My name is Matt Lindland and I appreciate this opportunity to introduce myself to District 52 voters. House District 52 is a very diverse district that covers the Sandy, Eagle Creek area and stretches up the Columbia Gorge to Cascade Locks and Hood River.

The issues facing District 52 are wide ranging and diverse. Highway 26 has become dangerous and even deadly. The town of Cascade Locks needs an economic shot in the arm. The towns of Sandy and Hood River are growing and land use needs to reflect the growth.

I don’t pretend that I have all the answers. Anyone who says he has a complete knowledge or all the answers on all of those issues is probably a politician.

I am not a politician.

I am an Oregonian, just like you. I was born and raised in this area and I care deeply about my neighbors and the place I call home.

I am a small businessman who works with other business leaders to promote sports events in Oregon, and I have a keen understanding as to what it takes to create jobs and bring outside dollars into our economy.

Like most of you I understand what it means to wake up early and work hard to excel at something in the hopes of becoming good at what I do and providing for my family.

I am a professional athlete who has worked hard to become one of the top ranked mixed martial arts fighters in the world. I worked hard to earn a silver medal in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney Australia.

I know how frustrating it can be to deal with the bureaucracy when running a business, working with the education system or, dare I say it, working on my own property.

Unfortunately, politicians in Salem have made lives worse for the people of Oregon in general and district 52 in particular. Just last session the legislature raised your taxes and fees so they could increase government spending by 20% -- while the income that you and I work so hard to earn has failed to keep pace.

Just wait until next session. Some special interest groups are going to be pushing to hike the state gas tax! Imagine - at a time when Oregonians are paying more than $4 dollars a gallon at the pump, they will ask for more! I am pledging to District 52 residents that I will not support an increase in the gas tax for any reason.

Democrat majority leader Dave Hunt has made it perfectly clear that he will be working hard to get a three fifths majority in the House so that they can raise your taxes without any Republican votes. If the Democrats get 36 House members, your taxes will go up. It is that simple.

I will not vote for ANY tax increases. I have signed the Taxpayers Association of Oregon pledge to not vote to raise taxes. I invite my opponent in this race to do the same. If she doesn’t, you can be dead certain that she will go along with the Democrats and raise your taxes the first chance she gets.

In a time of increasing economic instability, it is wrong to be so much as talking about tax increases. Just the threat of tax increases stifles business expansion and job growth.

I believe it is time to send a clear message to businesses that are constantly making decisions on where to expand: Oregon is open for business. Politicians running for office in this cycle need to send a clear message that they are committed to providing a government that will work “with” businesses and not against them.

There are other issues that I have not mentioned here and I hope to hear more from you in the days and months ahead and in the end I hope that I will have earned your vote this November.

Matt Lindland
Candidate State Representative House District 52
PO Box 22
Eagle Creek, OR 97022