Frank Beavers’ Personal and Political Statement

I come from humble rural origins, a tiny tributary in the Neskowin Creek Watershed on the North Oregon Coast, I was raised in a lodge by a single mother (farther murdered by a dairy farmer). I was home schooled and grew up to become a home builder, architect, sculptor and sometimes poet.

I am independent, and unlike the other independent running for Governor, don’t advocate massive clearcutting as a means of making Oregon a better place. We already tried that and look where it got us.

I have a fine family and we live along Johnson Creek in SE Portland. We’ve got a nice home I built myself made from local lumber that I milled. Our carbon footprint is zero.

I realize the mention of Portland drives most rural Oregonians into a lather of hate and resentment, but we all live in one state and inhabit its watersheds and must find a way to heal these extreme divisions. They are killing our future.

If there is one issue closest to my heart, it’s the homeless crisis. Look at it this way: the homeless need homes. Let’s build them. Let’s acknowledge we need to act with urgency.

I might also add that I have never used a computer or phone. I prefer the tactile way of life and building real, lasting things with hard work. We can’t rely on high tech, the Internet and messiahs of gadgetry to solve our problems. They are part of the problem!

Let’s elect someone who believes in governing, which of course eliminates all Republicans. And let us elect someone who doesn’t accept almost a million dollars from Phil Knight, which leaves out one independent candidate. Let us elect a Governor who doesn’t traffic in conventional progressive wisdom, always challenges personal and political assumptions, and never uses jargon, which of course leaves out most Oregon Democrats in power.

It is time, my fellow Oregonians, to choose a new path for our state, a path that follows the way of the beaver and the clarity of the haiku. We shall look to this wondrous creature of nature for the realities and metaphors we need to get Oregon going in the right direction. We shall look to the haiku to cut the crap from the language and inspire immediate action.