Republican Jo Rae Perkins runs for U.S. Senate seat

Perkins is challenging incumbent Senator Jeff Merkley for the seat.

NewsWatch 12 spoke to her on Thursday to find out her priorities and perspectives.

Will hear from both of them during this newscast.

Here is brian's interview with perkins.

It's your voice, your vote.

This election republican jo ray perkins is hoping to take over one of the oregon u s senate seat or challenger.

Of course, incumbent senator jeff merkley.

Merkley has been in the senate since 2008.

Joey perkins joins us now.

Thanks so much for being with us.

Thank you very much.

It's great to join you.

So tell us a little bit about your priorities.

Should you win in november?

Well, my priorities are one is to get back to doing what the role of federal government is according to the constitution.

Um, my opinion, the federal government has gotten just a little bit too big.

And so, uh, that will save us tax dollars.

But one of the biggest priorities is taking care of our forests, the federal force, making sure that the properly manage so that these, uh, out of control wildfires, and as much as humanly possible by putting back into practice, um, better forest management.

What do you feel has not been well managed?

And what changes would you propose?

Well, what has not been well managed is taking care of all the underbrush because of the amount of lawsuits from the environmental groups.

Uh, there, the federal government seems as all we're nurses, we're not going to log and we're well below sustainability on what is being locked on a federal force, and we need to get back in there.

Cut some trees, get the end of fresh out.

And i think it's going to go a lot farther.

We will slow down the size of those federal fire, those wildfires and federal horse, which will make a huge difference.

And it'll create money into the economy versus taking money out of the economy.

As you challenge, uh, senator merkley, he has a long record in the us senate.

What qualifications do you think your background brings and why do you think those would be superior to senator merkley's?

Senator merkley has spent the majority of his working career working in the government sector.

I'm a main street, american i'm married to a carpet installation contractor.

We've been through the good, the bad, the ugly.

We understand what most everyday mainstreet or ghanians go through.

My background is in the financial planning sector, real estate, and worked at oregon state university.

So i've been grasp of how government budgeting works.

And so i bring real life experience to washington dc, which is really how our country was founded.

How do you think that will influence your legislative agenda?

Moving forward?

I take a look at things from a common sense approach and again, from a constitutional approach, what does the constitution say?

The role of the federal government is not what we want it to be, and that's what we need to be taken a look at.

And that's how i'm going to vote as according to what the constitution says, not, not what, some special interest group, once that i'm going to legislate for all our guardians, not just a few.

Well, i guess that would direct me to that.

How would you address specific issues as it relates to voters in southern oregon?

What would your agenda be for this part of the state?

For that part of the state?

We have a lot of natural resources, um, in the southern oregon part of the state president trump just signed a executive order, opening up mining.

There's a lot of rare earth minerals in southern oregon, and we need to get that opened up so that when it'll create jobs.

And then we need to look at processing plants for those minerals that are mined and see what we can do to open up this plants here in oregon, instead of sending those abroad.

Well, mine, i brought outside of the state mining and some issues can present some fairly significant environmental issues.

What are your positions on protecting southern oregon's environment while balancing that with the need to increase jobs?

Well, there's new money techniques that are coming on board, and we need to take a look at those money techniques and make sure that they are environmentally sound that we're not going to, to, uh, do anything.

That's gonna really upset the, um, the, the, uh, the ecosystem.

Now there's a chance that the republicans could hold onto the senate.

Would that change your legislative agenda and how you approach that?

Given that you're representing a state that for a long time, and i said, a majority of democrats representing it in washington, how would keeping the majority in the senate help you?

And what would your priorities be at that point?

My priorities are not going to change based on.

On whether the republican party, which i, of course i hope holds the, the senate or not.

Um, my priority is to the people of oregon.

And again, based on what the constitution says, that i'm very solid on that.

I'm a, i'm a constitutionalist.

And i think that's important again, that we take a look at that first is not.

Uh, and, and i, and i'm on record of saying that if, if a bill is proposed, that is clearly unconstitutional and i cannot get that unconstitutionality out of it.

I would have to vote.

No, and it doesn't matter who sponsored that bill.

And i'm on record of saying that multiple times and i'm on record again.

So again, the job description is in the constitution and that's what i'm asking for the voters to vote for.

As we approach the end of our interview, i want to give you the opportunity to respond.

Your name has been linked to q anon.

I wanted, i wanted you to explain exactly whether that is an accurate description of your current beliefs, if not, why it's been connected and if it is why you do support that theory, i suppose.

So, so it's really cute.

It's not cute or non it's really just cute.

Um, but it is anonymous.

And so i support.

The q team to, to publish what they want to publish underneath our first amendment, freedom of the press, freedom of speech.

If we have freedom of press, we must have freedom to, to also read what is put out there.

What i find interesting is that so much of the mainstream media has a problem with q and the anonymous information, which by the way, most of it are, is reprints of mainstream media.

But yet it's the mainstream media that often quotes anonymous sources.

To protect them.

And so i find it rather contradictory that they don't like this two team reposting their articles.

So i'm going to support whether i agree or disagree with somebody's views, values, beliefs, or opinions.

They have a constitutional right under the