PRAIRIE CITY — The Republican nominee for governor says Oregonians are hungry for change after years of Democratic control that have seen an explosion in crime, homelessness and the state budget.

Christine Drazan, who emerged from a crowded GOP field in the May primary, was in Prairie City on Wednesday, Aug. 17, to tour the recently reopened Prairie Wood Products mill during a campaign swing through Eastern Oregon.

In an interview with the Blue Mountain Eagle, Drazan laid out the reasons she is running for a post that hasn’t been won by a Republican since 1984.

Democrat Tina Kotek, independent Betsy Johnson and Drazan are the leading contenders for the governorship, the first election in the state’s history when the top elected office was virtually guaranteed to go to a woman. All three women have previously served in the Oregon Legislature.

Drazan has released a “Roadmap for Oregon’s Future” that outlines the steps she would take to address various issues throughout the state including homelessness, drugs and mental health, police funding, tax cuts, deregulation, school reforms and government accountability. Details of her plan can be found at christinefororegon.com/roadmap.

The former House minority leader said a monopoly of state government by Democrats has led to a desire for change among Oregonians, change Drazan feels she is capable of providing.

“Over the course of the last 10 years, Oregonians know their lives have gotten worse and not better, and what we’re experiencing right now — whether or not it is in our school settings or on our streets or in our communities, whether or not people feel safe, or whether or not a loved one is suffering from addiction — all of those things have happened under the leadership of the Democrats that are running for another term,” Drazan said.

“There is a need in our state to have good government — that we give people back this sense that the government is for the people and by the people and not to the people and at the people. That’s what we’ve been experiencing lately. I’m committed to addressing homelessness and improving the quality of life for all Oregonians across our whole state. … I want every part of Oregon to feel respected and that they have a seat at the table,” she added.

Drazan said she isn’t concerned about a scenario in which she wins the governorship while the Llegislature remains overwhelmingly Democratic, which could hamper her agenda as governor.

“I’m not worried about that at all,” she said. “I think that the benefit of our political life is that the governor’s office has a unique role to provide balance. That is an opportunity for Democrats, if they should keep the majority in the Legislature, to be able to negotiate with someone with a different philosophical approach to government than they have.

“I believe in limited government that is efficient and effective and performs core functions — strong social safety net, strong schools, good roads — and also government isn’t everything to everybody. We allow for that space where people have choices and they live the consequences of those choices. That’s not the Democrats’ approach. That’s how our state government has doubled in size in one decade. … Our little state budget for Oregon to serve 4.2 million people is well over $100 billion, and that’s happened over 10 years.”

One of Drazan’s first acts as governor would be to declare a homelessness state of emergency.

“There is a list of things I’m going to do on Day One and that is one of them because I believe the crisis that we’re seeing on our streets can be addressed and must be addressed,” Drazan said.

A housing first approach to homelessness doesn’t provide accountability when addiction and mental health are directly tied to homelessness, according to Drazan. Giving communities the ability to enforce the ordinances that are on the books and protecting their quality of life are some of the ways Drazan thinks homelessness can be addressed in a better way than it is now.

Drazan also said she would rescind Gov. Kate Brown’s cap and trade executive order, calling it an abuse of power. Another action Drazan said she would take is asking for the resignations of various agency heads.

“We need to have a real conversation about functioning government. The DMV needs to work. ODOT needs to build roads. Our foster care system needs to take care of kids. We should have an expectation that government serves Oregonians and functions at its highest possible level, and I need to be able to have confidence in the leadership of those agencies,” Drazan added.