The stars and stripes were omnipresent Saturday as candidates associated with the Tea Party, a movement focused on fiscal conservatism, gathered several dozen supporters to discuss their disapproval over political trends in the state and country.
The event began on the shore of Woahink Lake and ended, because of stormy weather, at a breakfast diner in southern Florence. It attracted several Republican primary contenders, including Jaynee Germond and Art Robinson for U.S. House Congressional District 4, and Allen Alley for governor. Also in attendance was Jay Bozievich, who is running for West Lane County Commissioner.
Bozievich leads the commissioner’s race in campaign donation dollars by more than double those of his closest competitor, former commissioner Jerry Rust, The Register-Guard reported. Bozievich, a civil engineer with Eugene Water and Electric Board, reported just more than $40,000 in campaign donations with the support of conservative-leaning businesses such as Murphy Hardwood, Seneca Jones Timber Company and Hamilton Construction.
Bozievich’s platform is pro-business and pro-public safety, issues he believes go hand in hand.
“Basically, I’m looking to improve the economic opportunities of Lane County,” he said, “and as part of that, I’m going to prioritize public safety.”
Bozievich said Lane County is the only county in the state with rising crime rates, which he believes is warding off business opportunities.
He also said West Lane County includes about 10,000 Eugene citizens, and the seat he is hoping to fill is traditionally the most conservative on the board.
Germond is making her second run at the seat of Democratic incumbent Peter DeFazio, to whom she lost in 2008. Her calls to repeal the health care reform bill were met with applause from the supportive attendees.
Robinson, who gained notoriety for writing a document stating climate change has positive effects on the planet, is running against Germond in the May 18 primary. Diane Grant, a Germond campaign volunteer, said that while the two’s platforms and politics differ only slightly, the choice between Germond and Robinson is “a matter of perspective.”
“(Jaynee Germond is) not a politician,” Grant said. “She has been in education; she’s been in the health care field. She’s a wife and a mother; she’s one of us, which is why I support Jaynee.”
Grant also said she would support either Republican challenger over the incumbent.
“Peter DeFazio has been in there way too long,” she said. “I’ve wanted to see him retire for years, and I think this year is our opportunity to do that.”
Gubernatorial candidate Allen Alley headlined the afternoon after the rain picked up and the event was relocated to the Little Brown Hen Cafe. Coming off an environmental debate last week against the two Democratic hopefuls, Alley spoke of the importance of engaging the opposition.
“I have to be able to say the same thing to the conservatives, the same thing to the environmentalists, and have the edges of both of them say, ‘You know what, you made a lot of sense,’” Alley said. “That’s the only way we’re going to win a general election in this state and bring someone who has a different perspective to Salem.”
In a Rasmussen telephone survey conducted about a month ago, Alley trailed both the potential democratic candidates, but a summary of the poll called the race a “free-for-all.”
Opposition to the health care reform bill, anti-tax and anti-government sentiment, and staunch support of capitalism over socialism were recurring themes on the day. Several speakers explicitly expressed their fear of socialism.
“I’ve seen a lot of politics and a lot of changes, and I’m just scared for the country,” Tea Party advocate Jordan Grant said. “That fear factor really kicked me in the butt; I can’t be apathetic anymore, I’ve gotta find some stuff out.”
Grant said a threat to freedom is what specifically makes him fearful.
“The freedoms that we had just aren’t here anymore.”
“I agree with a sentiment I heard the other day,” Grant said. “‘We want our America back.’”
[email protected]