Statesman Journal mini-questionnaire for 2014 General Election

Thank you for responding to this questionnaire.

Why this matters: The Statesman Journal Editorial Board will use this questionnaire in deciding
whom to endorse for the Nov. 4 General Election. Your answers also will be shared with
reporters and probably will be published in the newspaper and/or on our website,
StatesmanJournal.com.
We also ask that you respond to every question, instead of simply attaching campaign materials,
resumes, etc. You are welcome to send us lists of supporters, a resume, etc., in addition to this
questionnaire.
If you completed our questionnaire for the 2014 Primary Election, you will notice that some
questions are similar. (This questionnaire is shorter and several questions have been changed.)
Please complete this questionnaire instead of simply referring to past answers.
Please return the finished questionnaire to the Editorial Board as an email or an attached Word
document to Salemed@StatesmanJournal.com. (Handwritten or fax responses dont work.)
Important; Please submit the questionnaire by the deadline listed in our email to you.
Questions? Contact Editorial Page Editor Dick Hughes, 503-399-6727, dhughes@StatesmanJournal.com, or
Editorial Assistant Nancy Harrington, 503-589-6944, nharring@StatesmanJournal.com.
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Your name as listed on the ballot: Kim Thatcher
Age: 49 October 30 I turn 50
(If your age will change before Nov. 30, please indicate your birthday. We want to ensure we use
accurate ages in pre- and post-election editorials and news coverage.)
City/town of residence: Keizer, OR
Political party(ies), if this is a partisan office: Republican, Libertarian, Independent
Position you are seeking (name of position, district number, etc.): Senate District 13
Are you currently a full-time resident of the district you seek you represent? Yes, and I stay at a
family cabin near Otis whenever I can.
Number of current, consecutive years living in the district you seek to represent: Ive lived here
since October 1991-present, so nearly 23 years
Family (name of spouse/partner, number and ages of children if at home or number of grown
children): Karl, four children total, only one at home. Hes 13.
Your education (high school, trade, college, post-baccalaureate; indicate degrees you earned):
Oregon City High School, attended college, didnt finish.
If employed, current occupation, employer and job duties:
Previous employers and when:
Military service and when:
Volunteer/civic/religious service and when: LDS Social Services late 90s,
Please list all public offices to which youve been elected, and when: State Representative HD 25
first elected 2004
Please list any unsuccessful candidacies for public office, and when:
Other prior political and government experience:
How the public can reach your campaign (remember that this information will be made public):
Mail address: PO Box 9111 Salem OR 97305
E-mail address: kim@kimthatcher.com
Web site URL: www.kimthatcher.com
Phone: 503-932-1291
Please limit your response to each of the following questions to about 75 words.
1. To an outsider, how would you describe the region you wish to represent -- geographically,
economically, politically and socially? Largely rural, area-wise, with populations concentrated
mainly in the small to medium sized cities of Keizer, Newberg, Sherwood, King City, and
Wilsonville. Generally, it is politically and socially conservative to moderate. The beautiful,
fertile farmland and small, livable cities combined with decent proximity to transportation
arterials and markets make this a desirable area to live and work.
2. What are the positives and negatives of this region (district, county or state) that you wish to
represent? This is a small business state and that small, local business mentality is well-
represented in this district. However, there are also some larger businesses in the north part of
the district that demand special government attention and assurances that small businesses cant
also become partakers of.
3. What specific skills and experiences do you bring to the position that would help turn those
negatives into positives? Being a small business owner, I have experience as to some of the
detriments of government meddling in the private marketplace. Because of this I am quite
mindful of the balance that must be struck when special government benefits are awarded to one
party over another.
5. What separates you from your opponent(s)? Be specific. I have experience in the
legislature. He does not. Also, despite his claims, I have had to get things done over the years by
working in a bi-partisan manner; how else could I have ever gotten anything through? Though
my opponent appears to espouse similar views to mine on the economy, the fact is that if he is
elected, he will be a member of a caucus that has stated it will push to raise the minimum wage,
institute a carbon tax scheme, and mandate sick leave policies on the private sector which will be
detrimental to the business environment in this state. So, his current positions will be in direct
conflict with his caucus agenda and likely cause him to be less effective in the legislature. Or, if
he wants to get things done, and If Democrats retain the majority he will experience
unimaginable pressure to largely abandon his relatively conservative views on the economy in
favor of promoting his caucuss anti-business agenda. When Republicans were in control during
my first session, I experienced a tremendous amount of pressure to go along with a bill that I
believed would put me at odds with voters since it was opposite to where I told people I stood on
an issue. I have been tried and tested in the pressure cooker that is the capitol. He has not.
