The Oregon Way

I grew up in Veneta. We lived across the road from Vern and Irene. Different generation than my parents. Likely different politics. But we were neighbors first. Always neighbors.

We don’t have to agree on everything. We show up. We listen. We work together. The Oregon Way.

The Oregon Way goes back to Governor Tom McCall, a Republican who worked with a Democratic legislature to pass the Oregon Beach Bill, keeping Oregon's beaches public forever.

My family's move to the Oregon Coast for my husband's job with the U.S. Forest Service coincided with the 2013 federal government shutdown. My husband, along with many other federal employees including Coast Guard, worked without pay during the 16-day shutdown. Everyone went without a paycheck.

But what I remember most is how our community responded. People showed up for one another. You could drop a food donation for Coast Guard families at Fred Meyer. Strangers helped strangers.

That inspired me. It marked the beginning of my civic engagement here. Waldport became home.

In 2017 we attended Senator Wyden's 822nd town hall in Florence as a homeschool civics lesson. It was the first time I heard the Senator talk about the Oregon Way, but I knew what he meant. I'm from Oregon.

I became a news reporter for the Newport News-Times then news director and host of Hotline at YBC Radio stations. I helped keep our communities informed. I chased Senator Wyden through Lincoln County with my digital recorder every chance I had. He always stopped. He

always answered.

My interactions with Senator Wyden track my awareness, my involvement in our communities, and my career.

I caught up with the Senator at the Big Creek Dams in Newport in 2022. He was traveling with then-Labor Commissioner Val Hoyle and State Representative David Gomberg noting the urgency of replacing dams that can fail at a 3.0 earthquake.

Three years ago, I went to work as Congresswoman Hoyle’s Field Representative. I was privileged to

represent her in Lincoln County.

Earlier this year, I attended Senator Wyden's 1,142nd town hall in Florence on behalf of the Congresswoman. I filled in for a Wyden staffer on mics that day.

We need the Oregon Way in Lincoln County. We have real challenges ahead — a budget shortfall, aging infrastructure, a housing crisis. We won't solve them divided. We need leadership that works across differences and rebuilds public trust in county government.

At his town hall in Corvallis last month, I told Senator Wyden that I am running for Lincoln County Commissioner. That I am following his lead. That I believe in the Oregon Way. It’s how I grew up. How I live. How I will serve Lincoln County.

Vote Cheri Brubaker for Lincoln County Commissioner Position 1

📞 Call or text: 541-351-1260

✉ cheri@VOTEforCheri.com

Paid for by Cheri for Lincoln County