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 Court Boice, a Republican. These answers have not been edited.
Oregon Republican candidate for governor Court Boice.
Courtesy of Court Boice
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.
COURT BOICE - MY VOICE, MY CHOICE FOR OREGON GOVERNOR
Why to Vote for Court Boice – Best Candidate, Governor for Oregon – 2022 Republican
Occupation: County Commissioner. Private Business – Age 67
Occupational Background: 40 years in business and Government.
Governmental Experience: County Commissioner, 8 Years Oregon Marine Board, Legislative Assistant. Four decades volunteering on 30 boards and committees in working to improve the lives of Oregonians! His long term and long time background is why in 2018, out of 5 Republican Candidates, the Eugene Register Guard endorsed Boice for the 4th District U.S. Congressional Run.
Court Boice is the one True Conservative, Constitutional, Christian Candidate for Oregon Governor. He will work to reverse 40 years of damaging legislative agendas and the executive mis-managements of our government that are destroying our children’s future, our quality of life and our economic future. He feels that he owes everything to his state and parents.
Court Boice is an Oregon Leader in Catastrophic Fire prevention and also in our critical timberland, badly needed and best forest management practices. Solutions are his Public Service passsions. No other Governor candidate - either party equals his experience on Fire and Natural Resources.
Why should you be Oregon’s next governor?
Court Boice is from Rural Curry County and is running for Governor of the great state of Oregon. He is a native and an Oregonian through and through. He has deep family Public Service ties to our State. He’ll assure the Citizens that No One will outwork him and No One will care more for their futures. He has substantial Oregon experience and background; 45 years on the front lines of producing good for our state. He has the administrative leads and experience in government work at all levels. He deals with the affairs of local administration every day. Oregon’s path to prosperity starts right here and right now.
As a candidate, Boice is the one that best connects with the lives of and challenges to the people of this state.
Court Boice is an Oregon Leader in Catastrophic Fire prevention and also in our critical timberland and best forest management practices.
The Boice Reputation – Uniquely experienced - dealing with the complexities - all government levels – more than four devoted decades. He’ll continue to serve, promote and protect all that we believe in and defend everything Oregonians love!
Paradise Lodge Oregon - 1997 - Rogue River Wilderness Jet Boat Rescue - Boice saved 6 Men from drowning in flood and near freezing waters. Later covered on National Television.
Salem Oregon - 2011 - Boice chased a Bank Robber for 5 blocks who midway shot at him. Court kept following and got the crooks License No. The Criminal received a 30 Year Sentence for attempted murder and robbing 9 total banks.
What do you think is the most pressing challenge facing Oregon today?
CATASTROPHIC FIRE DANGER - RISKS
What is your proposed solution to that problem? Please be specific.
Boice is recognized as a major leader in Fire Prevention throughout Oregon. At this point, the climate change debate is functionally irrelevant. Considering that our great forests and timber-lands are at the greatest risk on the planet and have been mis-managed for decades. The issues we need to deal with are the ramifications of 40 years of dereliction, and those terrible policies of our forests and natural resources. We are seriously unprepared. The forest floors are loaded with highly combustible dead-fall and ground level volatile fuels. Our landscapes throughout Oregon are especially now, extremely vulnerable to even minor lightning strikes and those situations, if left unaddressed, will result in more major conflagrations throughout the state, perhaps in this approaching “fire season.”
Managing these resources involves fire prevention planning which includes responsible harvesting, fuel abatement, culling of failing, previously burnt and dead trees and reforestation. We must ensure emergency access and suitable staffing with trained and appropriately equipped firefighters using well developed wildfire response plans to deal with these pending disasters. The Boice administration will continue his work with appropriate federal, state and private sector agencies and organizations to review and update Oregon’s timberland and forest management policies. He has has been a key person and proponent of the Curry County Fire Fighter Training Center. There is a severe shortage of Wildland Fire Fighters at all levels nationwide and within four years the Southern Oregon FTC will be the best facility in all of the Western United States. The Curry - Rogue Siskiyou Regional Fire and Emergency Training Center has raised nearly $ 800,000 to date. With that serious shortage of Fire Fighters we are soon going to be in an excellent position to greatly improve those numbers while also extending much better management of our rugged and special Oregon Environment forests and watersheds. Yes, for years, Boice has been very focused on Fire Danger, Awareness, Prevention, Response, Suppression and Recovery. It is the issue he is most passionate about and demonstrates concern for Oregon and Oregonians in finding solutions. This issue has been critical to his success as a Public Servant.
