Taking Back The Oregon House with Jeff Merkley

I was privileged to be a part of both the Democrats efforts that won back the House in the 2006 election and in the 2007 legislative session.  For those who were a part of those efforts, it couldn’t be more clear that we need the kind of leadership that Jeff Merkley showed in the United States Senate.

This video shows Rob Brading, who valiantly against then Speaker Karen Minnis in House District 49.  Brading ran a great campaign taking the Minnis down to the wire, despite her spending more than a million dollars and about 26 dollars per vote.  Because Rob Brading forced Minnis to divert almost all of the Republican warchest to her district, Rob paved the way for the four pick ups that swung the House into Democratic control.

T he video also shows State Rep. Ben Cannon, a freshmen Democrat.  Rep. Cannon is on the board of the Bus Project and ran his campaign in one of the most grassroots ways seen in a winner in years.  He took that approach to legislating and seen as one of the rising freshmen in the legislature.

Together Rep. Cannon and Rob Brading talk about Jeff Merkley’s leadership during the campaign and the session and why that is exactly the change we need in the US Senate.