The Bend Bulletin Endorses John!
Return Huffman for a full term
Bend Bulletin
October 7, 2008
A pair of very good candidates would like to represent Oregon’s enormous House District 59, which stretches all the way from Deschutes County to the Columbia River. Mike Ahern, a Democrat from Madras, is a member of the Jefferson County Commission. John Huffman, a Republican from The Dalles, was appointed last August to the seat he and Ahern now seek. Voters should give Huffman the nod, if only because of the experience he’s gained over the last 13 months, a period that includes the Legislature’s 2008 “emergency” session.
Ahern and Huffman are not as different as their party affiliations and hometowns might suggest, at least in ways that should matter to District 59 voters. Both have many years of small-business experience, Ahern as a grocery-store owner and Huffman as a radio-station owner. Both describe themselves as fiscally conservative. Both are committed to economic development, and to this end both have mentioned the potential value of more windmill installations. Both believe the Legislature can do a better job serving rural areas like those in District 59. And both decided to seek the House seat at the urging of others. Huffman says he was nudged by U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, whom he has known for years. Ahern says he was recruited by Oregon Rep. Dave Hunt, the House majority leader, who appealed to Ahern’s spirit of public service.
The biggest relevant difference between the two candidates, apart from party affiliation, is experience. Huffman has been learning the ropes for 13 months, and he’s even participated in one session, albeit a short and experimental one. Ahern’s argument for placing him in Huffman’s seat rests largely on his determination to represent rural areas like those in Jefferson County. We have no doubt he’d represent the district well, including those areas he highlights.
But Ahern hasn’t accused Huffman of indifference to rural issues, and Huffman himself argues he hasn’t been. As evidence, he points to his efforts to restore funding to the defunct Office of Rural Policy and the many miles he has put on his car crisscrossing his district.
We confess to a Central Oregon bias in Ahern’s favor. But Huffman has done a credible job so far, and voters should send him to Salem for a full term. He’s not likely to disappoint.