It seems like just yesterday when I was up in the woods behind Laurelwood golf course, hearing paintballs whizzing past my head, only to look up in a tree and see Chris Edwards picking off my teammates with his slingshot. I hope that he hasn’t changed now that he has entered the world of State politics.

It is a refreshing sight to see the young blood taking over up in Salem…look out, because The Lane Bus Project is about to start releasing press…

The Lane Bus Project

For Immediate Release
February 13, 2007

NEWS RELEASE

“Chris Edwards and the Oregon House bring much-needed youthfulness to politics”

Oregon House district 14, which comprises West Eugene, Santa Clara, Junction City, Cheshire, and Alvadore, has a new representative. Chris Edwards, a Democrat and fifth-generation Oregonian, is one of five members of the Oregon House of Representatives under the age of 35 elected last November.

With some of the highest youth voter turnout levels in the nation in the 2004 and 2006 elections, it may not be a surprise that Oregon has one of the youngest legislative bodies in the nation. The Edwards campaign was supported at a grassroots level by the Bus Project, a local organization looking to make Oregon a progressive model for the rest of the country.

Before beginning his political career, Edwards received his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Oregon State University, where he served in student government. After graduation he spent time managing his family’s forest products business where he learned firsthand about the struggle of Oregon’s working families.

Edwards serves on three legislative committees: Business and Labor, the Joint Ways and Means Subcommittee on General Government, and is the vice chair of Government Accountability and Information Technology. His top legislative priorities include maximizing government efficiency and accountability, implementing pragmatic healthcare solutions, and improving public schools for all of Oregon’s children.

Edwards is currently working to address the needs of Oregon’s senior citizens, fighting forced annexation, and advocating for mobile home residents. In January Edwards called on his fellow representatives to pass House Bill 2096, which would protect the state’s 1,300 manufactured home parks and their residents from displacement and competition with developers.

Born in Roseburg, Edwards spent several years in Bandon before his family moved to Eugene, where he attended middle and high school. He and his wife of eight years, Ali, have a son, Simon, and a dog, Lily.

Contact: Branden Johnson
Lane Bus Public Relations Intern
branden.johnson@busproject.org
(541) 954-9533

Don’t miss Chris at his townhall meeting at the Irving Grange this Saturday to find out more.