Phil Barnhart is again running for the House of Representatives, 11th District. His opponent, Joe Potwora, was our speaker on October 13th. You can see the summary on that presentation here.

Phil grew up in Eugene, attended Condon Elementary School, Roosevelt Junior High, and South Eugene High School. He and his wife, Florence, raised their two children here. He has lived in the District nearly all his life.

Phil serves on the board of directors of Emergence, an addiction education and treatment non-profit. He has served on several other boards and committees in the past including the Oregon Bach Festival, and the board of his church.

The following are notes from his presentation:

  • Phil was involved in politics in 1993 because of the effects of legislation passed around that time that adversely affected his children. He joined the school board but figured out the school board does not control the funding, so he ran for the legislature and has been there for 16 years.
  • Phil’s primary objective is to figure out how to better fund our education system and make tuition for higher education more affordable. Phil supported the Oregon Opportunity Grant and more recently the Oregon Promise Program.
  • It is very difficult to raise money for the education system. Part of the reason is that there has to be a 3/5 majority in both houses.
  • The economy is Phil’s second focus, and especially small business. Phil supported RAIN, which is an accelerator & innovation network that supports small business growth.
  • Employment is important to Phil, and he’s not satisfied with the rate of recovery in our area. He’s also concerned about affordable housing.
  • Health care and improving our current system is another of Phil’s focus. There is a direct correlation between housing and health care.
  • Sustainable solutions to energy consumption is another of Phil’s passions. Electric cars, for instance, and rebates for driving them.
  • Read more about Phil’s achievements and where he stands on the issues.
  • Phil says that Measure 97 will work, and he encourages us to vote for it even though it is not perfect. He says that he is chair of the Revenue committee and will work to ensure the money is appropriated toward the services that it says it is for. It’s our best chance, he says, to fund education. Read his blog about it here.