Corvallist Endorsement: Sara Gelser for District 16 House Rep

Remember Kelly Wirth? Neither do I. At least, I don't think of her anymore. Not since Sara Gelser was appointed to take Wirth's place as our representative in the Oregon House of Representatives. Previously, Gelser spent five years on the Corvallis School Board and served as president of the ARC of Benton County.

This week, in the mail, I received a postcard from Gelser's challenger, Robin Brown. I was getting ready to toss it on the never-ending pile of election spam, when I caught a comment on the postcard about how Gelser wasn't a bad representative; she just wasn't a great one. Meanwhile, Ms. Gelser's mailer, which arrived today, didn't mention Brown at all. Let's award a big fat point to Gelser for taking the high road. That was the first I had heard of Robin Brown, and the initial impression was certainly lousy.

Ms. Brown is a relative newcomer to Oregon, and glancing at her platform page, I'm not sure she knows Corvallis very well at all. She stresses that she is committed to getting the criminals, especially meth addicts, off our streets. Hello, this is Corvallis... our crime rate is pretty darn low. Maybe she's thinking of Albany? She also claims that the Corvallis Police Department has the smallest force per capita in all of Oregon. While that is technically true, it completely ignores the fact that we also have the Oregon State Police centered on campus and the Benton County Sheriff's office, giving us plenty of uniformed officers around town most of the time. Counting the addition of these other two forces, our per capita protection is just dandy.

She is also stressing the importance of education, which would normally be a safe bet, except that Gelser actually spent five years on a school board. Our school board. Plus, Brown wants to mess with the finer details of the school budget, creating policy that would force 65 cents of each dollar to be used for classroom purposes. I guess the money for infrastructure, extracurriculars and administration is supposed to be plucked out of thin air.

My biggest peeve is that Brown is championing health care savings accounts, which are lousy for anyone with a lower-than-average income. When people need to go to the doctor, they need money to pay for the visit. With the health care savings plan, money is pulled from your paycheck and you claim it after the fact. That doesn't help a low-income mom take her kids to the doctor if she can't come up with the $80 or more to pay for a check-up.

This may be my easiest decision in November. Sara Gelser is already doing a great job. I'd like to see her be given the chance to serve a full term. Plus, did you see her election mailer? She's rockin' the dimples, baby. YES, her experience, communication skills and overall competence are far more important, but that's just icing on the cake.