Nancy Nathanson

Criminal Justice / Public Safety Uniformed law enforcement officers respond to situations of immediate danger to the public. Certified health care and human service providers can respond to mental health and other crises. Taxes / Budget Tax breaks are like “spending” money because instead of the money coming in as revenue to fund programs, like education and human services, it goes to tax breaks. Many of these are familiar, including tax credits and deductions like mortgage interest and dependent children. There are hundreds of others for personal and business use. The legislature routinely reviews some tax credits, and has even discontinued a few to help balance the budget. There are lots of other tax breaks that could be reviewed routinely to ensure they are still meeting the public interest. Infrastructure / Transportation More, Faster, Better. Passenger train service in the Willamette Valley needs to be a realistic and popular alternative to traveling by car. We need more options (more trains in the schedule). Faster times. And reliable schedules. Education I also believe it’s critical to preserve a right-sized university system for students to pursue liberal arts education and advanced degrees. How community colleges and universities work together is already changing - and should - since the separate systems currently compete for funding and have varying sources of revenue from taxes, bonding authority, and private gifts. Education It’s important to provide quality career and technical education to students who want it to prepare for their future careers. It’s important to ensure we have public education options (like community colleges) for students to achieve certificates to open doors in chosen careers. Housing I will continue to press for creative, flexible, and new solutions, in some cases “back to the future” solutions like Tiny Homes and Single Room Occupancy housing, so that we have housing available for people in situations ranging from emergency and temporary to affordable rental and ownership. Healthcare We need to continue working on re-shaping access to immediate health care to work on mid-range and long-term ideas including urgent care, funding models, and workforce. Housing That means also supporting organizations that help with budget counseling and planning, like DevNW (formerly NEDCO and Willamette Neighborhood Housing Services). Infrastructure / Transportation We should fix choke points around the metropolitan areas and the rail crossing over the Columbia River. Serious problems are posed by trains that are too long, aging infrastructure and signals, lack of adequately-sized sidings and at-grade crossings. We need more separated grade crossings to reduce hazards and prevent delays as trains roll through towns. Environment / Energy Climate change demands that we do things differently. I will continue to support actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce dependence on carbon-based energy. Healthcare PBMs are the little known "middlemen" or go-between businesses that call the shots for prescription drugs, influencing prices and choices. Those PBMs will see some significant new regulation in Oregon. My PBM bill (HB 4149) requires licensing, imposes stricter regulations, and sheds light on their money stream.