First-time political candidate David Brown, an insurance salesman from Salem, is challenging incumbent Tom Andersen for House District 19, which covers south Salem from the Capitol to just before the city limits in south Salem.
Andersen, a Democrat who served eight years on the Salem City Council, won the legislative seat in 2022 with 54.39% of the vote. Until then, it had been represented by a Republican since 2002.
The Statesman Journal scheduled interviews with both candidates. Brown was unavailable but responded to questions by email. The candidates are arranged alphabetically.
Rep. Tom Andersen, D-Salem
Andersen and his wife have lived in Salem for 18 years.
Andersen moved to Oregon in 1973 and graduated from the University of Oregon School of Law. He worked as a trial attorney at the State Accident Insurance Fund Corporation for 19 years before opening his Salem office in 2007. He retired this month after 48 years as a lawyer.
He is vice chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and a member of the House Climate, Energy and Environmental and Early Childhood and Human Services committees.
Andersen said dinner conversations with his family while growing up focused on racial, social, economic, peace, education and justice issues, and what they were going to do to make the world a better place.
“That’s what I was trying to do,” he said.
Andersen said he believes his values align with the district: He is pro-choice, pro-climate action, an advocate for a strong education system and keeping the streets safe and presentable.
“I’ll also tell you that I think I know what I’m doing,” he said. “Forty-eight years as a lawyer, eight years as a city councilman, two years as a legislator. I understand how the system works. And I understand the best way to move things forward.”
Andersen said his experience as a trial attorney helped him as a lawmaker. He knows how to make people answer questions they don’t want to answer, knows how to get in and out of an issue and doesn’t make enemies of his opponents, he said.
“I carried that bipartisanship into the Legislature,” Andersen said. He said one of the first things he did was meet with every Republican on the committees he sits on. “I said, ‘Look, we’re both here for the same reason. We want to make Oregon the best state it can be, and we’ll have different methods and means to do that, but our goal is the same.’ “
If re-elected, Andersen says he is committed to returning to the legislation he introduced during his first term.
“I have started working on some important issues that I will continue to work on,” he said.
Andersen said he would reintroduce a bill for state agencies to compensate the city of Salem for fire, police and emergency medical services provided on state-owned properties. Andersen said he introduced the bill because cities across the state are struggling to meet their budget needs, and it is especially acute in Salem, he said.
He said he would also work to gain support for a $250,000 proposal to study the feasibility of returning a Salem streetcar system from West Salem to downtown. Andersen and other supporters of the bill said a streetcar system would reduce traffic congestion and spur business and residential growth.
Gov. Tina Kotek vetoed funding for the study. Andersen said that with lawmakers preparing a major transportation package, he believes the 2025 session would be the right time to reintroduce the proposal.
Andersen’s campaign website says his focus will include improving mental health and addiction services, working on affordable housing and addressing homelessness, and strengthening gun safety laws.
His endorsements include the Oregon Planned Parenthood, the Oregon AFSCME, Oregon Education Association, Oregon SEIU, Oregon AFL-CIO, Oregon Nurses Association, former Marion County Undersheriff Jeff Wood, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum, US Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, and U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas.
David Brown
Brown is a graduate of the Salem-Keizer School District and has lived in south Salem for 45 years. According to his voter pamphlet summary, he attended Linn-Benton Community College and served in the U.S. Navy.
Brown and his wife have run an insurance agency together since 2009.
He said he has always been active in the community and knows how to live within his means as a small business owner. Brown has been a youth sports coach and president of the Sprague Booster Club for 10 years.
Brown said the Navy taught him the value of hard work, discipline, honor, respect and service.
“I am not a politician. I will not play politics. I will roll up my sleeves and do the work that my community needs done,” Brown said in an email to the Statesman Journal. “I will bring common sense, community-oriented values, experiences, solutions and nothing more of the status quo to the Legislature.”
He said he decided to run for Congress after seeing Salem change over the past 45 years.
“Many of these changes have not been good for our community. Salem families need to thrive, not just survive,” Brown said in an email. “I want Salem to be a place where my grandchildren would want to settle, and not a place they have to escape from for better opportunities. Salem can become affordable, safe and thriving again.”
Brown said he would support legislation requiring people struggling with drug addiction to get help, tax credits for middle-class Oregonians and school safety reforms such as having “specially trained law enforcement officers in every school.” Brown also said he would advocate for giving police more tools to protect Oregonians, and for cutting “red tape” that he said is slowing housing construction and driving up costs.
Brown said he would push for reform of Oregon’s current justice system, which he described as a “catch and release” system in which violent criminals are released from prison before trial. He said lawmakers should help incentivize and fund new police hiring and continue to dismantle Measure 110.
Brown said he would also push for state revenue to be prioritized over the “needs that matter most,” such as additional funding for K-12 schools and unwavering legislative support for law enforcement.
On his campaign website, Brown also says he would implement higher graduation standards and introduce a bill to prevent local governments like Salem from implementing payroll taxes.
Brown has been endorsed by the Salem Police Employees Union; Crime Victims United of Oregon; Oregon Coalition of Police and Sheriffs; Marion County Commissioners Danielle Bethell and Colm Willis; state Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Stayton; the Oregon Hispanic Business Association; Salem Chamber of Commerce; and the Marion County Farm Bureau.
How much did Tom Andersen and David Brown raise for the House District 19 election?
Andersen has received $204,190 in contributions, according to campaign finance records. His expenses totaled $172,369, and he had an ending cash balance of $57,497 on October 11.
His top contributors include SEIU’s campaign committee Citizen Action for Political Education, which has donated $92,728; House Democrats’ political action committee Future PAC, which has donated $77,821; the Nurses United political action committee, which contributed $50,000; and labor organization AFSCME, which contributed $45,000.
Brown has raised more than $182,000 for his campaign. His expenses total $177,769, and he had a closing fund balance of $6,736 as of October 11.
He has received $96,000 from the Republican Party of Oregon, $30,000 from the political action committee Bring Balance to Salem (associated with Nike co-founder Phil Knight) and $5,000 from the House Republicans’ campaign committee, Evergreen PAC.
This article originally appeared in the Salem Statesman Journal: David Brown, Tom Andersen battle in Oregon House District 19 race
