KOIN 6 News contacted candidates who are planning to run for Oregon governor in 2022, asking them to respond to these three questions:

  • Why are you running for governor? 
  • In your opinion, what are the top three issues Oregon is facing right now? 
  • What is something you believe is going right in Oregon and how would you like to continue to build on it?

Bridget Barton is running as a Republican. Here are her responses:

Why are you running for governor?

Oregon is in crisis. I’m an outsider, not a politician, and I have been in the arena for 30 years, writing, researching and advocating for common sense solutions to our biggest government problems. My work has often focused on the very areas where we face problems today: education, homelessness, crime, and the urban-rural divide. These are not and should not be partisan issues; they affect all Oregonians. I’m not a partisan politician, I’m a problem-solver.  I couldn’t stand by anymore and watch cowardly politicians allow our state to sink further into chaos and decline. I’m ready to fight, and to solve Oregon’s difficult crises. I’ve never been afraid to do hard things.  I’m not here to get the job—I’m here to do the job.

In your opinion, what are the top three issues Oregon is facing right now?

I’ve been traveling extensively across the state to ask Oregonians what issues they are facing, what they need fixed.

1. In our cities and suburbs, and even in key areas of rural Oregon, it’s really simple: people are scared. They worry about skyrocketing violent crime and unchecked property crime. There are some undeniable connections to homelessness and addiction. But they are also deeply alarmed by the “defund the police” movement that has tied the hands of law enforcement, and created retention, hiring and morale problems. And they’re at a loss to understand why criminals are not being prosecuted or incarcerated for their crimes. 

2. Pandemic-related business shutdowns on top of heavy regulations and taxes have caused thousands of our small businesses to close, causing untold losses to owners and employees who counted on those important jobs to feed their families. Rural Oregon farmers, ranchers, loggers, and fishermen (these are the people who feed and house all of us) feel assaulted by a barrage of expensive, endless, and unworkable rules and regulations passed by urban politicians who have no concern for their devastating consequences in rural communities. 

3. Oregon schools are at the bottom in results, with the most significant failures in communities of color, yet the response has been to stop measuring rather than provide more choice. Parents and grandparents feel shocked and helpless about what their kids are being taught in school, and they are stunned when they’re treated as hostile adversaries by school officials. Now stifled and silenced, they don’t know where to turn for help.

What is something you believe is going right in Oregon and how would you like to continue to build on it?

We’ve all been through a lot lately, and it seems like it just keeps coming with rising prices at stores and at the pump. But just look at Oregonians. Oregonians have shown that they’re tough as nails, adaptable, independent and resourceful in the worst of circumstances. Across the state there is a rising wave of hope, an urgent demand from Oregonians that they want their lives back — we want our freedom back. Oregonians have always rallied and come together to support their neighbors and their communities, whether it’s wildfires, storms, or a brutal pandemic, but not at the expense of permanent loss of our freedoms. We can and will embrace our independent, free spirit again.  We’ve suffered, young and old, but we haven’t lost hope. We’ve been stifled, but we haven’t been crushed.  On Day One when I’m elected Oregon’s next governor, I can’t wait to unleash Oregon. 

Editor’s Note: KOIN 6 News asked Barton to provide a source for her statement that there are “some undeniable connections to homelessness and addition.” Barton replied citing a Lund Report article from June 2017 on the Multnomah County point-in-time homeless count for that year. The article said that of the overall homeless population that was counted, 61% reported a chronic physical condition, mental illness and/or addiction. In the 2019 Multnomah County point-in-time homeless count, 78.7% reported disabling conditions, including physical disabilities, mental illness and substance use disorders. Barton also cited an OPB article from Nov. 2019 that says of the 1,770 people who were considered chronically homeless during the count, about half reported a substance abuse disorder and a little less than one-third reported both a substance abuse disorder and having a mental illness.

For her statement saying, “Pandemic-related business shutdowns on top of heavy regulations and taxes have caused thousands of our small businesses to close,” Barton cited an April 2021 article from the Portland Business Journal that said the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association estimates more than 1,000 Oregon restaurants have closed since 2020. However, the article also states that the same group estimates 770 new restaurants opened in the state since 2020. In 2019, ORLA estimates there were 1,100 restaurant closings and 1,400 restaurant openings. ORLA said the unpredictable business restrictions during the pandemic contributed to restaurants’ plight. Barton also cited a survey conducted by Business Oregon, Travel Oregon, and the Oregon Small Business Development Center Network in April 2020. Thousands of businesses throughout Oregon took part in the survey which found that “Uncertainty, and the inability to plan, is the biggest challenge facing Oregon businesses during COVID-19, followed closely by decline in sales.” The survey found that 40% of Oregon businesses had temporarily closed at the time. The survey did not specify whether those closures were voluntary or due to state regulations.

Barton said her source for her statement saying, “Oregon schools are at the bottom in results, with the most significant failures in communities of color,” is the 2019 Report Card on American Education, published by the American Legislative Exchange Council. The report card ranked Oregon 46th out of 50 states and the District of Columbia. The report ranks schools on six factors: state academic standards, charter schools, homeschool regulation burden, private school choice, teacher quality, and digital learning. The report also gave double weight to private school choice and charter schools when it determined the grade issued to each state. The report made no mention of how Oregon schools fail communities of color. Barton also cited a report WalletHub released in July 2021 that ranked Oregon’s school system 42nd in the country. This report also made no mention of whether Oregon schools are failing for communities of color. Another article Barton cited is one from USA Today in which its news partner, 24/7 Wall Street reviewed Education Week’s Quality Counts 2018 report and determined Oregon’s schools ranked 34th. She cited an Oregonian article saying Oregon had the second-worst graduation rate in 2017. This information came from the National Center for Education Statistics. In the 2017-2018 school year, Oregon’s graduation rate for white students was 80%. For Black students it was 68%. Barton also cited a 2019 report from the National Assessment of Educational Progress showing that American Indian/Alaska Native and Hispanic students scored much lower on math and reading tests in fourth and eighth grade.

KOIN 6 News made minor adjustments to spelling, capitalization and punctuation in the responses the gubernatorial candidates submitted.