OPB asked all 34 candidates seeking the Republican or Democratic nomination for governor to answer some basic questions about the issues. Below are responses from Keisha Lanell Merchant, a Democrat. These answers have not been edited.
Oregon Democratic candidate for governor Keisha "Coach Kay" Lanell Merchant.
Courtesy of Keisha Merchant
To start, please give us your name and basic biographical details, including your current position or job, any elected offices you have held and any key facts you would like voters to know about you.
Coach Kay, Keisha Lanell Merchant
Candidate for Governor of Oregon
Recording Artist/Coach
I want to bring to the table that the government not only answers your phone calls, mediates win/win solutions, and on time and not late. Increase quality of life for you and restores and builds with with you. Innovate and invent business partnerships that are social responsible to you and all communities. And no community left behind. The Good Stewardship platform campaign includes the Quality of life for all Oregonians.
Why should you be Oregon’s next governor?
I understand the Maslow’s hierarchy needs and motivation model. I respect the fact that as a leader it is imperative to be accurate, timely manner, and to be comprehensive but mostly move in unity as inclusivity and interdependency is necessary.
What do you think is the most pressing challenge facing Oregon today?
Environmental Justice is imperative starting with Green thumb conduct. Community Building, and Interactive models for intervention and social responsibility to all Oregonians.
What is your proposed solution to that problem? Please be specific.
Inclusive models. Stop passing the buck. Build more community partnerships and provide more funding and resources even appointed authority for leadership to restore and renew communities that have been neglected or left behind. Restorative justice to visit every Oregonian not as a census duty. To provide an actualization system for each Oregonian and their household as a basic human right.
Do you believe human beings are playing a part in rising temperatures?
Our interaction with the environment is a major influence to the planet’s behavior and reaction to us.
Do you think Oregon should take additional steps to address climate change? If so, what are some specific efforts you’d undertake or push for as governor?
The Good Stewardship platform campaign will begin with water systems, invent and innovation and increase in water systems, good forests, and access to waste management systems as reusable energy systems, then provide access to unattainable grants to start land ownerships, entrepreneurship, retirement, and personal quality of life: as access to quality care, security systems as to technologies, digital equality and clean air, food, and shelter, wellness, fitness, and health trainers, coaches, and instructors, paradigm shift in how we interact with each other professionally first then personally.
Oregon has experienced a high number of severe wildfires in recent years. What role should state government play in wildfire response?
Building and increase water systems, access to water systems, build new communities with natural resistance, fire and water resistance materials, roads, and bridges and forests. Finally, change the species that are planted as a major commodity in Oregon. Allow old growth to be health and fit, and increase new species to be symbiosis partnerships with the old growth forests.
Parts of Oregon now routinely face drought conditions. What role should state government play in preventing and responding to droughts?
Invent and innovate food forests, water systems, and waste management systems that will increase quality of life and quality of care. It will decrease over consumption, decrease waste, and increase the health of the environment to help us .as we..help the environment and each other.
Do you support the use of body cameras by police officers to record their interactions with the public? Please explain why or why not.
I also support public reporting. I call it mandatory reporting. Protective Witnesses and A Good Samaritan Act to increase Quality of life for all Oregonians. The public should be appointed to have the right to report any injustice using video, camera, audio, or eye witness accounts to support the mission, vision, and goals of Oregonians social contract to provide Quality services, excellent services.
President Joe Biden signaled in his State of the Union address that he wants to increase funding for police. Do you agree or disagree?
Disagree
In surveys, Oregonians on both the right and the left described political extremism as one of the biggest challenges facing the state. Do you agree with them? If yes, please describe the type of extremism that concerns you and what you would do as governor to address it.
The Common ground is Quality of Life. The challenge is providing Quality of Life for all Oregonians at the same time as equality or an egalitarian humanitarian society would achieve. A Governor like myself would need to have a development understanding of empathy, inclusivity, and interdependency with all Oregonians to achieve a coexistence interactive model without jeopardizing the integrity of the timeliness and accuracy of all Oregonians separately as well as a whole actualization system that also have the right to transform.
