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VOTE411 Voter Guide

Oregon State Senate District 1

The state Senate and House of Representatives are responsible for making or changing laws and determining the state s budget. Thirty Senators serve in the state Senate. The size of their district is based on the number of people living there. The Oregon state Legislature meets for a long session in odd-numbered years and a short session in even-numbered years. Salary: $35,052 plus a per-diem stipend. To run for state Senate a candidate must be a U.S. citizen, age 21 or older, a registered voter, and resident in the district for at least 1 year prior to the General Election.Term: 4 years. This position is partisan.The League of Women Voters of Coos County conducted a forum for candidates in the State Senate District 1 race on April 24. Participating were Paul Romero Jr., David Brock Smith, and Todd Vaughn; Ashley Hicks was absent. Video of the forum may be viewed here: https://youtu.be/UhwGDcJVlgE.

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    Ashley Hicks
    (Rep)

  • Candidate picture

    Paul J Romero Jr
    (Rep)

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    David Brock Smith
    (Rep)

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    Todd J Vaughn
    (Rep)

Biographical Information

Describe your most pressing issues for the 2025 legislative session. What legislation would you propose or support to address these issues?

What changes, if any, would you support making to Measure 110 laws?

What changes, if any, would you support in the state legislature to address the issue of climate change, including water availability and wildfire mitigation?

Town Where You Live Roseburg
Your Experience/Qualifications Businesswoman, Roseburg City Councilor, River-cleanup Volunteer
County Douglas County
Remove “SquattersRights” by developing policy that allows police to forcibly remove any individual from a property who does not have written agreement to occupy that location. Create policy requiring local utility companies to verify tenancy before starting service and to prosecute any potential violations of ORS “theft of services

Update State Sex Offender Registry by providing updated computer software to that state department. Proposing change to Oregon constitution restricting all levels of sex offenders from filing for any public office position.

Work with the State of Oregon to fund the removal of Winchester’s derelict dam and the restoration efforts needed post Archie fire of the North Umpqua River Recreational Trails system.

Money collected from the state marijuana store sales must go directly into a bank account to ensure transactions and taxes are recorded and auditable if necessary. Propose amendments to allocate 110 funds to HUD and Section 8 for developing additional in home care treatment rooms for emergency residential housing for seniors, disability, mental health and addiction recovery.

Work with health officials to develop a street drug test stripe that can be purchased statewide.

Develop a fentanyl death webpage that allows community members to enter family and Friends information about their death and how they were hurt by fentanyl use.
I will support; raise the age of entry into Wolf creek job Corp to 65, Reduce the number of pesticide treatments applied to timber harvest units: before, during and after harvest. Review all historic permits allowing deposits made into the south umpqua river. Provide water masters in our region with the tools necessary to investigate point of distribution and river pump activities throughout Summer. Change in policy that allows DEQ and EPA to take action of environmental enforcement on municipalities and local government land managers. Increase funding to add additional wildlife protection “poaching” enforcement officers. Sherrif could deputize vetted citizens to detain suspect of starting wildfire or dumping of any kind of waste.

