Sparks, accusations fly in congressional candidates’ forum

Democrat Schrader and Republican Erickson spar as hopefuls outline positions

By Steve Law

The Portland Tribune, Sep 22, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (3 Reader comments)

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A flurry of barbs flew Monday in a Salem forum for candidates in Oregon’s 5th Congressional District.

The two major party candidates, Republican Mike Erickson of Lake Oswego and Democrat Kurt Schrader of Canby, traded accusations in a blast of sparks during part of the forum as they tried to map their positions on issues facing the district. Three minor party candidates also offered their ideas on issues.

The candidates appeared at Willamette University in a forum sponsored by the Oregon League of Minority Voters.

At one point during the gathering, Erickson faulted Schrader for failing to pay property taxes on time. Asked by a panelist how he’d address homeownership barriers for minorities, Erickson switched the subject to one he’s raised in recent TV attack ads — lambasting Schrader for repeatedly making late property tax payments. Schrader’s family was delinquent in paying taxes 17 times in the past 15 years, Erickson said, and once went three years without paying his taxes.

“That guy can’t even manage his own personal budget,” Erickson said, questioning why voters should let Schrader manage the federal budget.

Schrader called that a “cheap shot.”

“I’ve always paid my taxes, but maybe, like a lot of you, I can’t always do it on time,” he told the audience of about 60 people.

Oregon’s 5th Congressional District stretches from Southwest Portland to Corvallis to the coast, including all of Marion, Polk, Tillamook and Lincoln counties, plus a good chunk of Clackamas County and slices of Benton and Multnomah counties.

Schrader is a state senator from Canby, and operates a veterinary practice and a farm. He is married to Clackamas County Commissioner Martha Schrader.

Erickson is an entrepreneur from Lake Oswego who owns a fast-growing transportation services consulting firm in Portland.

Also appearing were Libertarian Steve Milligan, a Monmouth city councilor who runs an herbal supplements business; Constitution Party nominee Doug Patterson, a former minister and John Birch Society organizer from Oregon City; and Alexander Polikoff of the Pacific Green Party, a Corvallis electrical engineer. Independent Party nominee Sean Bates, a Salem resident who works for Pietro’s Pizza, did not appear at Monday’s forum.

Immigration changes means lost jobs

Erickson has been bruised during the campaign by accusations that he paid for a former girlfriend’s abortion while claiming an endorsement from Oregon Right to Life, and by critics who say his humanitarian trip to Cuba was merely a way to circumvent travel restrictions to vacation on the island.

Schrader, in turn, may have expected questions about his delinquent property tax payments, after they were revealed in a 2005 newspaper investigation.

The brief exchange about his tax payments turned out to be one of the few points of friction during Monday’s forum. Schrader called for treating health care as a right, but said the government should only guarantee a basic level of health service, and require people to pay on a sliding scale.

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