Do you believe human beings are playing a part in rising temperatures?
NO - Truly minor proportionately
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?
Yes and No, however the focus should be toward Carbon Sequestration. As good stewards, most Republicans have excellent records in protecting our Environment. Proper managed forests are the best way to lock that carbon in storage sometimes forever. With our great forests, Oregon should be taking a much bigger, a much better lead. Boice believes in Climate Change, however does not completely accept Global Warming. He’s a strong advocate for Offshore Wind Power as part of a very diverse Energy future base and in the interest of Energy diversity feels that Nuclear Power could still be on the table. Look what happened in Texas last winter. They had no Energy diversity, no alternate or back up power systems.
We all need to understand that the reality of the carbon dioxide issue is that the United States, because of our attentiveness to the possibilities has developed the pertinent technologies that make us the lowest polluting nation on earth. If fossil fuels were 100% eliminated from our energy portfolio it would have no effect whatsoever on carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.
Perhaps climate change is real. Boice is not at all convinced, however, if C02 is actually an issue, Boice definitely would not be inclined to involve Oregon in an extremely expensive agenda that he doesn’t have a great deal of confidence in. Further, we do need to recognize that the only nation involved in the Paris Accords that actually abides by them is the United States?
Further, it is also no secret that China is opening low tech coal fired powerplants all over the world? How do we evaluate carbon dioxide production in the US and determine that you have any sort of realistic or legitimate conclusion when essentially no other nation is devoted to the rules? How do you make anything like a legitimate baseline for atmospheric C02 when there is no reporting on its production in China and India?
Is there any consideration of the work done by NASA regarding degradation of the Van Allen radiation belt which protects the earth from Mass Coronal Ejections - solar storms? What about the considerations of the decreases in the earth’s magnetic field that increase solar radiation impacting our atmosphere driving higher temperatures? There is also the increase in volcanic activity in the pacific rim. Are these causes of global warming? We can’t say yes or no and that’s more honest than the political psuedo-scientific assertions on carbon dioxide. One thing Court Boice consistently asserts is that in the considerations of supposed global warming, the only suspected cause that generates money is C02. That is interesting?
Again, Boice believes that diversifying our sourcing of energy is an intelligent approach but there is no logical approach to sourcing energy issues that eliminatemost possible sources and options. It doesn’t include the smart-alec comments about buying $ 60,000 + electric cars. We must re-establish energy independence. It is the most important key to prosperity at all income levels in our society and our security as a nation.
Oregon has experienced a high number of severe wildfires in recent years. What role should state government play in wildfire response?
Answered above - Catastrophic Fire Awareness, Prevention, Response, Suppression and Recovery are vital and my again Boice’s highest priority. He believes the Oregon Deparment of Forestry, Oregon State Police and Oregon Water Resources are our three most important State Departments. All should be substantially expanded which with the OSP would include an Arson Investigative unit. Let those potential destructive people know, we will find them and prosecute them to the full extent of the law!
Parts of Oregon now routinely face drought conditions. What role should state government play in preventing and responding to droughts?
The States Role should be to lead by example through the Oregon Water Resources and Oregon Department of Agriculture. There is more and more of a demand, so of course Water Management in and out of drought periods is an important role for our state. Pulling all stakeholders together through wise planning and forums is the best step forward. Everything and especially during droughts is all tied to wise Natural Resource Management.
Do you support the use of body cameras by police officers to record their interactions with the public? Please explain why or why not.
Boice does support. What they are doing is a public function and there is no expectation of privacy in this. It also provides a considerable degree of protection to the officers and the jurisdictions involved, so genrally a good idea. Also You can increase funding and improved training for our police but if you do not address the failures in the criminal justice system, you’re just pounding sand down a rat hole and you’ll continue to lose our police officers. We have to avoid that all costs. Prosecutors and district attorneys have one client: Oregon and its Citizens.. As long as this is allowed to go on, we’re going to need a lot more sand.
The police are the first door to the criminal justice system. If they arrest people for ostensibly committing crimes and the district attorneys do not file charges and prosecute to the fullest extent of the law, consistently, legitimately and dependably, our Police Officers are betrayed. You can offer them whatever you want but if you betray them, they aren’t coming back. Then you have anarchy and mob rule like we saw in Portland, Seattle and other cities all over our Country in 2020. We’re going to eliminate that kind of prosecutorial discretion.
