OHCA The Oregon Caregiver Fall Winter 2020

The Oregon Caregiver FALL/WINTER 2020 www.ohca.com 22 PROFILE Representative Christine Drazan (R-Canby) POLICY MAKER House Republican Leader Christine Drazan (R-Canby) shares her vision for her party’s future in Oregon and where her priorities lie in 2021 and beyond. You’ve been involved in Oregon politics since the 1990s when you worked as chief of staff to Speaker Mark Simmons. What inspired you to run for office yourself? Simply put, I just took a look at the people most likely to represent me in this district, and I felt an unexpected interest in changing what the profile was. Running for office wasn’t on my bucket list. It wasn’t anything I had planned on, but here I am. When you were elected by your colleagues as the Oregon House of Representatives Republican Leader in 2019, what goals didyou set for the caucus? The opportunity to serve as caucus leader has been a real privilege and an honor. I really wanted my party to be able to compete against Democrats in the state going forward, not focus on the party’s past. I wanted to focus on the future. What kind of legislators do we want to be? What does our team look like going forward? Our perspectives are unique in the building, and it benefits our state to have two relevant, viable parties. So, running for leader was about the opportunity to be able to act on that and to put all my efforts into trying to make a difference. My goals in this role are to unify the caucus and to create an expectation that serving Oregonians and restoring balance is all of our responsibilities. We all have the opportunity to contribute both in big and small ways to help Oregon have more balance politically. What successes are you most proud of and what challenges lie ahead? I’m hesitant to claim any successes, because I see what I’ve done as incremental progress. However, I do think it is a success to be able to maintain working relationships across party lines after the close of last session. Those relationships resulted in bipartisan work during all the special sessions in 2020. I think the Democrats wanted that, too, and it enabled us to operate together. Of course, we have had our disagreements with Democrats, but we’ve been able to find a path forward and work toward shared goals. Let’s talk about this year, which we all agree has been unlike any other. What lessons will you take from the pandemic in Oregon? For me, the biggest takeaway from this year is how much we all need each other when it comes down to it. Overall, this year, even in the middle of COVID-19 and partisan national politics, there were many instances that reminded us that we care about each other and we are going to do everything to support each other. I was reminded that basic human kindness is still alive and well. One person really can change everything. For the people that put themselves in harm’s way during the fires to help their neighbors, that is the thing that is going to change the course of history for all of us. Every time we can do something to show kindness and generosity, we should do that. What do you see on the horizon for Oregon as we move past the 2020 election and enter the next legislative session? COVID-19 and the wildfires have made our vulnerable populations more vulnerable. They have expanded our inequities in wealth distribution—those who were already poor have become poorer—and mental health issues have been exacerbated. For me, it’s important that we be very careful as we approach the state budget next biennium. While we have a state surplus right now, the state economists tell us that our underlying economy is not healthy. So we