On the final stretch of their political campaigns, The Chronicle asked candidates to reflect on what they have learned from the community and what their closing promise to voters is ahead of the May 19 election.
State Representative (7th District): Serving two-year terms, these representatives cover smaller, neighborhood-sized districts; they are often the most accessible point of contact for constituents looking to influence state law or secure funding for local community projects. Incumbent: John Lively (Retiring) (7th) (Springfield)
Ky Fireside
Hometown: Chicago
Top priority in three words: Enshrine Human Rights
One word to describe your leadership style: effective
One word to describe our community: delightful
One word to describe you at your best: tireless
One word to describe you at your worst: spitfire
Favorite local landmark: Springfield History Museum
Biggest local asset: The Library
Last local event you attended: May Day Rally
A historical figure you admire: John Brown
Springfield is far more diverse than many would give it credit for. We are not a monolith. While knocking on doors, I’ve heard from people who fear ICE, people who are barely making their rent each month, and people who are one medical bill away from bankruptcy. The one commonality I’ve found is that no one feels represented by the decision-makers. People don’t feel as though their situations have improved in the last 5 years. My promise is an open office and two-way communication.
My promise is that my legislative votes will be made with community input. I will solicit your advice for problem solving. Because I’ve taken no corporate money, no super PAC money, and no lobby money, I’m beholden only to this community. This campaign is from the community and for the community. No more of the same empty promises we’ve come to expect from politicians. I’m here to actually work for you.
KC Huffman
Age: 51
Hometown: Grew up in Reedsport and have lived in Springfield for 23+ years.
Top priority in three words: Education. Efficiency. Affordability.
One word to describe your leadership style: Collaborative
One word to describe our community: Resilient
One word to describe you at your best: Prepared
One word to describe you at your worst: Selfish
Favorite local landmark: The summit of Mt. Pisgah
Biggest local asset: The capacity of the people living in and around Springfield to come together to support each other.
Last local event you attended: Saturday Market and the Farmer’s Market
A historical figure you admire: Past: Barrack Obama; Current: Pete Buttigieg – Both are observant, intelligent, well-spoken, and focused on getting things done.
What I learned from the community during this campaign is that Springfield has been extremely well represented by John Lively. John spent the last 14 years staying true to who he is – a person interested in listening first, giving consideration to all viewpoints, and then making decisions based on the best for Springfield. If I’m voted the Democratic nominee, I’ll do my best to take the baton from John and keep going!
People in Springfield want a strong community. Strong communities are built from the ground up. Our kids should be the first place we invest our scare resources. This is not the time to cut back on education. Strong schools make good citizens. Good citizens attract good businesses. Good businesses bring higher wages/benefits. Higher wages allow for continued investment in public services and a sustainable future.
When we sacrifice our schools, we are destined to see our community begin to fail. Less opportunity for students causes lower student engagement. Lower student engagement leads to less learning and attendance. Less learning and attendance in turn leads to crime, drugs, and a lower number of people to support our community.
To be clear, I am not advocating for more tax dollars alone. We must look at what we’re teaching and how we’re teaching it to evaluate why we continually lag behind most benchmarks. The Springfield teachers I know care about their students but feel limited in what they can do to make meaningful change. I believe we should empower our teachers, not hold them back.
My promise to the voters is to look for areas of inefficiency across our state Government in order to get more out of our existing resources. Thank you.
Kori Rodley
Hometown: Roseburg–now Springfield, Oregon
Top priority in three words: Make Springfield Affordable
One word to describe your leadership style: Tenacious
One word to describe our community: Pragmatic
One word to describe you at your best: Optimistic
One word to describe you at your worst: Intense
Favorite local landmark: Women’s Veterans’ Memorial on Mohawk
Biggest local asset: Working families
Last local event you attended: Rep. John Lively’s Town Hall
A historical figure you admire: Shirley Chisolm
I stepped into the race for the love of Springfield. During my two terms on the Springfield City Council and prior to that as a Budget Committee Member, I have been inspired to work, fight, and deliver for the residents of our resilient and amazing city. Springfield is a city in transition, and we need the state legislature to be a partner in helping us continue to grow. We are a city made up of hard-working people and creative small businesses. Getting out and talking to voters has reinforced my deep understanding of the challenges and concerns of my neighbors.
People are concerned about how we address challenges in our school system, push back against corporate takeover of healthcare, protect core services, and continue to invest in public safety. I have also learned we are doing a lot of things right–and we could be doing even better with the state legislature helping and not putting up barriers–actually helping us do what we do best in Springfield: get things done!
The next few years are going to be very hard. We are feeling the impacts of decisions being made at the federal level, and people want our state government working to preserve the livability and opportunities we have all worked so hard to build. People are rightfully worried and feeling the pinch of high gas and grocery prices, and the difficulty in not only finding a doctor, but also being able to afford healthcare.
We have real work to do, and my promise is I will be ready to dig in on day one. I have the experience, the understanding, and the tenacity to deliver for the working families of Springfield. My focus will always be about where we need to go and making sure we all get there together.