If there are real issues regarding abuse of power and authority by the police, those matters will be dealt with in accordance with the same penal code that applies to all citizens. The consequences are just as with criminals: Unavoidable, consistent, harsh and legitimate.
President Joe Biden signaled in his State of the Union address that he wants to increase funding for police. Do you agree or disagree?
Agree
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 Extreme Citizens and radicals, yes are on both sides. It is tragically disappointing and a huge challenge that has to be resolved! Boice believes though that the reactivity and violence generally comes from the far, far left. Boice has good people skills, good listening skills and prides himself in always having an ‘open door policy’. He will talk to anyone and offer significant time for dialogue as long as all parties want to problem solve and are dedicated to Anti-Violence.
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 Court Boice administration will work with the legislature to develop and implement strong and effective measures to deal with homelessness. We will address sheltering but we will not simply build new taxpayer funded ghettos and hide the homeless out of sight. “Out of sight, out of mind” is not acceptable and trapping these people, including entire families, as indigents in perpetuity is effectively assigning them second class citizenship. There is no legitimacy in doing that. Just as with the rest of the population, these people need a thriving economic environment, employment opportunities, law and order and access to public education for their families. They have a right to equal opportunity. The purpose of indigent support and assistance is to help these people find a way out of poverty. Indigent support services and subsidies will no longer be “a way of life” in Oregon.
As far as requiring people experiencing homelessness to stay in shelters if adequate shelter space exists? Sounds nice, but there is a serious overlap here as regards perhaps “unlawful detention.” When you apply compulsion, the shelter space becomes a detention facility for homeless people. You can prescribe behavior and cut off services and benefits for failure to meet standards, but requiring a person to stay in a shelter if they don’t want to might be a bit dicey in terms of legality. This is why the Boice administration will focus on the root causes of homelessness and not just the symptoms. As Governor, he will form a Statewide Task Force to address the Homelessness problem and how to solve it.
Would you support requiring people experiencing homelessness to stay in shelters if adequate shelter space exists?
Yes
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?
Court Boice believes the academic, emotional, psychological and social damages to children from the mismanagement of the COVID issue combined with the systemic damages to education from the current administration’s lowering of academic standards in math and reading must be reversed. Time and resources to mitigate those damages needs a full commitment to prevent this from happening again. Oregon’s politically contrived and feckless state policy on education is the primary failure that led to this situation. Oregon needs an effective state policy on education to compel the Department of Education (DOE) to prioritize education over the teachers’ union and special interest lobbies. Boice will direct a top down review of the DOE in terms of mission, staffing and efficiency. He will eliminate political, social, ethnic and cultural indoctrination and special interest influencing from public education, including in our universities. DOE’s role is to administer public education to standard, on time and on budget. Boice will mandate traditional academics-based curriculum and increased emphasis on skill and technical schooling that is consistent, legitimate, measurable and competitive with systems throughout the nation. For the benefit of our kids, we owe it to them to strive to be Number 1 in our U.S.A.
Tenure in public education should be eliminated. Boice supports education vouchers and home schooling to make public education competitive with private sector schooling. Finally, the Constitution is clear; we can never push any kind of religion, not even Christianity, however, we must stop forcing God out of our society. One only has to look at the 2020 Urban riots across our country that brought such tragic destruction, arson, murders and looting. Boice believes these tragedies are the result of a march toward a godless society.
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?
This is a two-edged sword, however there are clear and well defined solutions. This is a crucial time for our lowest level of workforce participation in our State’s history. Increasing that work force participation, however, drives demands on the family for additional child and elderly care. We need to help in every possible and legitimate way we can to keep our families together. I am a proponent of State Assisted, well trained and safe Child Care Centers and will interface with the various state agencies, the private sector and the legislature to address these objectives.
Do public employee unions have too much influence in Oregon? If you answer yes, please tell us which unions in particular concern you.
