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Know Your Candidates 2022: Carrick Flynn (D), running for Congress, District 6
Throughout the 2022 election, KATU News is helping you “Know Your Candidates” with a series of interviews with people who will appear on your ballot.
We are asking local candidates running for the same office the same series of questions, so you can compare their answers.
Candidates were given approximately seven minutes to answer seven questions. Some candidates chose to spend longer on some questions and so did not answer all of them on camera. We also sent questionnaires to candidates. We will post them as we receive them.
All Democrats running in Congressional District 6:
- Teresa Alonso Leon
- Ricky Barajas
- Carrick Flynn
- Greg Goodwin
- Kathleen Harder
- Cody Reynolds
- Andrea Salinas
- Loretta Smith
- Matt West
Candidate Questionnaire:
In 3 or 4 sentences, tell us about yourself.
I grew up poor in Vernonia. I was lucky enough to get a scholarship to University of Oregon, and later to Yale Law. I used this opportunity to pursue a life of service and after graduating I worked in international economic development, public health, and institution building. I then went on to work in policy, advising Congress and the White House on pandemic prevention and American manufacturing.
Why are you running?
In my childhood, I experienced poverty and homelessness. We need more people in Congress who know what it’s like to live without any kind of safety net––so that they don’t get distracted by political game-playing while neglecting the fundamentals of governance. This means: a strong economy, jobs, and protection from foreseeable, preventable disasters–like pandemics and wildfires. And this means stability and security for our children, our grandchildren, and for our seniors, who should have the secure retirement they paid for.
What are your qualifications to be a member of Congress?
I have broad professional experience. I have worked in international economic development, public health, and institution building. I am the only candidate who has direct experience working with Congress on what matters most. I’ve advised Congress on bringing computer chip manufacturing back to Oregon and on pandemic preparedness - I actually wrote part of Biden’s Pandemic Prevention Plan.
I’ve shown myself in my career to be very good at getting results, on the things that matter most, for those who most need the security, stability, and opportunity. And that is what I will bring to Congress.
What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the people who live in your district?
I see people suffering from instability. People deserve high-paying jobs with which they can support their families and have savings. They deserve to be protected from foreseeable, preventable disasters like pandemics or the effects of climate change. Oregonians want to know that their families will be safe and cared for.
As a U.S. Representative, how will you address this challenge?
To help support working families, I will fight for a permanent Child Tax Credit, an expanded Earned Income Tax Credit, Universal Pre-K, and to create high-paying jobs – that do not require a college degree – through reshoring manufacturing jobs. I also will fight for lower prescription drug prices, because these costs hit our seniors and our most vulnerable the hardest. Finally, I will fight for a proactive, science based approach to preventing disasters, whether they be public health crises like the pandemic, or natural disasters from climate change.
What do you see as the biggest issue facing this country right now, and why?
There are many and they are interconnected. Certainly this includes Covid recovery, slowing economic growth and job creation, and our deeply broken healthcare system. People are afraid to seek out healthcare for fear of facing financial ruin. Our seniors are spending far, far too much on the prescription drugs they need to stay healthy.
Everyone in America should have access to quality affordable healthcare. Other countries that are not as rich or as capable as the U.S. have figured out how to ensure all of their citizens have good health care, for a fraction of the cost. This is America, don’t tell me we can’t do that too, or do that even better. We should not be passing on the highest costs of medication to seniors.
We need to dramatically reduce the administrative burden the system places on everyone. Why should taking your kid in for strep throat require 4 hours on the phone with the insurance company? Why is that part of it?
For years my mother spent more than half of her income on health insurance. Despite this she wouldn’t use it because she was terrified to go to the doctor. She had been hit with some huge surprise medical bills in the 90’ s and it had scared her. For her a doctor’s visit felt like financial roulette. My mother also had a heart condition and she knew she had a heart condition but because of this fear of going to the doctors, she neglected it for decades. And it killed her. She would be 70 if she were alive today. This issue is deeply personal to me and I will fight to ensure everyone in America has access they should have to quality affordable healthcare.
How would describe this country’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine?