In surveys, Oregonians consistently rate homelessness and high housing costs as a major problem facing the state. What role do you believe state government should play in addressing these interconnected problems?
The government should provide tax exemption land that is developed , cutting edge, highest quality in modernization and smart homes, cities, and park and urban rangers that provide excellent interactive energy and services that give land ownership, lot ownership, and food forests and water systems as a basic human right to all Oregonians. The government has enough land, technologies, staffing, resources, to provide access to information, training, resources, and quality of life to all Oregonians around the clock. This can happen with the right quality leadership.
Would you support requiring people experiencing homelessness to stay in shelters if adequate shelter space exists?
No
Oregon’s high school graduation rate continues to lag behind other states. What are specific actions you would take as governor to improve student performance?
Apprenticeship (s) Service learning campuses and field trips.
Oregon, like much of the rest of the nation, has a child care crisis. What role should the governor play in this situation, and what are specific steps you would take as governor?
Build child care campuses starting from new born to college as an interactive model for parents to work from home, receive quality care support, resources, access to technologies, service providers, products and partnerships.
Do public employee unions have too much influence in Oregon? If you answer yes, please tell us which unions in particular concern you.
N/A.
As governor, would you support the creation of campaign finance limits in Oregon? If no, please explain why not. If yes, please can us specifics on what limits you would endorse.
I would change the candidates way of running in the race. Government should provide ballot information for all candidates and their platforms without charge as a service providing to the Oregonian population as mandatory reporting system and social responsibility to Oregonians. Stakeholders get courtesy reports of their opportunities and so should Oregonians as stakeholders.
Do you believe Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election?
Yes
Would you support creation of a sales tax in Oregon?
No
Do you support the use of tolls to help pay for infrastructure constructions in the Portland region, including a replacement for the Interstate 5 bridge?
No
If the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, would you as governor push for new abortion restrictions in Oregon? If yes, please specify what type of restriction you would propose.
I would increase opportunities of all forms of birth control as to marketing strategies for men taking on more social responsibilities to prevent pregnancies as temporary or permanent safe and healthy birth control systems for their bodies. To give men empowerment to protect their own future if they want to be eunuchs.
How would you describe the relationship between rural and urban Oregon today?
Disconnected. Rural communities have a right to be developed into a culture as surburbia and urban or affluent communities. Rural communities need ecosystem rehabilitation, service learning campuses, and humanitarian aid communities to be sustainable quality lifestyle. Urban communities need environmental justice, land ownerships, tax exemption properties, public access to universal quality care and humanitarian aid communities as well. They both need attention, timeliness, and Quality of life around the clock for all communities not excluding the incarceration imprisonment communities need the same as Urban and Rural communities, access to resources, information, modernization, in its entirety and cultural symbiotic precedence.
What’s one thing you would do as governor to bring rural and urban Oregon together?
Provide these win/win solutions to all communities. These adaptations, adjustment and Quality of life for all Oregonians
What’s the best thing Kate Brown has done as Oregon governor?
Not burn down Oregon and Force Oregon to lose their human rights to choose
What’s the worst thing Kate Brown has done as Oregon governor?
Lack of restorative justice, lack of environmental justice, lack of civil justice, and lack of response systems from her staff from all departments to interact with the Oregonians populations
Name another Oregon leader, either current or in the past, whose approach to public policy you admire and why.
I had alot of respect for Mayor Helen Berg and City Council George Grosch who appointed me to be one of the MLK Commissioners in City of Corvallis. It was life changing. They had a table in the library. It was tell me how you feel approach, I told them that they had a horrible communication system, they said we want to appoint you, so you can make the changes. We will give you the resources, and the access to staff, the access to information, give you the training you need, and equal access to the leadership, and you can make the impact you think we need. And they kept their word. And I was appointed to attend all staff decision making meetings from all departments in the City. Excellent opportunity. I was only 25 at the time.