Erickson promises to debate Schrader – someday

‘Fresh faces’ seek exposure in 5th Congressional Disrict race

By Steve Law

The Portland Tribune, Aug 26, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (2 Reader comments)

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Republican Congressional candidate Mike Erickson will agree to debate Democratic opponent Kurt Schrader, said Erickson campaign manager Jeff Harvey.

On Aug. 13, Schrader’s campaign issued a public challenge to Erickson, proposing five joint debates in Portland, Salem, Keizer and Lake Oswego. So far, Erickson hasn’t publicly responded to the call or agreed to any of the proposed events.

But Harvey said in a recent interview that his candidate will agree to debate – although the details have yet to be worked out.

“We are definitely going to be debating as many as we get Mike and Schrader to, where their schedules don’t conflict,” Harvey said.

The two men are the leading candidates in the race to replace Rep. Darlene Hooley, D-West Linn, in Oregon’s 5th Congressional District. The district stretches from Southwest Portland to Corvallis and includes most of Clackamas County and all of Marion, Polk, Tillamook and Lincoln counties.

Schrader proposed a Sept. 12 appearance before the Salem City Club and an Oct. 8 event with the Keizer Chamber of Commerce. Schrader also proposed pending events before the Lake Oswego Chamber of Commerce and a televised debate in Portland on KGW, jointly sponsored by The Oregonian newspaper, plus a fifth debate to be arranged.

Both men are relatively unknown in the district, and voters have yet to see them face to face.

Erickson, who lives in Lake Oswego, is a chief executive of a transportation services company.

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