Candidates Jim Weidner, left, and Bernt “Al” Hansen

They hail from different backgrounds and generations, have different priorities and are drawing their base of political and financial support from different groups.

To some extent, the candidates vying to replace Republican Donna Nelson in Oregon House District 24 are also having different conversations with voters, each talking about issues his opponent either doesn’t raise on his own or seems indifferent to.

Republican Jim Weidner, the Yamhill restaurant owner and consultant who jumped into the race last fall, flags government waste, the Newberg-Dundee Bypass and immigration reform on his website as “Jim’s issues.” Democrat Bernt “Al” Hansen, a McMinnville attorney, former city councilor and longtime civic activist, talks about health care, energy policy and education.

Rather than focusing on transportation infrastructure we don’t have — the bypass — Hansen turns the conversation to infrastructure we do have. And he says it’s withering with age, so needs fixing or replacing — the Three Mile Lane bridge over the Yamhill River, McMinnville’s fastest route to the hospital, for example.

Weidner never misses a chance to tell his own “Baby Gabriel” story. It’s the story of how he and his wife became foster parents, and on track to become adoptive parents, only to have the state whisk the girl back to her biological mother recovering from a raft of problems, including substance abuse.

He tends to see government as heavy-handed and bloated with bureaucracy. And he trains his sights not only on the Department of Health & Human Services, but also the Department of Transportation and others.

In January, one will be sworn in as a state lawmaker whose jurisdiction covers most of Yamhill County.

The conventional wisdom holds that District 24, which excludes Newberg, Sheridan and Willamina, is solidly Republican territory — so much so that it’s nearly impossible for a Democrat to crack. As a result, Weidner’s caucus has been pouring money into his 11-month campaign, while Hansen’s party has chipped in relatively little, not regarding House 24 as a competitive district.

However, Democrats have held the seat before. They tapped Marilyn Worrix in 1992.

And the district’s demographics are not nearly as lopsided as many would imagine. It fact, they are approaching parity, thanks to the surging Obama phenomenon.

One local Republican Party insider complains many of the party faithful seem oblivious of the shift, thinking they’ve still got the 3,000- or 4,000- voter edge the party enjoyed as recently as two years ago. In fact, Democrats have edged to within a few hundred in overall registration.

And which way the county’s nearly 12,000 non-affiliated voters will swing is anyone’s guess. They have, in recent years, helped put a Democrat on the Yamhill County Board of Commissioners and almost sent former Democrat Sal Peralta, now registered with the Independent Party, past Nelson in a 2006 nail-biter.

For all the eleventh-hour fireworks in District 24’s Republican primary, Weidner didn’t have much to worry about.
He began currying favor in the right places early, filed before Halloween and kicked off his campaign shortly after Thanksgiving. His early and hard-charging start helped him easily fend off two challengers — Ed Glad, a carpenter turned union rep and lobbyist, and Jim Bunn, a former congressman now serving as a jail deputy.

One thing distinguishing them is who they reached out to first.

Weidner aggressively courted the GOP’s social conservatives, and has continued on that track, winning favor with the Oregon Right to Life and the Oregon Family Council, which publishes the Christian Voters Guide distributed in churches. He’s a regular at meetings of the county’s Republican Central Committee, which typically starts sessions with religious songs and prayer.

Hansen, meanwhile, is drawing on connections made over decades of civic work in McMinnville’s more moderate political establishment, where many of the heavy-hitters are active in the business community.

He notes his steering committee includes a number of Republicans — including civic leader and businessman Waldo Farnham, former McMinnville Police Chief Rod Brown and area farmers Don and Laura Christensen — as well as Democrats like Mayor Ed Gormley, County Commissioner Mary Stern and former Sheriff Lee Vasquez. Weidner, commenting on Hansen’s politics at a recent forum, allowed as how his opponent was actually “pretty conservative for a Democrat.”

Weidner, 39, was born and raised in Yamhill County. He attended public schools in Yamhill until his final year, when he switched to the private West Valley Academy.

He and his family attend Newberg Christian Church, and he’s coached in a local chapter of a sports ministry.

He has neither sought or held public office before. His professional background includes consultant work in the lumber industry in addition to ownership of the Lago de Chapala restaurant in Yamhill.

Hansen, 66, is a long-time McMinnville resident with a history of civic involvement. A Washington native, he and his family moved to McMinnville in the 1970s, following his graduation from the University of Oregon School of Law.

He spent eight years each on McMinnville’s planning commission and city council, serving on the council that hired City Manager Kent Taylor along the way. He participated in the first contested district attorney’s race in county history in 1992, and ran against current DA Brad Berry in 1998, falling short both times. He currently sits on the board of directors for the social service nonprofit YCAP.

Weidner has raised more than $83,000 for his campaign, drawing heavily from business and industry groups — Phillip Morris, the Oregon Automobile Dealers Association, Associated Oregon Industries, Oregon Bankers PAC, and PACS for the beverage, forest and manufactured homes industries.

