Laurie Monnes Anderson campaigns to keep her senate seat in District 25

Laurie Monnes Anderson is the incumbent in this year’s Oregon state Senate District 25 race. Anderson, a Democrat, is running against MHCC District board member Tamie Tlustos-Arnold, a Republican, and Libertarian Party candidate Jeffrey Ricks.

During her three-term tenure as senator, Anderson was able to contribute to getting $2 million worth of funding every biennium (two-year budget cycle) to the East metro gang prevention team, she said. Anderson has also been successful in bringing resources for mentoring families in Rockwood.

During her campaign, Anderson said that housing is a major worry that constituents share. “People are being displaced…

When we have landlords increasing rents $200, $300, $500 a month, we’re displacing our seniors and our young people and that is absolutely wrong,” she said.

No-cause evictions are a concern for her. “I was talking to a man the other day who has been renting this place, (and) his wife just died; he had been renting this place for 14 years, and now he’s been told that the landlords would like him to leave with no good cause,” she said.

“It’s a moral issue as far as I’m concerned – but just look at the cost of living, and not (raising) the rent more than the cost of living for an area,” is one way that Anderson suggests this problem be tackled.

When it comes to homelessness, it is up to the cities and counties to decide how to provide resources, she said. “If they come with proposals where they need assistance with funding, we can help,” she said. “We, at the state, can make sure that there’s funding for, I call them, ‘wraparound services’ ” for mental health, drug and alcohol treatment programs, mentoring programs, and housing/shelters.

“Many of the people who are homeless, they do want to get out, and they just need a helping hand. We are looking at a job training skill center in the Rockwood area,” said Anderson of further options.

As for immigration concerns, the responsibility is at the federal level but Anderson said she would like to see “a way for the people that are living here to get legal status, legal status meaning, maybe not permanent status, but for jobs.”

Anderson is an advocate for education and community colleges. “I support community colleges 100 percent, and I’ve worked hard. We got $8 million for MHCC if they would invest in skilled trade programs, and I was so disappointed that we weren’t able to pass our bond,” she said.

To schools and colleges that don’t get bonds passed, Anderson wants to find ways to “help with their capital construction.”

“I lived here when we didn’t have MHCC, and was so excited when we got the college here,” she said. It’s made a big difference here for hundreds and hundreds, thousands and thousands of students, and I love this area and I want to make it better, and more livable.”

Advocate Staff