Javadi and Gaither to meet again in state House Republican primary

The Republican primary for state House District 32 in May will feature a rematch of the 2022 election as state Rep. Cyrus Javadi faces a challenge from Glenn Gaither.

Javadi, a dentist from Tillamook, won the primary in 2022 with 58% of the vote and narrowly defeated Democrat Logan Laity in the November election. Since he took office, he has described himself as someone who can work across the aisle in Salem to find solutions.

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“I’m hoping that the constituents, the members of the district and the state and the nation are tired of partisan politics and have an appetite for — and I think they do — I think they crave leaders that are going to stand up for common sense, for practical solutions,” Javadi said.

Gaither, a retired corrections officer who lives in Seaside, has criticized Javadi’s middle-of-the-road approach and advocated for harder-line positions on issues such as education, abortion and public safety.

“I think what I mostly talk to voters about, I mean I think one of the biggest topics, is the educational system that we have that’s failing kids, big time,” Gaither told The Astorian’s Editorial Board. “We’re at the bottom of the barrel in this country when it comes to educational results … I think that’s terribly, terribly destructive.”

Gaither, who grew up in the region and graduated from Knappa High School, has advocated for a school choice policy in Oregon, where public funds follow students to private schools.

At a town hall on Tuesday in Astoria, Javadi expressed openness to school choice, but cautioned against taking resources away from public schools.

Cyrus Javadi

State Rep. Cyrus Javadi

“If somebody wants to home-school and wants resources to do that, fine,” he said. “But do I think we then need to make sure our schools are still well-funded? Absolutely. So I don’t want to rob Peter to pay Paul in this situation. I want to make sure everybody is able to pursue the type of education they want to pursue.”

Both Javadi and Gaither have raised concerns about the impact of the habitat conservation plan on the region’s economy. Javadi had authored legislation in an attempt to mitigate the impact.

“I don’t think we’re going to get the Department of Forestry to change the plan,” Javadi said. “But I think going forward, what we can do is, what’s some legislation that we can get put into place that will make sure the Department of Forestry is managing those resources so that we can both meet our conservation goals and try to minimize the economic impact?”

Gaither said, if elected, he would try to “undo the plan.”

“I know a lot of loggers and stuff, like my whole family’s grown up in this area,” he said. “So my focus would be to try to do whatever I can to protect the industries that are out here so we don’t create mass poverty. That’s my biggest concern. Poverty’s going to create more issues, more crime, a lower living standard than anything.”

Glenn Gaither

Glenn Gaither

Gaither has also been vocal in opposition to Measure 110. He described an “epidemic” of drug use and argued that House Bill 4002, which recriminalized possession of small amounts of illicit drugs, will not substantially alleviate the crisis.

“I care about this community,” he said. “I don’t like seeing the plague of crime that we have here. I don’t like seeing the drugs moving into our community.”

Javadi has described HB 4002 as a “first step” toward solving the issue, but emphasized the importance of expanding drug treatment and rehabilitation options.

“I want to get a little more nuanced with that approach, and make sure we’re not still allowing a dangerous amount of drugs to be available without taking corrective actions,” he said. “And I think as part of that, we really need to deal with the addiction issue that’s driving it.”

On his campaign Facebook page, Gaither describes himself as “The Coastal Conservative.” He has downplayed the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol and in a recent post criticized Oregon Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade’s civic engagement toolkit ahead of this year’s elections. He claims the toolkit, which references false information about elections and the Jan. 6 attack, is “an excuse to censor free speech” and “nothing more than election interference.”

Laity, a small-business owner, is running unopposed in the Democratic primary.