Hansen has raised a little more than $27,000 and spent most of it, according to campaign finance data online at the Oregon Secretary of State’s web site. The Marion-Polk-Yamhill Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO and the United Transportation Union Political Action Committee are among the few PACs that have contributed.

Jim Weidner
Party: Republican
Residence: Yamhill
Age: 39

Candidacy snapshot: Weidner jumped into the race in December and has been campaigning hard ever since. He handily defeated a pair of primary opponents. He’s got strong financial backing, and has heavily courted social conservatives. If he wins, however, he’s likely to find himself in the minority in the House.

Background: Born and raised in Yamhill County. No prior political experience. Owns the Lago de Chapala restaurant in Yamhill and works as a consultant. Has small business background.

Money: Has raised more than $81,000, much of it from business and industry PACS and the Republican Party.

Endorsements: Along with Sens. Gary and Larry George and local auto dealer Chuck Colvin, Weidner lists more than 40 business and industry political action committees that are backing him. A sampling: Oregonians In Action, National Federation of Independent Business, Oregon Home Builders, Oregon Farm Bureau and the Oregon Food Processors Council.

Website: www.jimfororegon.com

Biggest issue: Weidner’s motivation to run was the “Baby Gabriel” case, in which the state considered but ultimately rejected placing a child with relatives in Mexico, and his dealings as a foster parent with the state’s Health & Human Services agency. His website lists government waste, transportation and immigration reform as his top issues.

Education: He calls for a slight increase in expenditures per student statewide, and wants the Legislature to fund public schools first, then allocate the rest of the money. He supports vouchers so parents wishing to place their children in private schools could get their outlay reimbursed with public money.

Transportation: Short range, he supports construction of two couplets (like Adams and Baker in McMinnville, except one lane each) through Dundee. He argues for moving everything on the south side of 99W toward the railroad tracks and arranging some shortcuts for locals. Long range, he supports the Newberg-Dundee Bypass, calling it “essential” to the survival of family-wage jobs.

Social issues: Weidner has been endorsed by Oregon Right to Life and the Christian group Oregon Family Council. He said the GOP is the only party he’s ever identified with, “because I strongly believe that marriage is between one man and one woman.” He said he agrees with the party 85 percent of the time. He was not enamored of John McCain initially, considering his party’s nominee too liberal on social issues, but has since come around.

Land-use: He supported Measure 37 and opposed Measure 49. He declares on his website that he’s “dedicated to protecting property rights.”

Health care: Weidner doesn’t raise the issue on his own, typically, and his website does not mention it. In interviews, he’s opposed government involvement in health care.

Taxes: He signed a Taxpayer Association of Oregon pledge to not raise taxes for any reason. He said he can’t imagine any scenario in which he would change his mind.

Al Hansen
Party: Democrat
Residence: McMinnville
Age: 67

Candidacy snapshot: Was sole Democrat to file for election to the seat, which hasn’t been held by a Democrat since the mid-1990s. Hansen’s drawing from his decades of civic work in McMinnville for support, and hopes a Barack Obama tidal wave will sweep him past Weidner.

Background: Washington native who has made his home in Yamhill County for 30 years. Served in the U.S. Marines. An attorney, has prior political experience on the McMinnville City Council and Planning Commission, and various other local boards and committees.

Money: Started out slow, but has managed to raise $27,000. Unions have chipped in, but most of his support has come from his own resources and small contributions from individuals.

Endorsements: McMinnville Mayor Ed Gormley, Yamhill County Commissioner Mary Stern, attorneys Tom Tankersley and Walt Gowell, businessman Waldo Farnham, former Sheriff Lee Vasquez, and others.

Website: www.friendsofalhansen.com

Biggest issue: “To attack head-on the need for more money,” Hansen said, noting Oregon is one of four states that has only an income tax. “I’m not an advocate for higher taxes,” he said. “I’m an advocate for higher revenue, and what you need to do to get higher revenue is to get more industry into the state.” His other top issue is water availability in small communities. He calls for making the development of water infrastructure less expensive by having the state waive the requirement that cities seeking grants provide matching funds.

Education: He says classroom sizes and dropout rates are too high, and that real pay for teachers has declined 2 percent since 1996. He calls for more investment in schools, and opposes voucher systems in which tax funds could be used to cover private school tuition.

Transportation: Pointing out that funding is far from assured, Hansen said the Newberg-Dundee Bypass “is not my biggest priority.” He acknowledges the need, but thinks the highest priority should go to repairing or replacing elements of aging infrastructure — like the 25 percent of Oregon bridges that get poor marks, including McMinnville’s Three Mile Lane Bridge.

Health care: Noting that 116,000 children statewide lack health insurance, Hansen calls for full funding of the Oregon Health Plan so health care isn’t distributed by lottery.

Land-use: Hansen supports Oregon’s land-use planning system, but supports efforts aimed at streamlining and fine-tuning.
The economy: Regardless of what happens with the Dow, Hansen said Oregon needs to take advantage of a national movement toward “green” jobs — those that are sustainable and environmentally friendly. He calls for investment in wind power, solar power, and tidal energy, and making Oregon “a world leader” in developing such technologies.