Putin is committing war crimes. His actions are not only heinous but also extremely dangerous both because of the threat of escalation and as potential precedent. I support severe sanctions against Russia. As much as possible, we should increase this pressure alongside preventing Russia from selling oil. We should send humanitarian aid to Ukraine, but also weapons, including advanced weapons systems. The U.S. should continue to use our intelligence assets–especially our signals intelligence–to aid Ukraine. Our strong response is, unfortunately, necessary. Most important now is having the resolve to sustain it.
What do you consider the biggest threat to democracy in the U.S.?
Polarization and misinformation are seriously hurting our democracy. Misinformation can undermine people’s trust in fair, secure elections. It can also cause public health crises, by making people afraid to get a vaccine which could save their and their loved ones lives. I want to rebuild the trust that has been lost in our leaders and our institutions. I will work with anyone who wants to work with me. I will model respect and compassion, even for people I disagree with completely.
What is the biggest takeaway from the Coronavirus pandemic?
That we need to ensure this never happens again – and that is possible. Covid caused 800,000 Americans to suffocate to death, slowly, often without their friends and family. We must not become calloused to the horror of this. It also cost us over 16 trillion dollars, increased crime, and cost our children part of their education. I was one of the key architects of Biden’s pandemic prevention plan. Me and my team built on the recommendations of 125 of the world’s best experts to craft a proposal that–if passed–would prevent almost all pandemics. Our plan involved creating better pathogen detection so that novel diseases can be discovered more quickly, more effective PPE to keep our first responders safe and healthy while stopping further spread, and creating the capacity to rapidly manufacture vaccines to avoid drawn out lockdowns and disruption–while saving lives. The White House championed the plan and it made it into the first version of the infrastructure bill, but was cut from the second. If elected, I would fight to pass this plan to ensure that we never live through another two years like these.
What will be a big issue in your district in 5 years? And what will you do as a member of congress to prepare?
Climate change currently is, and will continue to be, a serious problem for the US and my district. We’ve seen the effects here in Oregon with heat waves, wildfires, and floods. In 1996, when I was nine, I was left homeless by a one-in-five-hundred year flood. Eleven years later, in 2007, my mother again lost her home, in another 500-year-flood, in the same river. That is not what “one in five hundred years means” but it will if we don’t take stabilizing the climate seriously.
This is a manageable problem if we act now. We cannot afford to be defeatist or complacent when it comes to facing environmental challenges. We need to work together, because this impacts everyone regardless of political party. If elected, I will support the expansion of a robust clean energy economy. This will create high-quality, high-paying manufacturing jobs for Oregonians while meeting the challenge of climate change.
I’ll advocate for more investment in clean technologies including solar panels, geothermal systems, and batteries. Many of the best companies and most promising start-ups in green technology are based out of the north of the 6th district, in the Silicon Forest. I would also like a lot more research and investment in carbon sequestration, to see if we can not only slow the damage being done but reverse it.
Why should the people who live in your district vote for you?
Oregonians should be proud that we have grown so much that we have earned a new district. District 6 takes a wonderful slice of Oregon from the forests of the Coast Range, through the rolling hills of wine country, to hazelnut and christmas tree farms. It also includes Salem, where the industry is the common good of Oregon, and the Silicon Forest in the north, where some of the most advanced technologies in the world are manufactured–including those that will be vital to securing a sustainable future for everyone. I grew up poor in a town in the Coastal range, got lucky to receive a scholarship to study at University of Oregon in the valley, and I’ve made my home in the rolling hills of McMinnville. I’ve devoted my life to public service and I’ve done that partially by becoming a recognized expert on semiconductor policy and bringing high-tech manufacturing jobs back to Oregon. My experiences have made me a part of each of the communities in this district, allowed me to understand our shared and differing values and needs, and will allow me to successfully fight to improve all our lives.
Who is your hero, and why?
Norman Bourlaug. Norman was an American agricultural researcher, sometimes called the “Father of the Green Revolution.” His work on breeding heartier, higher yielding types of wheat is estimated to have saved over a billion people from starvation. Norman was a humble, hard working man who focused on what mattered: making people’s lives better, helping them feed their families. I am inspired by his quiet perseverance and focus. He never sought the spotlight, instead he went to work wherever he was needed most, and did an enormous amount of good.