Contact Phone 458-256-9437
Campaign Phone (public) 458-256-9437
Web Site (leave blank if not applicable) http://www.romerofororegon.com
Town Where You Live Roseburg
Your Experience/Qualifications American Oregonian Voter. Ten year Veteran of the US Navy with honorable and decorated service. Years of experience include Investment Executive, Sales, Analyst, Communications, Auditor, Investigator, CEO, Trainer, Farm/Ranch Hand, Teacher, and Project Manager to name a few. My experiences have given me the ability to relate to many people from every walk of life. As a single parent of five I know how difficult life can be. I've lived it.
Campaign Twitter Handle @PaulRomero9081
County Douglas
Term 4 years
Term Expires 01/29
1. Oregon's economy and jobs. Legislation to reduce or eliminate various taxes and fees. The state collects more than it budgets and then fights the taxpayer to not honor the "Kicker." I will not support any bill that further burdens Oregonians financially. 2. Sanctuary State status must end. Oregonians FIRST, America FIRST. The intentional influx of illegal aliens is encroaching on the absolute obligation that the state government has to work for American Oregonians. 3. Foreign ownership of Oregon land must end. All lands recovered from foreign possession and Federal control except what is allowed by the Constitution. Reinstate County level control through the Apache County Resolution process in support of our timber industry.
74% of Oregonians support the complete REPEAL of Measure 110 and yet both Republicans and Democrats think that putting a band-aid over an arterial wound is adequate. This is further evidence that our current legislature, both sides, are not listening to voters and will continue to allow a caustic environment to exist in support of drug cartels in Oregon, out-of-state drug users, and out-of-state homeless to overrun our cities. This burden on taxpayers is a direct failure of policies by the states administrators whose first duty is to protect Oregonians.
Climate change is a scam. It's another way to collect more money that taxpayers can't afford. Oregon has the lowest carbon footprint of any state or nation. Carbon dioxide makes up 0.04% of our atmosphere. If it drops to 0.02% then plant life begins to die. We should not be following ignorant self proclaimed environmentalists over the cliff so we can fund their ignorance and general lack of depth on the issue. Piping all water violates existing ecosystems. Fresh water can be pumped back upstream BEFORE it enters the ocean (a legitimate infrastructure project). Forests must be legitimately MANAGED as they were in the '80's. Electric generating systems in Central Oregon (hidden dam) should be put in place of various dam projects.
Web Site (leave blank if not applicable) http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/smithd/Pages/news.aspx
YouTube Video (leave blank if not applicable) http://youtube.com/davidbrocksmith
Town Where You Live Port Orford
Your Experience/Qualifications State Senator, State Representative-Republican Assistant Leader, Legislative Task Forces/Workgroups-Western Legislative Forestry-Sudden Oak Death-Opioid-Maritime Workforce Development-Invasive Species-Agricultural Ditches-Salmon & Habitat Enhancement-Pacific Northwest Economic Region-Delegate, Legislative Committees: Vice Chair-Environment & Natural Resources- Agriculture, Land Use & Water-Education-Economic Development & Trade-Joint Ways & Means Sub- Natural Resources-Public Safety
Campaign Twitter Handle @DavidBrockSmith
County Oregon (USA)
It continues to be an honor and privilege to serve the residents of Senate District 1 in the Oregon State Senate. The 2025 Legislative Session will be challenging, and it is extremely important that more Republicans are elected to bring balance to the legislative process for all Oregonians. I will continue to bring forward legislation to protect individual rights for residents and their property. Legislation to stop bureaucratic overreach, to allow our rural residents, their communities and businesses to prosper. Equally important is my work with my legislative colleagues to stop bad legislation that would negatively impact our children, our individual and property rights, and our farming, ranching, timber and producer industries.
As your State Senator, I was the first to call for a Special Legislative Session to repeal/reform Measure 110 after the democrat majority failed to address the issue in the 2023 Legislative Session. During the 2024 Legislative Session, I helped lead the efforts to repeal/reform Measure 110, and give our Law Enforcement Officers the tools they need to protect the health, life and safety of our residents, while mandating needed treatment for drug users. I also drafted legislation to notify U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement to deport illegal phytanyl dealers and manufacturers. We were successful with our efforts to end the drug decriminalization experiment in Oregon. More work needs to be done in 2025 and I will help lead those efforts.
The devastating wildfires across the west are due to the lack of management on federal lands. Data clearly shows that on the ten-year average (2014-2023) in Oregon, 82% of acres burned are on federal land. Of the 18% burned on private land, 15% were from fires from federal land. Of the 3% of acres that start and burn on private land, 98% are kept to less than 100 acres. This is because our private lands are managed resources. Please visit my website to see my latest newsletter where I have drafted and passed legislation to address these issues on our federal managed lands. We can stop these fires while growing our natural resource economies in our rural communities, providing family wage jobs to retain our most valuable asset, our youth.
Campaign Phone (public) 541-825-3531
Web Site (leave blank if not applicable) http://wwwtoddvaughn.com
Town Where You Live Tiller, OR
Your Experience/Qualifications I'm a State Delegate for the Douglas County GOP Executive Committee. I'm also a Days Creek Charter School District Board Director
County OR
Term 2024
Term Expires 2028
We need to immediately revoke the "emergency authorization" that gives the Governor unconstitutional authority over the citizens of Oregon. We also need to repeal the egregious new Private Forest Accord as well as the accompanying Habitat Conservation Plan. These laws will remove over one third of our currently harvestable forestlands from production... forever. This is a form of government over-reach that will destroy Oregon's timber-industry. We must also reject the "floating wind energy" projects to take place off the coast of Brookings and Coos Bay. SB762 is also an attack on property ownership rights that needs to be repealed. I believe that we need to manage the Elliot State Forest once again for the benefit of Oregon's schools.
Measure 110 should have been repealed in its entirety. it was not, and although manufactured drugs are once again illegal, the millions of dollars provided by 110, have not been properly reassessed and redirected. Currently, this new legislation is very costly and will not ultimately address the problems that we are facing with the homelessness connected to drug-addiction. We need to fund a giant expansion of our jail systems throughout all of the counties in the state, and include mandatory rehab programs with lengthier periods of incarceration for repeat offenders.
I do not support any legislation based on the false premises of man-caused climate change. The net-zero philosophy is nothing more than a communist destruction of our economy. We need to quit with the inefficient environmentally- unfriendly solar and wind energy, and get back to reality with clean-burning fossil fuels, hydro-electric and small nuclear power plants. We also need to quit pushing EVs on constituents that are not buying in! Our federal forests should be managed intensively through commercial thinning and roadside fuel-breaks. Our farmers should be given preference over chubs (and/or whatever) when it comes to water issues and perceived water shortages. Food shortages are a manufactured disaster with water being weaponized.