Recapping Southern Oregon’s Gubernatorial Debate

MEDFORD, ORE. —  The November election is just a little more than a month away. Governor Kate Brown and Representative Knute Buehler got the chance to reach out to voters in Southern Oregon Thursday night, in a televised debate on NBC5.

Brown and Buehler were given questions on topics important to southern Oregonian’s, like wildfires.

“We have to invest in a higher level of prevention. maintenance, and thinning programs on our federal lands,” Gov. Brown said.

“Federal forests have been mismanaged for decades. And now we are mismanaging how we actually fight the forest fires,” Rep. Buehler responded.

They were also asked about how they would fight the opioid epidemic.

Rep. Buehler highlighting 3 bills he helped pass, including one that allowed Narcan to be sold over the counter.

“For that reason, Oregon is one of the few states in the nation where drug overdose from opiods is decreasing and not increasing,” he said.

Gov. Brown responded by saying, “the most important thing we can do in the state is treat substance abuse, alcohol abuse as a chronic health condition.”

Both candidates also talked about their plans to end homelessness, which have been criticized in the past.

The candidates answered a total 17 questions and both feel like voters got a sense of who they were once the debate was over.

“I thought it was a wonderful debate. this was more focused on rural Oregon, southern Oregon,” Rep. Bueher said.

“I know first hand every vote makes a difference. And I believe every voice should be heard,” Gov. Brown said.

The next gubernatorial debate will be held next Tuesday in Portland by NBC-affiliate KGW and the Oregonian.

In a KOBI-TV Twitter poll, as of 9am Friday, 58% of those who responded said they felt Rep. Buehler won the debate. However, many comments on both Facebook & Twitter said they were unsatisfied with both candidates.

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