Oregon Candidate Questionnaire
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| Candidate Name: | Brent Barker |
| Office Candidate is running for: | Commissioner of Labor and Industries |
| Campaign Website: | www.BrentBarkerforOregon.org |
| # | ISSUE | ANSWER |
| BUREAU OF LABOR CANDIDATE QUESTIONS | ||
| Please answer accordingly using the drop-down on the right of the question. The optional explanations are limited to a couple of lines and will not appear on comparison guides with other candidates. | ||
| 1 | Do you believe the costs of BOLI could be reduced? | Yes |
| Costs can always be reduced or aligned with education and training a qualified workforce with marketable skills | ||
| 2 | Do you support requiring state agencies to use E-Verify to establish eligibility to work in Oregon? | Yes |
| 3 | Do you believe the U.S. Constitution defines and limits the power of government? | Yes |
| The United States Constitution establishes and limits the authority of the Federal Government over the states | ||
| 4 | Do you support a minimum age of 16 for hazardous work in agricultural employment, except on parent owned farms? | