Rep. Huffman Endorsed by Bend Bulletin

John Huffman of The Dalles has represented the sprawling 59th District in the Oregon House of Representatives for just over three years and wants to return to Salem next spring. Republicans should give him the chance to do so.
Huffman was appointed to replace John Dallum, who left office at the end of the 2007 regular legislative session. Huffman ran two years ago and has served in one regular and two special sessions. He's done well by his district, which includes all or part of Jefferson, Wasco, Gilliam, Sherman, Wheeler, Grant and Clackamas counties. By his estimate, he's brought home some $55 million in funds. He's done so, he says, without having to violate his own principles or make political trades with which he's uncomfortable.

For some reason, Huffman's car — a Prius — irks his opponent, Britt Storkson. But whether Huffman drives a Prius, a Mack truck or a lunar rover, he's done a creditable job as a lawmaker, even as a member of the minority party.
Yet it's what he hopes for the future that will make him most valuable in the years ahead. He'd like to see the state take a good, hard look at the services it offers, decide which fit its core mission, then eliminate or dramatically cut the rest. Oregon, he says, “has really found its way to the credit card” where spending is concerned, and it cannot continue. That done, he says, it should also take a serious look at restructuring its revenue stream — taxes — to help smooth out the highs and lows that seem perennially to create problems.

Storkson shares many of Huffman's fiscally conservative leanings. However, he acknowledged that he hasn't studied Huffman's voting record. Without knowing what Huffman's done during his tenure in the Legislature, Storkson simply can't make a credible case that he's performed badly. Storkson is, in essence, a protest candidate who isn't likely to serve constructively as a lawmaker.
That's not true of Huffman, who knows that as a member of the minority his chance of accomplishing much of anything relies on his ability to reach across the isle for support from at least some Democrats. He's willing to do the reaching, and in so doing he'll benefit his constituents in District 59.
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From bendbulletin.com – published daily in Bend, Oregon, by Western Communications, Inc. Copyright 2005.

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