![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.oreca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-71-340x247.jpg\")
It\u2019s been a whirlwind 8 months in office for freshman U.S. Representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer. A hallmark of her brief tenure follows the blueprint that made her a successful mayor: Be accessible, accountable and willing to focus on the issues that really matter to her constituents.<\/p>\n
It was this mentality that brought Chavez-DeRemer to La Pine during the August congressional recess.<\/p>\n
She was in Central Oregon at the invitation of Midstate Electric Cooperative\u2014one of 3 electric cooperatives that provide service in Oregon\u2019s large and diverse 5th Congressional District.<\/p>\n
Redmond-based Central Electric and Philomath-based Consumers Power Inc. also have members in the 5th District and face many of the same challenges.<\/p>\n
The La Pine meeting, which included several Midstate board members and their leadership team, centered on many of the key issues Chavez-DeRemer has focused on since being sworn in this January: forest management, housing and access to affordable, reliable energy.<\/p>\n
Midstate CEO Jim Anderson briefed the congresswoman on the challenges of a cooperative facing unprecedented growth.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe used to be a sleepy little town,\u201d he said. \u201cNow, things are booming.\u201d<\/p>\n
This rapid growth, Anderson said, is threatened by the lack of infrastructure and assaults on the federal hydropower system that powers the region.<\/p>\n
While touting that Oregon is the \u201cgreatest state,\u201d Chavez-DeRemer acknowledged it is weighed down by a bevy of crises, including a housing shortage, homelessness and fentanyl\u2014all issues for which she has introduced legislation during the 1st session of this Congress.<\/p>\n
The group also discussed Oregon\u2019s Measure 110, which decriminalized the possession of small amounts of illegal drugs. Chavez-DeRemer highlighted a letter she wrote to Governor\u00a0Tina Kotek to repeal a measure she sees as ineffective.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter enabling the trafficking and use of deadly drugs, the state failed to provide the accessible health care that was promised,\u201d Chavez-DeRemer wrote.<\/p>\n
Chavez-DeRemer noted that her committee assignments, such as the powerful House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, give her a strong platform to tackle some of Oregon\u2019s most urgent issues.<\/p>\n
In addition, her role on the House Agriculture Committee and its Forestry Subcommittee gives her an opportunity to address the threat of wildfires that Oregon electric co-ops face because of their heavily forested terrains.<\/p>\n
In June, Chavez-DeRemer, who has a reputation as a coalition builder, brought Rep. Glenn \u201cGT\u201d Thompson, the chairman of the Agriculture Committee, to Albany for a well-attended listening session on the Farm Bill, which expires this year. This session gave committee leadership an opportunity to hear about the importance of proper forest management to all Oregonians.<\/p>\n At the conclusion of the La Pine meeting, a Midstate employee thanked Chavez-DeRemer for helping expedite a passport\u2014an example of constituent service that is an underappreciated yet indispensable part of a congressional office.<\/p>\n \u201cHelping people with these problems are my best days on the job,\u201d Chavez-DeRemer said.<\/p>\n Then the congresswoman was back on the road.<\/p>\n More appointments beckoned, as well as returning to Washington, D.C., for a full slate of committee meetings, floor votes and the specter of a government shutdown.<\/p>\n The Midstate leaders appreciated the time they were able to spend with Chavez-DeRemer, someone who is new to Congress but is still willing to get in the middle of the fight for her constituents.<\/p>\n \u201cShe is refreshing and responsive in addressing the long-term needs of Midstate,\u201d said Vic Russell, a longtime Midstate director.<\/p>\n Anderson agreed.<\/p>\n \u201cThe congresswoman is very knowledgeable on all issues that are not only important to cooperatives, but to all Oregonians,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" U.S. Representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer is Tackling Some of the Major Issues Facing Electric Cooperatives & All Oregonians. By Ted Case It\u2019s been a whirlwind 8 months in office for freshman U.S. Representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer. A hallmark of her brief tenure follows the blueprint that made her a successful mayor: Be accessible, accountable and willing to […]\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":34577,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[232],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oreca.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34576"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oreca.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oreca.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oreca.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oreca.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34576"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.oreca.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34576\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34581,"href":"https:\/\/www.oreca.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34576\/revisions\/34581"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oreca.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oreca.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oreca.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oreca.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.oreca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/image-73-340x217.jpg\")