Democrat Andrea Salinas faces Republican Mike Erickson to represent Oregon’s newest congressional district
Oregon’s 6th Congressional District
Oregon’s 6th U.S. Congressional District is Oregon’s newest congressional district and represents a region of western Oregon, including Salem, McMinnville, Monmouth and parts of Washington County and Clackamas County, including some southwestern suburbs of Portland.
Since it is a new district, there is no incumbent congressperson. While there are no prior congressional elections to serve as a benchmark, if Oregon's 6th Congressional District existed in 2020, President Joe Biden would have won the area by 13%, suggesting it will likely swing Democratic.
Encompassing urban, suburban and rural areas, residents of Oregon’s 6th U.S. Congressional District face a housing crisis of low housing stock, little affordable housing, rising rents and housing prices that outpace wage growth.
As a congressperson, the person elected to represent this district would be able to propose and vote on bills in the US House of Representatives that could affect a federal response to the housing and homelessness crisis, both in Oregon and nationally.
Andrea Salinas (D)
Andrea Salinas is the Democratic nominee for Oregon’s 6th U.S. Congressional District. Before resigning to run for U.S. Congress, Salinas was the District 38 Representative in the Oregon House of Representatives. She was first appointed in 2017 before being re-elected to the position in 2018 and 2020. In 2021, she served as the House Democratic Caucus majority whip.
Salinas said the major issues she wants to address include a more equitable economy, fighting for affordable healthcare access, protecting abortion rights and democracy, tackling homelessness, passing gun control legislation and creating safer communities.
When it comes to housing and homelessness, Salinas said it's an issue politicians have long side-stepped, instead providing only what she calls “Band-Aid and short-term solutions.” She said all layers of government, from U.S. Congress to the local level, need to play a role.
Salinas told Street Roots she supports federal funding for addiction treatment, expanding mental health services, wraparound services, permanent housing, transitional housing and emergency shelters to address the homelessness crisis in Oregon, adding there is a diverse population of people experiencing homelessness who have an array of different needs. If they can’t meet the basic needs of housing or shelter, Salinas said, they won’t be able to address their physical, mental and behavioral health or any substance abuse disorders that may be present.
“Nobody can get well if they don't have a stable place to call home,” Salinas said. “So no matter what your illness or your ailment might be, you are not going to be a healthy person without the home. So I would actually like to see the federal government figure out how we wrap around social determinants of health, especially the housing issue, into how we pay for health care in terms of Medicare and Medicaid.”
Salinas did not outline specific policies by which these program expansions would occur but said she would support “funding and incentive(s)” to entice providers to rural areas and to fund programs that encourage parents to “nurture” their children.
With housing and rental prices dramatically increasing in Oregon in recent years, Salinas said rent stability helps keep renters in their homes, and there need to be incentives for developers to build more homes at affordable rates.
In addition to climbing rents and housing prices, real estate investors are purchasing an increasing number of homes, typically to be used as short- or long-term rentals, overall reducing the available housing stock.
Salinas mentions the root causes of homelessness as something she would address if elected, including family structure and the foster care system.
“I think it goes beyond the four walls and that shelter,” Salinas said. “And you know, we're seeing foster youth more than ever before; and so looking at the family structures and the programs that we don't have enough funding for, and that we don't have in place to support families, who really may be facing issues around domestic violence or broken homes. So how do we make sure that those kids don't end up in a cycle of helplessness and homelessness as well?
“You can go back even farther in terms of time when the federal government started really closing down some of our bigger institutions and putting people out on the street, and, you know, I think we're seeing legacy from that as well.”
Salinas calls the housing and homelessness problem “multifaceted” and said it needs to be addressed “at all levels.”
Evictions and homelessness are on the rise in Oregon. Working to “stop the bleeding” would be a priority for Salinas by lowering the number of evictions — she again mentions “incentives” for developers to build affordable housing, saying the housing market is out of balance.
“We have to make sure that renters can stay where they are, and so, at the same time, you need to make sure that landlords can pay their mortgages,” Salinas said.
Black and Indigenous people are overrepresented in Oregon’s homeless population. Salinas said there needs to be recourse for renters against discrimination by landlords, but didn’t go into specific policies to combat the issue.
“Veterans, some of elderly, some of our kids, some of our disabled people, we know that BIPOC or Black, Indigenous, people of color, and tribal communities are discriminated against more than other types of people in terms of renting and being able to stay in their homes, and they tend to really be targeted for evictions,” Salinas said.
Salinas’ opponent has derided Salinas for her positions on community safety and homelessness, which are major concerns for voters this election cycle, according to polls.
“Community safety means safety for our law enforcement as well as those they’re trying to protect,” Salinas said.
Salinas, whose father was a police officer, said she knows what it’s like to worry law enforcement doesn’t have the “resources to defend themselves.”
What Salinas proposes is a “community safety approach” that provides mental and behavioral health workers to assist police, similar to the Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets (CAHOOTS) program in Eugene, as well as additional funding for law enforcement and first responders.
