Thread by @JMShumway

Debate with 12 Republican candidates for governor hosted by Timber Unity is starting shortly. I’ll share highlights in a thread here. #orgov #orpol

Debate will have eight questions, all about the economy, natural resources and jobs. Because there are so many candidates, they're split into odd and even groups and each group gets four questions with 60 seconds to answer. At the end, candidates can answer a fifth question

Almost done with introductions. Brandon Merritt got some in the crowd to cheer "Let's go, Brandon," which doubles as a cheer for him and an anti-Biden chant.

First question:
How will the candidates address concerns about carbon reduction and work with the Legislature to implement a plan Timber Unity released in 2020?

Merritt says there can't be carbon reduction without nuclear power.

Pulliam says he'll use executive authority to reverse environmental measures the way Gov. Brown has used it to pass them.

Drazan reminds crowd she led #orleg walkouts.

Gomez says Oregon's carbon emissions are negligible. The state needs to focus on water sustainability, and she hopes to negotiate with a GOP majority Senate as governor.

Barton said the current emissions plan goes "to the back of the bus" when she's governor.

Pierce says he negotiates every day as a doctor with big insurance companies and Medicaid, so he can do it as governor. "I know how to negotiate."

Next question, for the other group of candidates: how will they ensure farmers and ranchers maintain access to water?

McCloud: need to look at state subsidies for water transportation and investigate the feasibility of drilling into the water table.

Tiernan: conserving water is the best way to get out of drought, but the state also needs to build more reservoirs and explore canals.

Thielman: government is making the problem worse by not filling reservoirs early in the season.

Boice: fire is the defining issue of our time. If we don't manage water well, firefighters will show up with empty hoses. But no answer.

Sizemore: in 2000, he introduced a ballot measure that would require state gov to reimburse people whose private property is taken, including things like increasing riparian setback around a stream. That's still his policy.

Next question: what ag businesses can come to rural Oregon to replace the timber industry?

Pulliam: look at cross-laminated timber and whether Oregon can produce more fertilizer, replacing Russia and Ukraine.

Merritt: rejects the premise that timber jobs are gone. Electing "the right Republican" will fix that.

Barton also rejects the premise of the question. "I say break out the chainsaws and bring on a governor who will stand up for the timber industry and bring it back."

Drazan: she's not willing to give up on the timber industry -- icymi she led the 2020 walkout over cap and trade

Pierce: valleys have been logged and turned into farmland, mountains have timber and you can't really grow crops there. You need to bring back the forestry and logging business, which takes negotiating with D.C. and directing state agencies.

Gomez: nothing can replace timber industry, and Oregon is paying the price for an atrophied timber industry in large wildfires.

Next question: nearly 1 million acres have been burned by wildfires. Without saying "better forest management" how will you mitigate wildfires and what policies will you pursue to achieve that goal?

McCloud: better forest management starts with keeping forests healthy. Destroy pests and beetles that kill trees. Give ground to Native American communities and agricultural communities and return to traditional agricultural practices.

Sizemore says he asks people how many love kids, education, clean air and clean water. The "far left radicals" use that love against them and are using protections for endangered species to hide their agenda to take control of things.

Tiernan: preposition people and equipment so you're prepared to stop fires before they grow out of control.

Boice: wolves and cougars are growing in number. They've got to control predators. "I'll talk about fire for a day if you want me too, but not tonight."

Thielman starts by calling the governor an idiot, says people came here originally because Native Americans already cleared the forests and were maintaining them.

(Side note: Thielman's fans are very loud)

Next question: what will you do to support farming and forestry practices?

Pulliam says he'll hand out so many pink slips as governor that Oregon will run out of paper.

Pierce: expand the Oregon's right-to-farm law, which protects farmers from some environmental lawsuits.

Barton: State won't introduce any new regulations when she's governor, and then she'll start eliminating existing ones.

Drazan: fully fund OSU's extension services and ongoing research that supports farmers and ranchers as they develop best practices.

Gomez: having a Republican governor is great, but they can't do much without a more balanced state legislature. She wants to change the tone.

Merritt: governor can appoint the appropriate people.

Next question: Any Republican governor's policies would likely be challenged in court and then need to be defended by Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, who is a progressive Democrat. How do you handle that?

Sizemore: He'd hire his own counsel as governor, and he'd appoint agency heads who would fire longtime employees who align with Dems.

Boice: Winston Churchill said never give up. Follow the growth of conservative movements in the south and midwest.

McCloud: AG needs to respect the rule of law. He says if the AG neglects or refuses to protect the people that "there is an outcome for that," but doesn't explain what he means. To be clear, the state AG is elected and doesn't report to the governor.

