Sen. Jeff Merkley hosts Klamath County town hall

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – A crowd of about 150 people met with Senator Jeff Merkley for a town hall meeting at Oregon Tech Tuesday.

One of the most emotional moments came during a discussion on gun control when a woman noted the personal link Merkley has to a victim of gun violence.

One of Merkley’s cousins, Rebecca Ann Carnes, was killed alongside eight others in 2015 at Umpqua Community College.

Merkley noted the challenge of finding a balance in gun legislation. “We need to keep wrestling with how to honor the Second Amendment while finding a way to greatly reduce the carnage we’re experiencing.”

Water issues were also a key topic.

“We can deal with the drought – that’s not the issue,” Klamath Project irrigator Sam Henzel. “The issue is that the federal government is stealing the water that we are paying to store in Upper Klamath Lake.”

Other topics included social security, the Jordan Cove Project, economy and the cost of living, and access to public lands.

Bernadette Kero was there to thank Merkley for helping to free her daughter Stacey Addison when she was unjustly imprisoned in East Timor in 2014.

“He was such a wonderful help,” Kero said. “And I didn’t get a chance to meet him personally.”

Merkley says he hasn’t ruled out a presidential run in 2020.  Keeping the option open – but I’m really focused on the political battles of 2018.”

 

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