Bill Vivian - What’s The First Problem To Fix In Salem?

Oregon lawmakers face growing concerns over taxes, public safety, and government accountability but what should be tackled first? With frustration building across the state, voters are looking for answers and real priorities.

Bill Vivian, candidate for Oregon House District 8 and Navy veteran, joins the program to lay out what he sees as the biggest problem in Salem and how he would fix it.

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome back to the Lawrence Larson show. Well, a retired quality control engineer is now one of those running for the Oregon House of Representatives to try to bring problem-solving skills to Salem. Well, Salem has its share of problems and they really ought to get solved, but right now the Democrat supermajority down there is not going to do it. So could Bill Vivian do it instead? Bill is a conservative candidate running for the Oregon House of Reps for District 8. I'd be glad to talk to his Democrat opponents, but Democrats other than Tobias Reed are not usually willing to come on this program because they don't like being asked tough questions. Hey Bill, welcome to the program. It's a great day and good to talk. So what would you do differently if elected to the House of Reps? And remember to factor into that. I I would like to assume we're going to eliminate the Democrat supermajority in both houses, but right now it looks pretty solid and it looks like you'll be in the minority party. So what would you get done under circumstances like that?

SPEAKER_01 1:00

Well, so many of the Democrats' promises in the past have not unfolded. You know, they're talking about uh affordable housing and having uh bills to increase housing. We just haven't seen that come through. And being a quality engineer, I I think that auditing by third parties is really important. So there's a lot of money that's going to Salem and needs to be audited and make sure it's going to uh the right places. And as a quality engineer of the past, I have lots of experience for that problem solving.

SPEAKER_00 1:35

You know, I threw my sorry. Go ahead, Bill. Finish.

SPEAKER_01 1:39

I I I threw my hat into the ring uh about a month ago because I went onto the Secretary of State website and saw no Republican candidates in House District A, which is South Eugene, uh clear south to uh northwest of Cottage Grove. And I'm a very, very active Lane County Republican, PCP member. I'm the treasurer and publicity chair for this area. And we just have to see change. And Eugene can go red in certain areas, and I'm hoping for that. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_00 2:14

Let me ask you, Bill. When you say we've got to audit it, make sure the money is going to the right place, it presumes that the idea of having the government subsidize housing is a way to solve the problem. I think that's completely wrongheaded. Can you tell me, does the government actually have a role in making housing affordable, other than get out of the way and let the private sector do it, which I think is the right answer?

SPEAKER_01 2:38

Uh you have the answer. Get out of the way. The regulations that are pressed upon Eugene, uh the major cities, uh, we need to have uh smart uh Lane County commissioners come in and help in the county area. There is urban growth boundaries that are changing, but the way that builders are feed to death and delays for permits is just unacceptable. Uh families want to have babies and they want to have their children stay in the area. I'm not only a husband, father, grandfather, but I'm also a great-grandfather, looking forward to having my great-grandson this Friday all day. So it I want the next generation to be able to see affordability of homes and see jobs in the area. I'm afraid to say going downtown Eugene, I see so many boarded up businesses that just cannot be sustained, especially with the amount of homeless that we do have downtown Eugene. You don't see it so much on Springfield.

SPEAKER_00 3:46

Yeah, Bill, you mentioned urban growth boundaries. Do you think those do anybody any good?

SPEAKER_01 3:53

Well, they they are set up strategically, and I'd have to look at the pros and cons to make sure that cities do not engulf uh and just take over the beautiful countryside and you know by public oil.

SPEAKER_00 4:08

But Bill, it sounds like you accept that that's a legitimate thing to do. See, I think that urban growth boundaries do to land, what OPEC did to oil in the 1970s. If you artificially limit the supply of anything, the price will go through the roof, and that's what's happened. But can you tell me what's evil about somebody who owns a piece of land and maybe they've farmed it for the last 50 years and now they want to retire and they want to sell that piece of property? Can you tell me why it benefits the citizens to tell them you can't sell it? You have to keep it as a farm even if nobody can afford to farm it.

SPEAKER_01 4:43

I think any owner of property should have every right to do what it they wish on that property.

SPEAKER_00 4:47

Then you'd be in favor of getting rid of urban growth boundaries, right?

SPEAKER_01 4:52

I I would. I can only uh understand that I don't want the counties or the cities to public domain take over lands. And I've seen some of that in uh South Eugene, and that's very sad.

SPEAKER_00 5:06

Yeah, but urban growth boundaries don't either enhance the ability of a city or county to take land or take it away. They don't do anything. Now you could have a state law on on uh on eminent domain that would restrict the government, but the uh urban growth boundary doesn't limit the government, it only limits citizens.

SPEAKER_01 5:23

I tell you. Okay. Uh uh again, one of those details that I am a fast learner, a problem solver, and I would have to uh back up my opinion to align to what's the best interest for the community to grow, but for the uh private individual to do with their land as they wish.

SPEAKER_00 5:44

Let's hope. Okay, you mentioned public education. What how would you go about changing the Oregon now pays some of the highest wages in America to teachers? They spend some of the greatest amounts per child per year, and they produce some of the worst results. What would you do as a state lawmaker to change that? What would you propose?

SPEAKER_01 6:04

Well, presently, to be transparent, I'm on a fixed income, and my biggest outlay annually is my property tax. And I think that most of that tax, and I'd have to double check, goes to the retirement PERS of teachers that have the first PERS and are making more money retired than when they were working.

SPEAKER_00 6:25

I think all that's true.

SPEAKER_01 6:27

I'm hearing from my grandkids that are trying to pay off student loans that they're seeing, you know, at Lane Community College and U of O some layoffs of some really critical teachers. However, the administrators that are in the upper upper echelon are doing the six figures. So I think it's an upside-down population of employees that you would never see in a public uh uh corporation. They they would be just cutting the middle to upper management left and right for the stockholders.

SPEAKER_00 7:01

But Bill, you haven't told me what would you? I know you may not be able to pass anything because if you were elected, you're a conservative Republican in a legislature dominated by Democrats. But what would you at least propose to change the failure of public schools?

SPEAKER_01 7:18

I've heard one suggestion on your uh podcast that a emergency uh order from the governor could require teachers to go through, say, an annual or biannual certification or qualification. If you're not capable of teaching, you should be laid off. It's not a union guarantee for life. You need to be able to be competent to teach. And I believe in school choice. My two children were homeschooled, to be honest. And they my daughter in high school, her last year of high school, also achieved an associate's degree as she was getting her twelfth grade high school diploma.

SPEAKER_00 8:01

And I think that would be a great change. Just make the teachers prove they can actually teach the subject they're pretending to teach. That's Bill Vivian, he's running for Oregon House of Reps District 8.