Oregon's 1st District: My choice for Congress

Letter to Editor by Robert Enninga (Beaverton)
January 20, 2012

Note: This letter is followed, on the Oregonian website, by dozens of comments, the vast majority in support of voting for Steven Reynolds. To see the comments, click on the title above.

I have always proudly and enthusiastically voted and returned my ballot the day after it arrived in my mail. But this "special election" for representative in the 1st Congressional District became anything but special as we once again suffered the ad nauseam bombardment of negative attack ads from both the Republican and Democratic candidates and their supporting organizations. Disgusted, I found for the first time in my 40 years of voting that I was prepared to write in "None of the above" on my ballot, rather than vote for either perpetrator of the same old hyper-partisan "politics as usual."

When I opened my ballot envelope, though, I was thrilled to find that I had another choice: Progressive Party candidate Steven Reynolds, an "Unemployed, Disabled Veteran" and "West Point Graduate." I know nothing at all about Reynolds other than what he submitted for publication in the Voters' Pamphlet. But I found that I agree with every word that Reynolds wrote.

I too believe that Congress is a "dysfunctional organization" that has become an "embarrassment." And I also know that Reynolds has not participated in the politics of personal attack, as have the Democratic and Republican candidates in this race. And that counts, for me.

This one is simple. Steven Reynolds, thank you for your service to our country and for the personal sacrifices you have made. You earned my vote, and I very much hope that my fellow voters of Oregon's 1st Congressional District, regardless of their party affiliations, will see the wisdom of saying "no more politics as usual" and will join me in voting to send you to Congress to represent the state of Oregon.

Survey USA issued poll results on January 4 for the special election for U.S. Congress in Oregon. Our candidate, Steven Reynolds, is pulling 8% of all surveyed voters under the age of 35 and 2% of all voters overall.  This bodes well for the future.  Younger voters are waking up!

In Oregon, #OWS Has a Golden Opportunity to Get a Representative In Congress

by Krist Novoselic
Seattle Weekly
December 22, 2011

Krist Novoselic, seen here with Steven Reynolds, was the founding bassist in Nirvana, and is the chairman of Fair Vote.

Occupy Wall Street has an extraordinary opportunity with next month's special election for Oregon's U.S. House District 1. One of the four candidates on the ballot that voters will receive in the mail is Steven Reynolds, the nominee of the Oregon Progressive Party. This group's platform is a virtual mirror of OWS issues. It's all there: anti-corporate personhood, controls on banking, and an equitable democratic system, among other proposals.    Read more ...

The Portland City Club has refused to allow any minor party candidates to participate in its January 6 noontime "debate" for candidates running to replace David Wu in Congress.

The minor party candidates are Steven Reynolds of the Oregon Progressive Party and James Foster of the Libertarian Party of Oregon.

These candidates present views that are far different from the Democrat or the Republican.  See the Table of Issues on this page.  But the Portland City Club believes that their views should not be shared with its members or the public by means of the broadcast of Friday's noontime program.

Progressive Party members, including Steven Reynolds, protested this decision outside the City Club's meeting at the Governor Hotel on December 17.  Here is a KBOO Interview with Steven Reynolds outside the hotel.
    Read more ...

CD-1 Race Draws Alternative Views

April Baer | November 20, 2011 | Portland, OR

Another candidate for the general election in the first Congressional District has been nominated.

The Oregon Progressive Party nominated Steve Reynolds, an Army veteran who spent a year teaching English in China. This is his first run for office. He says the debt ceiling debate motivated him to think about how he could improve on the way incumbent representatives handled themselves.

"I got angry, you know? They're doing nothing. And I can do nothing better than they can do nothing as far as I'm concerned."

The Progressive platform calls for protecting Medicare and Medicaid, cutting military spending, and providing universal employment, simialr to the WPA programs enacted during the Great Depression.

Reynolds joins Democrat Suzanne Bonamici and Republican Rob Cornilles on ballots that will be mailed starting January 13th.

The Pacific Green Party of Oregon was scheduled to hold its nominating convention Saturday as well. 

© 2011 OPB