Senate District 29 candidates pose questions to each other during debate

LA GRANDE — Union County residents slowly filed into McKenzie Theatre on Friday, April 19, for a debate between the four Republican candidates running for Oregon Senate District 29.

Todd Nash, Jim Doherty, Dave Drotzmann and Andy Huwe took to the stage in front of the moderately sized crowd. All are seeking to succeed Sen. Bill Hansell, R-Athena, who is retiring after 12 years in the Senate.

Calvin Bennett, EOU’s student body president, and Isaac Insko, EOU’s study body president-elect for 2024-25, moderated the debate. They also make up the EOU Debates Committee.

Candidates faced three rounds of questions and had two minutes to answer each.

The first round of questions came from submissions of local community leaders. Round two questions were from one candidate to another. Bennett and Insko vetted the questions, and each candidate knew who they were writing questions for but not who was writing questions for them. Questions in the third round came from Bennett and Insko.

Huwe on student loans

One of his fellow candidates asked Huwe, an Eastern Oregon University student, if student college loans should ever be forgiven.

The candidate shared earlier in the debate that his tuition for the year at Eastern was more than $15,000, which didn’t include the cost of books, food or housing. He stressed this is the price of tuition at the least expensive university in the state.

“That’s not affordable for most students,” Huwe said, adding the costs are not only unattainable for the students, but also their families. Huwe, who is a triplet, said his father’s expected family contribution for each child was $5,000 on the federal student aid application.

“That’s not even attainable for him, especially since we came from a poverty background,” Huwe said.

The candidate called the student loan system as it is structured predatory. He said a lot of students who sign up for loans don’t understand the consequences. However, Huwe did not believe debt should be forgiven and he was not in favor of the Biden administration's debt forgiveness.

“Should debt be forgiven? No,” he said.

Drotzmann on abortion

One of Drotzmann’s opponents asked him about his stance on abortion. The Hermiston mayor said he believes in the sanctity of life, as well as the health of mother and child.

“I’m a pro-life candidate,” he said.

However, he explained there needed to be exemptions for people who have been abused, raped or molested. He said those individuals need to be protected.

“It’s not their fault. And to have to carry on that burden for nine months and have to relive that every single day, is a tragedy,” he said.

Drotzmann said there need to be limitations and they need to be before 15 weeks, which he said he thinks most people and even more Republicans would agree with. The candidate said he will stand up for the rights of unborn children every day, but there are some gray areas.

During a rebuttal, Huwe requested Drotzmann be more specific than before 15 weeks and also asked his fellow candidate to expand on his thoughts on Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act.

Drotzmann replied he drew the line at 15 weeks. He said Death with Dignity is legal in the state and has set parameters, which he is not interested in expanding.

“I’ve had two parents that have died painful deaths. It was very emotional, very difficult for them,” he said. “They should have had the option to choose the death with dignity out clause and allowed the family to heal, allowed them to have a healthy, safe exit.”

Doherty on trust

Tensions sparked during Doherty’s candidate and committee questions, which all revolved around the recall effort and the investigation by the Oregon Ethic Commission.

Doherty is a former Morrow County commissioner who served six years before losing his seat in a recall in late 2022. He was raised in the county and owns a cattle ranch there. He is a past president of the Association of Oregon Counties.

When asked about the ethics investigation Doherty took a long pause before answering.

“Yes, I guess, is the answer,” he said.

Doherty said the investigation had to do with COVID-19-relief funding for businesses. The candidate explained his business, which took around a $250,000 hit during the pandemic, qualified for funding through the CARES Act. He did not want to apply due to the potential political fallout, but that his wife ultimately decided to apply.

Doherty recused himself from all county commissioner discussion and votes about the funding, but did not disclose the reason for his recusal. The issue was taken to the Oregon Ethics Board, which ultimately found while he did the right thing with the recusal, the rules outlined he needed to explain why.

“I said, mea culpa, you’re right. I should have said that,” he said.

Doherty also fielded a question on the recall. One of his opponents wanted to know why the former commissioner felt he was qualified to run for state Senate after he was removed from his commissioner seat.

Doherty said he believes the recall was a result of his push to address the nitrate issues in his county.

“Those folks, I got between them and their dollars, they bank rolled the recall,” he said.

He urged people to watch KGW’s hour long documentary “Tainted Waters” to learn more about what happened with the water.

Doherty added his body of work and the fact he will stand up for his constituents are the reasons why he’s qualified for the position.

Later during the debate, Doherty said he believed his questions were written by Nash. He said he still has text messages from the Wallowa County commissioner about the recall effort and how horrible it was Doherty was going through this.

“But now when I stand between him and a job he wants — he spins it and tries to use it against me,” Doherty said.

The moderators allowed Nash to respond. He replied it was a tragic time and he supported Doherty and his family during the recall.

“But I think the fact that you did lose in the recall — right or wrong — to seek higher office after that is a concern. If I didn’t have the full support of Wallowa County behind me, I wouldn’t move forward into a job that entails more counties,” Nash said.

Doherty rebutted, saying he would do it all over again — even knowing he might be recalled. He said he believes he will win this election in a landslide in his county.

“As a politician you’ve gotta choose which hill you’re willing to die on if only so others don’t literally have to,” he said.

Nash on the Greater Idaho Movement

Nash, a Wallowa County commissioner since 2016, was asked about the Greater Idaho Movement and the letter the Wallowa County commissioners recently sent to the governors and legislative leaders in both states about moving the state line. A fellow candidate wanted to know how Nash would effectively represent his Oregon constituents if elected while actively “shopping your district to Idaho?”

The county commissioners opened with an acknowledgement this is a very polarizing issue. There have been two votes in Wallowa County about whether the commissioners should be having the discussion about moving the border. The measure failed the first time by 40 votes, but passed the second time it was on the ballot by seven votes.

Wallowa residents wanted the commissioners to send the letter. The intent, Nash said, was to see if leadership would be open to an exploratory conversation. So far, no one has responded to the letter.

“The letter also says that the commissioners are neither for nor against this,” he said. “When I’ve asked legislators in Idaho, they don’t want us. When I’ve had conversations with legislators on the west side of the state, they don’t want to get rid of us.”