Oregon House District 30: Business, infrastructure, education

Carla Axtman

This is the first in what I hope will be a series of profiles of Oregon House Districts. Today the focus is Oregon House District 30, represented by Democrat David Edwards.

I met with Rep. David Edwards at the very cool Insomnia coffee shop in Hillsboro, before hitting the road to talk about this very bustling part of our state. Edwards represents a district in Washington County that's in the midst of fundamental change.

According to Edwards, the political demographics of House District 30 are moving drastically. When he first ran for his seat in 2006, Republicans enjoyed a 5 point advantage. In 2008, Edwards says that dropped to 3. He believes that now it might be even or even swinging in the "D" direction, with non-affiliated voters moving there. Edwards also said that he enjoys "substantial" support among Republicans, about 15-20%, likely because he's a small business owner and a moderate in the caucus.

Two new "anchor" businesses recently became major presences in the area. Solarworld recently finished the first of a four part plan to complete a manufacturing facility. Edwards says its expected to employee up to 2000 people when its finished.

Genentech is the other new kid on the block. In fact, the building is directly across the road from Solarworld.

Genentech will employ up to 300 employees when its completed.

Hillsboro is also expected to attract vendors who support the work of businesses like Solarworld and Genentech. Construction is expected to continue in the area to provide space for them. Additional jobs will make their way into the region with these vendors, hopefully well into the thousands.

Edwards noted that businesses like these require infrastructure, which is one of House District 30's central challenges. There are currently two transportation projects that he considers imperative.

One is the Shute Road/Highway 26 interchange improvements. Those improvements are still in the "drawing board" stage, which means construction isn't imminent. But based on what I saw, it will need to be soon. This off/on ramp carries a heavy load of traffic headed to places like Solarworld, Genentech and Intel, and its expected to keep growing.(This photo was taken early on a Saturday morning...heh)

Similar improvements are expected at the Glencoe/Hwy 26 interchange in North Plains. Edwards says he will continue to work with Senator Starr on these issues, including holding a series of town halls together. He and Starr appear to have a good working relationship on that which they agree, much of which seems to be economic improvements for this part of Washington County.

The picture at the top with Rep. Edwards was taken at Orenco Elementary School in the Hillsboro School District. It seemed most relevant, given that Edwards' other main issue for the district is education. In order to continue to attract high quality business to the area, Edwards says that a skilled workforce is key. That workforce starts with a rock-solid school system. But even with that, schools are a major issue for the electorate here. House District 30 has a larger-than-average share of families with school-aged kids: 40%, according to Edwards.

Edwards says he's working on a number of bills to help address the pressing needs of the district he represents. One bill in particular would allow an AA degree to go toward credit for a four year college major. It would also allow work experience to count toward a degree as well.

With the economy in a major slump, Edwards noted that this part of Washington County was feeling the pinch. Edwards said that Washington County Community Action received 300 calls in January 2008. He said that there were 1300 calls in the same month for 2009. In addition, the local food bank is experiencing record activity. Families who've never needed assistance before are finding themselves in trouble.

Hopefully some of these new manufacturing facilities will contribute to a quick economic recovery for the area.

By Carla Axtman March 04, 2009