Single Chair Debate with Jeff Merkley
On October 17, Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate, Jeff Merkley, will face City Club’s challenging questions and rigorous “truth squad” in a single chair debate. The Republican candidate, incumbent Gordon Smith, declined the invitation to participate.
In this debate, Representative Merkley will be asked how he intends to make the shift from state to federal government and face such major policy challenges as climate change, skyrocketing healthcare costs, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, obtaining funding for such large-scale projects as reconstructing the I-5 crossing and possibly restoring federal payments to Oregon counties. In addition, he will offer his views on how to best tackle the current national economic crisis.
Jeff Merkley is Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives and represents Portland’s house district 47. Prior to his service in the Legislature, Merkley worked as a national security analyst for both the Pentagon and for Congress, served as the executive director for the local branch of Habitat for Humanity and founded Oregon’s first Individual Development Account program to help low-income families save money to buy homes, attend colleges and start businesses.
The debate will be moderated by Rob Eisinger, professor of political science at Lewis & Clark College.
