Oregon 4th Congressional District Republican primary conversation: Amy Ryan Courser

Two Republican candidates are hoping to win their party’s nomination to upset incumbent Democratic Rep. Val Hoyle in Oregon’s 4th Congressional District. Amy Ryan Courser is a consultant and former Keizer City Council member. On her campaign website she says she’s a mom, wife, friend and patriot, and describes her priorities as “America first.” Her primary opponent, Monique DeSpain, a 30-year Air Force veteran and attorney, declined OPB’s invitation for an interview or candidate debate. We talk with Ryan Courser about making her case to Oregon voters in the 4th District.

Note: The following transcript was created by a computer and edited by a volunteer.

Editor’s Note: The following transcript was corrected to indicate the correct spelling of Keizer.

Dave Miller: From the Gert Boyle Studio at OPB, this is Think Out Loud. I’m Dave Miller. Two Republicans are hoping to win their party’s nomination next month to take on incumbent Democratic Representative Val Hoyle in Oregon’s 4th congressional district. Amy Ryan Courser is a consultant and former Keizer City council member. Monique DeSpain is an attorney and a 30-year Air Force veteran. DeSpain declined OPB’s invitations for a debate or an interview, but Amy Ryan Courser said yes, and she joins us now. Welcome to the show.

Amy Ryan Courser: Thank you for having me.

Miller: Thanks for joining us. What do you see as the most important policy differences between you and Monique DeSpain?

Courser: You know, in fairness, I cannot comment on her policy differences. I only can really share my information and goals for policy, because I honestly don’t know her. So it would be unfair to me to make a comment on that, I’m just not familiar with.

Miller: Have you had any debates or joint appearances with her?

Courser: No, we’ve had three invitations and she has declined each one of them. I have accepted each one of them. And thank you for having me, by the way. I just believe that this is the most important job interview I will ever have. And each person in our district is our voters, and they will make the final decision come the primary, of who’s the best person to represent Oregon. And of course, hopefully the 4th District.

Miller: You were a lifelong Keizer resident until last year when you… am I right that you sold your house and you and your husband moved into a mobile home to be in the 4th District? Is that all correct?

Courser: That’s close. Yes, to your point. However, I’m a Keizer girl. I’m from Keizer. I was raised in Keizer, and I’m very involved in the community in Marion County and surrounding counties. And this is not my first run at Congress, just so you know. However, we did…

Miller: This is your third, right?

Courser: Yes, that’s right. We sold our home in Keizer and honestly, it was part of a bucket list for my husband, who said, “I’ve always wanted to get an RV,” and we thought while we transition and decide where we’re moving. It was a great time to sell, not a great time to buy, as people can appreciate. So we ended up buying an RV and we are literally living in the district. We feel so blessed to be grassroots campaigning because, to me, it’s really all about the people. It’s all about what’s going on in every district, or every county.

And I think I should share, if people don’t recognize, you can look it up, but this district for CD4 is 18,000 square miles and seven counties. So every county has a little bit different issue. I’m really learning all about, not only the people, but the district, the issues, and we’re doing it right up close and personal and really engaged. And for me, that’s a priority. It’s always been about the people.

Miller: So, in addition to the size, I should just say for folks who don’t know the district, the big cities are Eugene and Corvallis. But in addition to about the southern half, basically, of Oregon’s coastal counties. But, why this district? This is not your longtime home. It’s worth pointing out that Keizer is represented by a Republican, who I guess maybe you don’t want to challenge. But why the 4th District?

Courser: Sure. So that’s not exactly correct. Keizer is actually represented by [Congresswoman Andrea] Salinas, and she is a Democrat. So here’s the thing. Great question. And when you look at the district overall, I, as a representative of the 4th District, and looking at the data and of course, the map, when I ran prior, this was before redistricting. So out of seven counties, I won three of the counties as a GOP nominee. And so I have relationships. I have long-term… I would say probably 30 years of serving my community. I’m a community servant at heart. And so this really wasn’t that big of a jump for me to make when there was redistricting. So I think you’re referring to Lori Chavez-DeRemer. She is in the 5th District

Miller: I actually thought that Keizer was in her district. Maybe the maps have gotten me so confused in recent years.

Courser: And can I just tell you, no one can figure out the map, so you’re not alone. The Willamette River divides the district. So, Keizer is very divided right there, and it is in Salinas’s district. But really, honestly, that was not my motivator in whether to move forward or not in that district. We had moved, we literally sold our house. I maintain a P.O. Box., so I do use that address in Keizer, so to your point, I can understand where that confusion would come from. But because I had name recognition, branding and of course, relationships after the redistricting in the 4rth District, that made sense for me to move forward. And that’s how we made our decision.

