Chris Beck

Why am I running?

I’m running to defeat Cliff Bentz because his votes in Congress, as well as his support for everything the current administration is doing, are hurting rural Oregonians. It breaks my heart.

I’m running because the people of District 2 deserve a representative who shows up, who isn’t afraid to face their constituents ( all constituents), and who puts the needs of those constituents ahead of party or self.

I understand that it’s been a long time since a Democrat has held this seat. I get that. But that’s the wrong way to look at it.

I don’t like labels.

I run as a Democrat because I believe in much of what the party has always stood for. But the Democratic party of my parents’ era, even of my own youth—if you watch the news— is almost unrecognizable today.

For a long time in rural Oregon, the Democratic Party felt like the party that understood everyday life — the price of hay, the stress of keeping a ranch afloat, the importance of Social Security for retirees, and keeping small hospitals and schools open. It was practical, steady, and focused on helping working people stay on their feet. Folks in small towns could disagree on plenty, but the party remained connected to the rhythms of farm life and the values of responsibility and looking out for your neighbors.

At the same time, Democrats were always loud and proud about sweeping national issues such as civil rights, equal opportunity and protecting the environment.

Today, instead of talking about water rights, timber jobs, grazing, or keeping local services alive, the party’s loudest voices focus on big national debates that don’t always match life in places like Lake County, Union County or Klamath Basin. The people in these kinds of communities still believe in the old, practical approach — steady leadership, respect for local ways of life, and solutions that fit rural communities — but they often feel suffocated by a style of politics that seems more ideological and less grounded in the day‑to‑day realities of rural Oregon.

I also cannot avoid mentioning the Grand Canyon-sized separation between the uber wealthy and the rest of us —a sad trend that began some 45 years ago and is at the root of so much of today’s societal pain. Until that gap is addressed and more people get a slice of the pie, curing today’s ills will be difficult.

And so, having witnessed the last decade of destructive political policies and discourse and the deepening of the left-right divide, not to mention the spiraling of our local and national economies, I feel compelled to do something.

As an Oregon native son and life-long public servant, the best thing I can do is use my energy and experience to defeat Oregon’s only U.S. Representative who supports the policies harming our precious rural communities—Cliff Bentz.

Three of the best policies enacted in Oregon over the last 50 years are the Oregon Health Plan, our statewide land conservation laws (think protecting family farms and forests and revitalizing Main Street districts) and Vote by Mail. Cliff Bentz and the federal government are actively trying to undermine all of it, and this nonsense must stop.

Rural Oregon is in my blood. As the grandson of an agriculture teacher at Redmond High School, it’s literally in my DNA. The people of this grand landscape deserve to have a thoughtful and collaborative representative in Washington.

That’s why I’m running.

Coming of age east of the Cascades

I grew up in Oregon and have spent my life exploring, celebrating and working for this magical geography where we live.

My dad’s family was rooted in Central Oregon during the Great Depression, and my grandfather taught agriculture at Redmond High School. My most formative life experiences as a boy and young man were had learning to fish on the Warm Springs Reservation wading along the banks of the Deschutes, or sitting in a makeshift goose hunting blind of willow branches freezing my butt off in the pre-dawn October air looking out to Hart Mountain in Lake County. While standing around a campfire in the Ochoco Mountains during the fall deer hunt I heard men tell tales of grandfathers, old pick-up trucks, war and women. We also walked the sands near Fort Rock with our heads down looking for obsidian arrowheads, reminding me of the people who have been here for over 10,000 years.

Later, my adventures and land conservation employment took me to the Wallowa Valley, Columbia Gorge, Crooked River National Grassland, Soda Mountain, Klamath Marsh, and more.

I’ve watched Oregon’s rural towns change, and not always for the better. I’ve seen too many mills disappear and Main Streets hollow out, and I can glean the ravages of rural poverty and the opioid epidemic. At the same time, I’ve celebrated communities that have innovated and taken advantage of new economic opportunities. The revival of Talent and Phoenix following the 2020 Almeda Fire is an inspiring reminder of what we can do when we have the community will and public resources.

My parents were both active in civic affairs. Dad advised Governor Bob Straub on implementing the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area and later worked with Oregon’s Congressional Delegation to draft the legislation establishing the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area. Mom is a local legend in Portland where she led a grassroots effort to conserve a 650-acre forested canyon, becoming the state’s first urban state park—Tryon Creek State Park. She later became the first woman appointed to serve on the State Parks Commission. My folks were remarkable role models.

Oregon’s sagebrush, Ponderosa forests, lava caves and mountain peaks are part of me. All told, my life has fully prepared me to represent the people of Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District in Washington.

Chris’s professional background

Education

I attended public schools in Portland and ventured east to study history at Brown University. Later I studied public administration at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and earned a Master in Public Administration. I may have studied on the East Coast, but I came home — because this is where I belong, and this is the work that matters.

Politics

I got involved in government right after college, beginning—as many do—by volunteering on campaigns. My first “real” job landed me in Salem as an assistant to then-Senate President and future Governor John Kitzhaber, and later as a committee staffer for the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. I became fascinated and enamored with Oregon’s unique statewide land-use planning system that supports our working farms, forests and ranching economy.

Restless in my early thirties, I was able to get elected to the Oregon House of Representatives. For six years I had a front row seat to the growing divisiveness within our political system but did my best to find common ground with my Republican colleagues. It was the time when property tax revenues were limited and the state’s education system went to the dogs—as did many other state services. Still, I participated in efforts to stabilize K-12 funding, establish the Cultural Trust, and stabilize funds for our neglected state parks. Joining my rural colleagues and touring Umatilla and Umpqua counties, as well as the struggling timber towns along the Santiam, are among my most poignant experiences as a state rep.

Non-profit land conservation

In 1990 I entered the arena of public-interest non-profit conservation and spent 14 years working with private property owners who wanted their land conserved for public benefit. This role allowed me to travel around the state and deeply understand the significance and fragility of the rural communities I’d known growing up but had not fully appreciated as a boy.

Post-Katrina New Orleans

In 2006 and 2007 I was just one of many people trying to help rebuild the city. I consulted with various organizations, but primarily I worked with Mercy Corps to help salvage materials from demolished homes for rebuilding purposes, rather than dumping everything into a distant pit somewhere.

Rural economic development

In 2010 I began working at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) national headquarters as a policy advisor on rural economic development. For six years I worked directly with private individuals, as well as foundations, helping find federal resources to spur innovative approaches to community development. The people I worked with were trying to help Washington make often clunky programs more effective for our times. We fostered better regional planning, focused infrastructure on struggling Main Street districts, promoted arts and culture economic strategies, and supported efforts to build new local food systems.

International elections

Most recently, I’ve had the privilege of representing the United States as an international elections observer in former Soviet bloc countries in missions sponsored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Each time I return home from these elections, I remain grateful to be an American, and to live in Oregon.