They do and it is further dividing our culture. Almost all Oregon public sector unions have soured the average Oregonian and, yes they have way too much power. The conflict gap is growing and those unions must have their power restricted or the consequences will be even more strife and upset between those in and those out! Do the unions have too much power? Boice says, absolutely, Oregon has lowered academic requirements for Math and English in an attempt to increase graduation rates while the teachers’ union continues to push political, social and cultural indoctrination instead of mathematics, language and sciences and no one is getting fired for this? There was a time when one of the major sources of pride in the unions was providing the best service for the pay. Our public education system is one of the most expensive and poorest performing systems in the United States and Oregon is moving toward one of the worst in the world. Boice is inclined to evaluate the value of the government and union contracts and make determinations as to whether to continue those relationships. If we went direct hire just as we would with any contractor, there’s no way Oregon tries to low-ball compensation and benefits. Consider for a moment that it takes a certain level of compensation and a high quality benefits package (called “the market”) to retain good teachers. We’re paying for that. If Oregon goes direct hire, the teachers receive the same level of compensation and have the same benefits packages and, since they don’t have to pay union dues, they keep a larger portion of their income. Failure of the school system is big especially when the governor lowered academic requirements for Math and English in a vain attempt to increase graduation rates. You choose.
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.
There are a lot of supporters of more restrictive campaign finance laws. No matter how it’s cut, or who is doing the cutting, you run into the issues of freedom of speech. That has been the case since the earliest election in our Republic. How to resolve all of this is a long-standing debate. I’m not inclined to say yea or ney without a viable non-partisan discussion as to the pros and cons and careful detailing of the proposals.
Do you believe Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election? There were a lot of irregularities including abject panic over the Covid issue. Plans to change the system were made and implemented without consulting the public. Was the result legitimate? We don’t know. Boice suspecst not. People need to deal with the reality we have, not the reality someone told them they want. Boice will oversee a top down audit of all Oregon’s election processes. This may entail legal action and all parties involved will be made to understand that elections are not a game. Violating the trusts of the people in the election process is a betrayal by our government and the consequences will be unavoidable and serious. This is one of our most sacred American rights and privleges.
Do you believe Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election?
No
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.
Boice is solid Pro-Life and against abortion except for risk of the life of the mother or in dealing with, rape or incest. If Roe V Wade is overturned, the issue of abortion law reverts to the states. The Oregon state government would be responsible to deal with these things as is appropriate. Our system of government at the State Level thank goodness was never intended to be dominated by the federal government. The states have the primary role of making laws suitable to their own citizens and within their own jurisdictions. This is a very sensitive and contentious issue. With something near 70% of Oregon’s population identifying as Christian and most pro-life, I don’t see the existing abortion laws in Oregon remaining unchanged at least or otherwise struck down by the people.
How would you describe the relationship between rural and urban Oregon today?
POOR - UNFORTUNATELY NOT IMPROVING
What’s one thing you would do as governor to bring rural and urban Oregon together?
The Urban - Rural divide weighs heavy on Boice’s mind and most Oregonians’ hearts. The gap is ever increasing and it will take patience, hard work, good listening and a maturity to get us through this, understanding and working together for the betterment of all of Oregon. Boice sees this issue for him as a governor is to pull Oregon back from the rather provincial ideas about government. Our legislature has had some serious shortcomings and the failed governor here has only complicated things. Look at the recent effort to break five counties off of Oregon and put them into Idaho. Ask the people why and you’ll be told in no uncertain terms that they felt abandoned and unrepresented. They’re angry about it and well they should be. There are north of 4 million people in this state and the government is supposed to serve and protect all of them, not just the folks who live in the urban areas.
A Governor leads by example with courage and respect for the people. Being one people is about co-existence. It’s about co-collaboration and cooperation. The governor has a role as the leader to give an example of neighborliness and personal responsbility. You can’t be a real governor if you don’t care about the people. We’ve seen that over the last several decades. I bring that leadership and the understanding that Americans will consent to government, but they will not be ruled or the subjects of the government thereof.
What’s the best thing Kate Brown has done as Oregon governor?
Appointed my first cousin Bev Clarno as S.O.S.
What’s the worst thing Kate Brown has done as Oregon governor?
Oppressive and Reactive Executive Orders
Name another Oregon leader, either current or in the past, whose approach to public policy you admire and why.
Past Stateswomen and Statesmen like Dave Frohnmayer, Vic Atiyeh, Norma Paulus, Dennis Richardson and Bev Clarno. They loved Oregon very much and all understood the privlege of Public Service. They all had the wonderful ability and capacities to reach across the isle and solve problems without fatigue I miss them all.