Tiernan: if litigation can't be avoided, he'll make sure he has a team of attorneys in place. The governor's real power is in appointments.

Thielman: He'll encourage activists to fill the AG's email inbox and gather outside the Justice Department, and he'll hold weekly press conferences to ask her why she hates hardworking Oregonians.

Next question: how will you approach a state appeal of a 2019 $1B award to counties over the state's management of county forests?

Pierce: First up, accept the ruling and let the counties receive their $1 billion. Then listen to counties about how to move forward. Does state change how it manages? Do counties take over?

Drazan: End the appeal. The state owes the money.

Gomez: End the appeal.

Merritt: He doesn't think the governor has the authority to end the appeal, but he'll put public pressure on the attorney general to do so.

Pulliam: as mayor, he knows decisions are best made at the local level. Return forest management to the counties.

Barton: county commissioner told her it's not about the money but about policies. Governor has powers that aren't overt. She'd try to end the appeal.

Final question: how will you address "out-of-control state agencies" and what characteristics are you looking for when you appoint agency heads?

Boice: He'll initiate top-down reviews with thorough audits. He says he'll fire a lot of people.

Sizemore: as a contractor, he's been told that low bids aren't expected because agencies have extra money and view it as garbage. He'll fire people.

Thielman says he's taking on the Department of Education "because they're the ones teaching our kids that climate change is real." He wants ranchers, farmers and loggers running state agencies.

McCloud: when he appoints people, he'll consider whether they love America and Oregon and will consider the impact of policies on people. As for large government, start with an audit and then craft a budget that reduces state spending.

Tiernan: He'd clean house with agency heads, then hire people from the private sector and tell them to do a top-down review of the agencies.

Next up: each candidate can choose to answer a question they didn't already get to answer.

Pierce chooses question about access to water for agriculture.

He'll get the state to stop claiming senior irrigation rights, build dams and develop canals.

McCloud chooses question about replacing timber jobs. Like others, he wants to replace them with new timber jobs.

Tiernan says he's choosing all the questions (so he can answer one that wasn't asked. The most important thing going on in Oregon right now is keeping neighborhoods safe and addressing crime and riots, he says.

Drazan's taking the question about agencies. She'll hire good people who are tough enough to do the job.

Merritt's taking water. There are short-term solutions like giving tax incentives to transport water and long-term solutions like increasing reservoir space.

Sizemore took the timber job question: encourage investment in small mills and make a contractual agreement with investors.

Gomez takes the agency question: state agencies aren't doing their jobs and she's a CEO who can build a good team.

Thielman combines timber questions: says anything that can be done can be undone, and that the world was better under Trump. His governorship will be a "renaissance and resurgence," he said, evoking "oh yeahs" from his noisy fans.

Pulliam takes the agency question: Because it's been 40 years since OR had a GOP governor, there are "deeply entrenched highly woke bureaucrats." As mayor, he knows how policies affect people on the ground.

Almost done! They need to get through closing statements (90 seconds each).

Merritt's first up. Says it was a challenging forum because his background is in the corporate world. He says he's best positioned to win the general because of his social media reach with NAVs. (Merritt's team keeps sending press releases about how his daughter is a TikTok star)

Tiernan: he proved himself as a legislator in the '90s, by running multimillion dollar companies (he's the former president of Grocery Outlet) and by serving in the military.

Gomez: she's been traveling the state listening to people, and they're frustrated. She wants to ease that frustration.

McCloud: tonight's his wife's birthday and he's here. He loves America, says we can't afford a communist society and he'll go to battle for children.

Barton: it's clear that everyone on stage is a solid conservative, so who to support is a difficult question. She says she's the candidate who is tough enough to stand up to "the dominating left and media intolerance."

Boice: Oregon is his friend and he's known for being fiercely loyal to his friends. He'll train firefighters and send them all over the western US

Drazan: Remember that she was the House GOP leader when Timber Unity protested and legislative Republicans walked out? She'll stand with Oregonians to fight for the state as governor like she did then, she said.

Sizemore describing an incident that's probably his indictment for tax evasion and saying public employee unions tried to bribe and prosecute him out of politics. He'll fight public employee unions.

Pulliam: describes his lawsuit against the state on behalf of businesses and his newest effort to bring attention to school lessons about race and sex ed. It shows he's a fighter and doesn't change how he speaks if he's talking to conservatives or the press, he says.

Thielman says patriots won't vote for someone who isn't a conservative, and that he fought for conservative causes as superintendent.

Pierce says people know him as a kindly, polite practicing doctor with nice clothes, but his roots are in gritty farming community outside an Air Force Base and he was trained as a Marine. Marines win, and he'll win.

That's it! Watch for the full story on @ORCapChronicle early tomorrow morning.