Ben West 🇺🇸 🦅 🇺🇲🦫🌲

The gas tax is $0.40/gallon, which has steadily increased since 2017. The defeated gas tax was an additional $0.06/gallon. Additionally, there is a $0.26/gallon hidden Clean Fuels Program tax. The public, rightfully so, doesn't trust @OregonDOT due to chronic incompetence.

@KevinIsRight99 The gas tax is $0.40/gallon, which has steadily increased since 2017. The defeated gas tax was an additional $0.06/gallon. Additionally, there is a $0.26/gallon hidden Clean Fuels Program tax. The public, rightfully so, doesn't trust @OregonDOT due to chronic incompetence.

@BenforOregon Voters upset about 6¢ for necessary budgeting, but not the nearly $2 more we are paying because of Trump and Trump alone?

Except we can remember 90 days ago, before the Iran conflict, when OR still had the 4th highest gas in the US. Why, because your buddies and Gov. Kotek in Salem consistently increase fuel taxes and hidden fuel costs. Voters just said, "NO!" to another Dem gas tax increase!

My plan to end homelessness—accountability, sobriety, code enforcement and help for people who can’t help themselves. We're not going to solve the homelessness and addiction crisis by focusing on housing first. We've got to cut off access to fentanyl and support programs that help people get clean and stay clean. Tune in to @KOINNews tonight at 6 p.m. to learn more about my focus on recovery and accountability.

@SuzLopez @GeorgesonBrent @alice_kinzer I was respectful, disagreed, and took a hard vote. The hotel didn't happen, but I did build a recovery system of care, an entire care continuum, and now we are breaking ground on a multi-acre recovery campus. You seem to be stuck in the past and ignore the vast improvements.

@BenforOregon @GeorgesonBrent @alice_kinzer Ben, When you came into office you alienated a group of Clackamas county constituents who worked very hard with project Turnkey. They put in a good faith effort.

I have called and conceded my race. I called Sonya and wished her the best of luck. Our county is a bellwether of what moderate politics looks like. The pendulum swings every four years, and we've seen Commissioners wash in and out and serve non-concurerent terms. So I'm not surprised by the pendulum swinging again. It doesn't negate the work I've done and will continue to do on homeless issues and tolls, and on keeping our community affordable. It's unfortunate that the campaign wasn't as much about ideas as it could have been. Voters deserved better than my opponent's negative campaign based on issues not rooted in truth. But I accept the outcome, will work hard in other ways to serve because the work isn't done, and I know from great Oregon leaders who lost elections and came back to do more, like Dennis Richardson, that one election cycle doesn't change the trajectory of our lives; it changes the vehicle in which we deliver outcomes for our neighbors. I know I will have left Clackamas far better than I found it, and that is the goal of public service. Thank you so much to all my supporters, volunteers, my fellow commissioners, staff, and residents of Clackamas County.

IP 28 is an all out assault on Oregonians’ way of life pushed by Tina Kotek’s allies. It criminalizes ranchers, farmers, meat producers and threatens to kill thousands of jobs. It would mean the end of hunting and fishing in Oregon, killing not only traditions and ending access to an essential source of food, but butchering natural resource-based industries that support hunting and fishing. This is Tina Kotek's Oregon, where agenda-driven political ideologues crush families who are already struggling. IP 28 would force them to face rising food costs and job losses at a time when they can least afford more challenges. We will fight this attack on our traditions, economy and livelihoods - it’s time for Oregonians to come together to defeat the extremists who want to destroy our state.

Hey, Republicans, NAVs, and every pragmatic Oregon voter, get off the couch and vote! Vote down ballot. Turnout matters, and we have a state to save, and I refuse to cede it to extremists with a host of bad ideas! Fight! Show up for Oregon!

@tarenfeist @PamelaSpeaksNow Maybe this will finally rally sane pragmatic voters to get off their ass and vote, and vote down ballot!

BREAKING NEWS: IP28 organizers have now submitted signatures ABOVE the minimum threshold required to qualify for Oregon’s November ballot — though signatures still must be officially verified by the Secretary of State. IP28 would remove major exemptions from Oregon’s animal cruelty laws that currently protect hunting, fishing, farming, ranching, pest control, breeding, and standard livestock practices. If passed, it could effectively criminalize everything from raising backyard chickens for eggs to exterminating rodents in your own home. Even supporters openly acknowledge the goal is to eliminate many practices involving the killing of animals for food, sport, farming, and pest management. This is no longer just a signature fight. Now it becomes an education fight — because most Oregonians have NO idea how sweeping this proposal really is.

@GeorgesonBrent @alice_kinzer Well I had large bipartisan support, built the entire system Clackamas now uses to address the homeless crisis, and spearheaded the recovery campus. I am proud of my record. However, sometimes falsely trashing your opponent with negative ads because you dont have a record works.

@BenforOregon @alice_kinzer I think you have good ideas and I think some dems have good ideas. I try not to focus on the negative but on what I want to see. Most of my time is focused not on politics but on community building. Historical societies work with all sides.

@GeorgesonBrent @alice_kinzer As for you thinking I am diminished or will be less engaged because of a county commissioner loss, you dont understand me or who I am.

You have a lot of opinions. If you want to grab coffee, I am down. DM me. I don't agree, but I am always open to constructive conversations. If you were balanced in your opinion, you may have a different narrative about my public service. You're rarely critical of those who have caused the state's decline.

@GeorgesonBrent @alice_kinzer Nah, that isn't it, but I am good and will still be fighting for Clackamas and a better Oregon.

@alice_kinzer @BenforOregon No he lost because he did not read the tea leaves that Clackamas County is changing fast. There are more left leaning liberals now and their priorities are different than his. He could have won if he championed some of the things they wanted.

@akcharlene @oregoncitizen_ @RepSalinas 🤔

@BenforOregon @oregoncitizen_ @RepSalinas Run against her

I live in OR's 6th District. My member of Congress is @RepSalinas (Dem). Today, she voted AGAINST H.R. 1958, which makes any non-citizen deportable for committing fraud against the govt. The legislation targets welfare fraud. Passed 231 to 186. I want a new member of Congress!

@xArmorofGod BTW, you could have just called me. I cannot get to every post on social media. I have given my personal cell number to everyone. I shared it with my constituents. Check your DMs.

@BenforOregon I dream that someday before im dead I can share the experience of voting in person with my children like I got to do with my family before the election that changed it all.

@xArmorofGod I hate to say it, but yes, they are agitators that lack credibility and integrity. However, they are also pissed off voters. There are a lot of us. Being pissed off is not enough.

@BenforOregon Well i tried to understand your stance months ago and got zero reply, Our elections are anything but secure. So lets get on the same page and do something to save this failed state. Are you sure there agitators or just angry voters like myself.

@SteveLomax1 @tiger_success @RepSalinas Not yet

@BenforOregon @tiger_success @RepSalinas Yeah she’s a nut. I’m sure we’re stuck with her for another 2 years because the Republicans won’t put anyone up.

@ldpetchell @RepSalinas She won't. See my post where I concede.

@BenforOregon @RepSalinas Ben I'm in Clackamas County. I voted for you! Has County counting stopped? Will there be a run off in November between you and Fischer, or did she win? Please tell me she didn't win! If she did, I worry for Clackamas.

@OregonLeve89473 @RepSalinas I still got some fight in me.

@BenforOregon @RepSalinas You’re surprised? Best bet.. relocate

@Ryanmcbee4 @RepSalinas 🤔

@BenforOregon @RepSalinas You should run for congress next cycle in 2028