Oregon primary elections 2024: A Q&A with GOP Congressional candidate Monique DeSpain
The primary elections for Oregon's congressional representatives are approaching, with ballots due May 21. In Oregon's 4th District, incumbent Rep. Val Hoyle is running uncontested in the Democratic primary. In the Republican primary, two candidates are running for the party nomination — Monique DeSpain and Amy Ryan Courser.
Oregon's 4th Congressional District covers Lincoln, Benton, Lane, Coos and Curry counties as well as the western side of Douglas County and a slice of Linn County near Corvallis. Barring a sizeable write-in campaign on the Democratic side, the Republican who earns more votes in May’s closed primary election will run against Hoyle in the November general election.
The Register-Guard and Statesman Journal shared a questionnaire with candidates in contested primaries for Oregon's 4th, 5th and 6th Congressional Districts. Ryan Courser did not respond to the Register-Guard's emails and told the Register-Guard at a forum that she believed they had either been lost or overlooked because she had recently received a large number of spam emails. Here are DeSpain's answers:
Biographical Information
Residence: South Eugene, Lane County, Oregon
Occupation(s): Retired Military Officer, Licensed Attorney, and Advocate for Government Transparency, Reform, and Crime Victims
Relevant professional or service-related positions:
30-year Veteran of the United States Air Force, U.S. Air Force Reserve, and the Oregon Air National Guard, retiring with the rank of Colonel; Judge Advocate General (JAG)
Legal consultant and general counsel for a full spectrum of business and family matters
Attorney with the Kevin Mannix Law Firm fighting for the rights of crime victims, business owners
Legal Counsel with Non-Profit Common Sense for Oregon formulating improved public policies to address rampant homelessness, addiction, and crime in Oregon communities.
Volunteer Mediator and Board member with the Center for Dialogue & Resolution in Eugene, Oregon, for 10 years
My background and experience are more fully described here https://www.moniqueforcongress.com/meet-monique/
Questions
What are your priorities for Oregon and the country?
DeSpain told the Register-Guard her top priorities are to:
"deliver policies and laws that reduce crime"
"tackle the homeless crisis that is draining our community resources"
"stop the flow of deadly drugs into Oregon from our southern border"
"bring back a prosperous economy with low inflation"
"require a fully transparent and accountable federal budget, bureaucracy, and policies"
She also encouraged readers to see a longer list of priorities on her campaign website at moniqueforcongress.com/issues/.
What will you do to expand access to affordable housing?
DeSpain said to increase housing availability and affordability she supports "ending prohibitive and inflationary policies that stifle new construction" which includes "excessive:"
permitting costs
building regulations
city and county codes
bureaucratic red tape
and "outdated" land use restrictions
"The entire population of Oregon lives on less than 7 percent of our state’s land. These government-imposed restrictions on buildable land, coupled with runaway inflation and interest rates, are pricing most working people out of the American Dream of home ownership," DeSpain said. In Congress, she said she would work to ensure "the federal government does its part to lift housing restrictions."
What is your plan for addressing Oregon’s homelessness crisis?
DeSpain criticized the 'housing first' approach to addressing homelessness. "Those who are homeless … will not be saved by keys to a new home, condo, or apartment provided by taxpaying Americans," she said. Instead, DeSpain said she supports policies that focus on preventing and healing drug addiction and mental illness, such as re-criminalizing drugs.
"Recovery from addiction and illness is the only path to independent living and independent housing, and all programs in the homelessness, addiction, and mental health space must make recovery their mission," she said. "We must reject the current enablement programs that merely trap people in addiction and illness."
What specific proposals would you work on to help mitigate the effects of climate change?
DeSpain said she believes that climate change is real and human-caused. DeSpain also said she's an "advocate for energy choice and responsibly developing new clean, affordable energy options." She said energy policy should balance "science, commonsense, economic realities, and the well-being of entire communities."
"I support an 'all of the above' energy strategy that strives for scientifically based clean energy choices that are affordable and end reliance on other nations," she said.
Would you take any steps to change reproductive health care laws? If so, what specifically?
DeSpain told the Register-Guard she would not aim to change reproductive health laws. "What I am going to Congress to change is the dysfunctional culture of career politicians not working for us. … That is what I am focused on."
Would you take any steps to address immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border?
"Our open border is both a serious national security threat to our survival as a country and an intentional humanitarian crisis of profound suffering for hundreds of thousands of immigrants from throughout the world," DeSpain told the Register-Guard.
DeSpain said she would "secure our border by taking an ‘all of the above’ approach" which includes:
physical barriers
using advanced technologies such as sensors, cybersecurity and drones
increasing the number of border patrol agents
using federal law enforcement to fight cartels
reinstating a 'remain in Mexico' policy
DeSpain criticized Hoyle for voting against the Protecting our Communities from Failure to Secure the Border Act of 2023, which aimed to prohibit the federal government from housing undocumented immigrants on federal land following a proposal from the National Park Service and the City of New York to set up a migrant shelter in a national recreation area there. DeSpain said the bill would prevent "homeless encampments for illegal immigrants in our national parks and forests."
DeSpain said she also supports immigration reform "to include commonsense asylum laws and efficient processes."
What would you do to help prevent the spread of wildfires in the West?
"Oregon’s natural resource-based industries are our cornerstone to prosperity and livability in Congressional District 4" DeSpain told the Register-Guard. She said in Congress she would "be a staunch advocate for responsible forest management" which would include:
"co-stewardship of our forests with our native tribes"
"sustainable harvesting of timber"
"removal of fuel loads that cause massive wildfires"
and requiring the Bureau of Land Management to "rapidly extinguish fires" or authorize, state, local, and private entities to do so.
What would you do to address the issue of gun violence? Would you be supportive of additional gun control measures?
"I support and will continue to defend our individual right to self-protection and our right to keep and bear arms under the 2nd Amendment," DeSpain told the Register-Guard, but she said does support "reasonable measures to separate the mentally ill from weapons."
DeSpain said much of gun violence "is perpetrated by criminals, and the mentally ill, by using illegally obtained and possessed firearms," so can be curbed by enforcing existing laws.
How will you work to improve public safety?
DeSpain said she would work to ensure Customs and Border Patrol officers, local sheriffs, police and district attorneys "have the necessary authority and resources to do their job effectively." She said she would avoid giving federal funding to "soft-on-crime cities or cities that defund the police and leave Americans vulnerable."
DeSpain also said she would combat substance abuse and crime with border control, "By ending cartel control of our borders and stopping criminals from illegally entering our cities and other communities, we will stop the delivery and distribution of deadly drugs, human trafficking, and other abhorrent cartel activity."
How will you ensure that quality, affordable health care is available to families?
"Healthcare inflation is one of the most severe forms of inflation impacting all Americans," DeSpain said. She said she would support legislation to decrease the cost of prescription drugs, and that her goal of encouraging economic growth with low inflation would also improve health care access.
DeSpain said she would reduce "stifling government regulations on doctors, nurses, and private healthcare providers" which would help those providers "respond to the ever-growing demand for healthcare services and medications." DeSpain said she supports "Right to Try" policies "so that advanced, life-saving treatments will be available to those facing serious health crises"
Alan Torres covers local government for the Register-Guard. He can be reached over email at atorres@registerguard.com or on X @alanfryetorres.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: A Q&A with Republican Congressional candidate Monique DeSpain
