away from another group of people in the process. A nation that cannot take care of its own citizens cannot afford to help other citizens of the World. Americans Need Jobs First!
 
Callahan also includes a statement on Brexit:
 
Brexit: I Support the Decision of the People of the United Kingdom (UK) to Exit the European Union (EU).
 
On June 13th, 2016, I attended a forum in Washington D.C., hosted by the American Conservative Union (ACU), regarding Brexit, and the UK’s decision to exit the European Union.  The room was full, and the panel included great speakers such as ACU Chairman Matt Schlapp, and Fox News National Security Rock Star KT McFarland.  As most may be aware, the people of the UK voted on June 23rd, 2016, to exit from membership in the European Union.  I support this decision, and believe that it is a step in the right direction for the people in the UK, in terms of regaining and maintaining their sovereignty and freedom economically. The effect on the world’s markets, after the decision, is/was short-term and temporary, and as they usually do, the markets will recover. The UK’s decision to leave the European Union represents the UK’s commitment to individualism, as opposed to the failed policies of the European Union’s collectivism mindset. I believe that individualism, not collectivism, is the best solution in terms of building and maintaining freedom and liberty, throughout the world, economically.
 
Email address: Mark@CallahanForOregon.com.
 
2.  The Democratic Party candidate is incumbent Senator Ron Wyden of Portland, who seeks reelection.  He has been in Congress for 35 years, as a Senator since 1996 and as a Representative, 1981-1996.  He has a long and very poor record on immigration issues.  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 amnesty enticements, F- on reducing illegal immigration rewards, F- on reducing chain migration, F on reducing unnecessary worker visas, F on reducing illegal jobs and presence; D+ on reducing the visa lottery, C- on reducing refugee and asylum fraud,  C on reducing illegal immigration at borders.  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/. It contains an Issues section, but there is no mention of immigration, suggesting he sees it as a matter of minor importance and the current status is satisfactory to him.
 
According to Open Secrets, as of July 25, Sen. Wyden has accumulated over $11 million ($11,402,211) in his campaign treasury, an enormous sum, about twice as much as all other Oregon Congressional candidates put together including House and Senate candidates in all three parties.  This raises questions as to whose interests the candidate is serving. 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.
 
3.  The Independent Party candidate is Steven C. Reynolds (“Cody”) of Portland, 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.”
 
4.  The Pacific Green Party candidate is Eric C. Navickas, of Prospect, Jackson County, who is an organic farmer, and previously worked as a residential designer, according to his filing paper with the Secretary of State.  He holds a Bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Oregon.  He has prior governmental experience as a City Councilor for the city of Ashland OR.  He appears not to have a website, and no information was found about his positions on immigration policy.  His email address is given as navickasdesign@gmail.com.