Miller: You were a member of the Keizer City Council, as I mentioned in my introduction, one member among six. What do you see as your biggest accomplishments in that role, that you would argue are reasons why Republican voters now should send you to DC?

Courser: Sure, great question. There’s seven of us, including the mayor and as a city councilor and being a public servant, to me, it’s very much about public service. This service that I provided to the city of Keizer, my strengths were, of course, for me…and you could look this all of this up on my website, amyfororegon. And I do share all this in more detail. However, I brought over 1,000 jobs to the community of Keizer and local businesses, and I was very much an advocate for law enforcement and of course, the citizens.

When I joined the city of Keizer, it was because I was frustrated with the bureaucracy of government. And I was a single mom, and very passionate about the kids, and making sure that we were serving our community. And at that time when I joined the city council, I was very adamant about making things right, about trying to follow procedure and maybe even change the policies that I thought were not equitable. So I was proud to be a city councilor. But again, I could list the accolades, but the reality is, we were a team and we moved forward on what was best for the city. And I fell in love with the process of serving the people of my community and being better.

I think we fall short as a government, of communicating, of serving the people, of having the resources and the education. And so for me, that became my passion. I was actually asked to run for city mayor and I declined because I felt it was a figurehead position and something that I really have a passion for serving and for being part of the solution. And so for me, that decision to move forward with federal office came because I was actually a foster kid here in Oregon, and pretty passionate about our kids and everything that I’ve done over the 30 years of community service. And I felt like our federal government, though we have the resources and the financial ability, Oregon has a lot of money, [but] we don’t have a lot of accountability. So it was my goal to provide better services and help provide accountability to make sure that our kids are safe, protected and taken care of as we move forward. And that’s what drove me into federal politics.

Miller: Just a few hours ago there was a bipartisan vote in the house to move forward with aid for Ukraine and Israel and other US allies. Would you have voted for it?

Courser: Well, because it’s updated and it has amendments, I honestly can tell you, I’m familiar with all of the legislation that has come through, but I am not familiar with the amendments to that new bill. So that being said, I think it’s really important that we support our allies. I think, and I haven’t read it, so I would hate to comment on something that I couldn’t commit to. But I will tell you, I am a strong supporter of Israel. I’m a strong supporter of our allies. I think America is the greatest nation in the world. It’s time we remind everyone of that, and we need to be advocates for the right thing. And I do firmly believe that we do need to separate each of the issues because we should not lump them into one sum. So, when it comes to supporting our allies, I’m a huge advocate for that.

Miller: You write on your website that you’re 100% pro-life. Do you think that abortion should be legal in the US under any circumstances?

Courser: You know, that’s a great question. And the reality is, that has been a question that has been such a use of division and separation of… they make it a party issue and I really think it’s a heart issue. So I am proudly endorsed by Oregon Right To Life. There’s no changing that, as far as my belief of conception to final breath, but that means respect and dignity for all life, no matter what ages. And so, I am endorsed by them.

I also believe that instead of avoiding the topic, I think it’s a challenging conversation that we need to all unite on and find some middle ground on, because I think it’s a polarization politically that we have engaged in, that we can do differently, we can do better. And I’m a big believer, and I have a lot of experience, I’m 55 years old. I changed, I’ve adopted and adapted to a lot of different changes. I’m very open-hearted. But what I will share is that I do believe in the sanctity of life. And I do believe…

Miller: Let me just – because we only have about a minute and a half left. I mean, this is a concrete question. Would you support a nationwide federal ban on abortion? This is a kind of vote that could very likely come to you.

Courser: Sure. And in that specific question, I do not.

Miller: You would not. So you say you were 100% pro- life, but you wouldn’t support a federal ban on abortion?

Courser: Oh, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I misunderstood the question. Here’s the thing: on federal… first of all, it’s a state issue and I do believe that it coming back to the states was right. I do support, I think we need to have the conversations. I think we need to find common ground. I would say that I’m not an initial, immediate jump to the conclusion that that’s the right thing for everyone. We have to listen to everyone. We have to represent everyone. As your federal representative, it’s my job to represent everyone.

I am pro-life. I am a big believer in crafting legislation that prevents. But we have education now, and data and science that gives us information that we should be basing our decisions on, and we have not done that. So I hope that we could all come together and find unity for that. So that would be my answer to that.

Miller: Amy Ryan Courser, thank you.

Amy Ryan Courser is one of the two candidates in the Republican primary in Oregon’s 4th Congressional District. They are hoping to unseat incumbent Democrat Val Hoyle.

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