6. Please list five specific accomplishments that you have achieved in politics or civic affairs:
1) Requiring agencies to consider and estimate costs related to their rulemaking process on the
private sector, in an effort to reduce fiscal impacts of rules on businesses 2) Passing the law
creating the Transparency website to help citizens know how and where their tax dollars were
spent 3) getting two conflicting parties to sit down and negotiate with one another before the
passage of legislation that wouldve been very damaging to one of the parties (City of Keizer and
the Rawlins family who owned land near the Keizer Station) 4) worked with former Speaker
Hunt to Require IID devices for all convicted drunk drivers. 5) Worked with Secretary of State to
institute a non-executive branch Business Ombudsman to help businesses overcome or navigate
regulatory obstacles, in an effort to save businesses and jobs.
7. How much will your General Election campaign cost (be specific)? If I can fund the complete
list of planned mailers and advertising, which requires photographers, polling, materials,
designers, printers, and postage it will cost close to $90,000.
8. Have you ever been convicted of a crime, been disciplined by a professional licensing
board/organization or had an ethics violation filed against you? If so, please give the details.
No
9. Have you ever filed for bankruptcy, been delinquent on your taxes or other major accounts, or
been sued personally or professionally? No. Theres one outstanding situation, however, where
my adult brother, with one of his adult friends, unbeknownst to us hopped onto our company-
owned ATVs (with helmets) on our family property and rode trails. His friend was injured,
claimed responsibility for his injury, and went to the hospital in Lincoln City. Fast forward, his
father is seeking payment for his medical bills from us through our homeowners insurance.
Anyway, Im not sure what will happen on this. I believe our homeowners policy is not paying
based on witness statements. The father might just decide to sue us. I dont know.
10. What are the three most important issues you would address if elected, and how? (75 words
for each issue)
A. Supporting legislation that undoes damage to individual freedom and prosperity
B. Pushing back against legislation that I believe damages freedom and prosperity
C. , Supporting legislation that shines further light on government spending and activities.
11. What do you see as other important issues? Government Accountability, Economic
Development,: I will continue my work legislatively developing the transparency website I
initially spearheaded a few years ago. The site will play a part in determining effectiveness of
various Economic Development programs in order to prioritize them and focus money
accordingly. Though I believe economic development is best accomplished when business
owners are allowed to keep more of their own money to invest as they see fit, it is unlikely
money from ineffective programs would be returned to the taxpayers. That is why I would like to
at least see taxpayer funds shifted to higher priorities within the realm of economic
development such as for education programs such as STEM.
12. Any skeletons in your closet or other potentially embarrassing information that you should
disclose before it comes up in the campaign? Anything (including health issues) that would
affect your ability to serve your full term? Any changes in your life situation that are
contemplated or expected before the election or before you would take office?
No skeletons but people looking from the outside might think they see something. For example,
in 2010, after dropping the lawsuit my company had against ODOT for non-payment and other
things, the DOJ turned my companies file over to the criminal division for the purpose of
investigating possible criminal activity. Long story short, there was an undisclosed settlement
offer from an undisclosed source, expiring the same day the case was dropped, which related to
the job on which the lawsuit was predicated. I decided to stop hemorrhaging money on the trial,
accept the offer, and drop the lawsuit. The, then third judge of the case, subsequently decided to
allow ODOT to collect $60,000 from us for the expenses they incurred retaining the services of a
forensic accountant as a result of our supposed withholding of evidence.
After my companys lawsuit against ODOT was dropped, we were thereafter subjected to both
an audit from the Internal Revenue Service on my personal income taxes, and an audit by the US
Department of Labor of my companies. I also think a federal inspector general was involved in
there somewhere along the line. None of these federal audits and investigations yielded evidence
of wrongdoing.
Thank you. Please return this questionnaire to the Editorial Board as an attached Word document to
Salemed@StatesmanJournal.com by the requested deadline.