“(Mental and behavioral health workers) to de-escalate responses that may not need to be as intense as they sometimes can get, and to really figure out what it is as a person who is either committing the crime or committing the alleged crime really needs, right?” Salinas said. “And, you know, is it something that is more heavy-handed? Or is it something that was maybe, maybe they just needed a bite to eat? And they, you know, and they robbed a store or something like that.”
Salinas said she would support expanding “community safety” programs similar to CAHOOTS across the state and the nation.
Mike Erickson (R)
Mike Erickson is a businessman running to represent Oregon’s 6th U.S. Congressional District for the Republican Party. Erickson has never held public office but previously mounted three unsuccessful campaigns for various political offices in Oregon. Erickson is the president of AFMS Logistics, a logistics and supply chain business located in Tigard.
He also co-owns a luxury vacation rental and luxury charter yacht company called High Style Vacation Homes and High Style Yachts, respectively, with his wife Katie Erickson.
Erickson did not respond to multiple requests for an interview with Street Roots.
Erickson makes no mention of housing or homelessness in his official campaign materials or his website.
Erickson’s website provides no information on specific policies the Lake Oswego businessman would seek to implement if elected — instead, it offers one-to-two sentence summaries on issues the candidate said are important, including inflation and the economy, crime and public safety, immigration and “energy independence for America.”
However, Erickson, who has not provided information regarding specific policies on housing or homelessness himself, has heavy criticism for his opponent and her track record on those subjects.
In an interview with conservative radio host Lars Larson on Sept. 16, he criticized his opponent Salinas for voting for measures addressing homelessness, saying “(Homeless) people sleeping on streets and sidewalks in front of businesses, people who have built their entire lives around their businesses and now they can’t run their businesses ‘cause what’s going on.”
Erickson, for his part, has no experience addressing homelessness or housing policy, so it is unclear what policies or funding he would support allocating to address housing and homelessness issues in Oregon.
Erickson told KOIN last month that he views inflation as the major issue facing OR-6 but that he would’ve voted against the recently-passed Inflation Reduction Act. He pointed out the rising costs of fuel, food, trucking and shipping, and claims that, along with “rising labor costs” is being passed along to consumers. He provided no specific policies to address this, but outlined a goal of getting gas prices below $3 per gallon.
A major issue for voters in the midterms, according to a multiple polls by NPR/PBS, Politico and Harvard is abortion. Erickson’s previous three campaigns had an anti-abortion platform. Earlier this year, he downplayed the issue to the Associated Press in July.
“(Democrats) have no solution to help struggling Oregon families afford their everyday necessities,” Erickson told the AP. “Instead, they’re talking about a decision made by the Supreme Court that simply put the issue of abortion back in the hands of Oregon voters.”
The 2022 race is the businessman’s first campaign since 2008, when the anti-abortion politician became embroiled in controversy.
The Oregonian and the Seattle Times, published allegations from a woman who said in a prior romantic relationship with Erickson, she became pregnant and Erickson drove her to an abortion clinic and paid for the procedure.
The allegations, which Erickson strenuously denies, lost him an endorsement from Oregon Right To Life, a major anti-abortion group, and other Republicans in the 2008 race. Erickson ultimately lost.
Despite that, Erickson recently reiterated his anti-abortion stance to the Oregon Family Council, a Christian voters group. Erickson confirmed he supports “restricting abortion except in the case of rape, incest or life of the mother.” He confirmed he does not support the use of tax dollars to fund abortions. Erickson also opposes state-funded healthcare for all.
In 2021, an Illinois family sued Mike Erickson, Katie Erickson and Erickson Vacation Properties LLC for alleged racial discrimination at one of their vacation properties. The Ericksons counter-sued the family for alleged damages. Erickson was later dropped as an individual from the suit, but he is named as an officer of Erickson Vacation Properties, which remains a part of the ongoing lawsuit.
Erickson, who has relentlessly criticized his opponent's alleged “soft on crime” stance and desire to “defund the police,” was arrested for driving under the influence and possession of oxycodone in Hood River in 2016, according to the Oregon Capitol Chronicle.
Erickson pleaded guilty to the DUI and completed a one-year diversion program. The drug charge was dismissed in exchange for his plea. Erickson completed the diversion program in 2018 after a judge warned he was violating the agreement.
Erickson is a strong opponent of what he calls “government overregulation” which he claims stifles business opportunities. He says that if elected, he plans to “cut back” on government spending.
Erickson did not detail which government programs he views as overregulation, nor did he specify which policies or programs he would defund. He decried recent moves by the Biden administration including the Inflation Reduction Act and partial federal student loan forgiveness program.
“The (IRA) does nothing to help financially struggling Americans or protect our communities,” Erickson said in a press release.
He criticized multiple aspects of the IRA including funding for the IRS and consumer rebates for electric vehicles. Erickson did not detail what policies he proposes to combat inflation and its effects on Oregonians, but that he would focus on “infrastructure development and American energy independence” if elected.
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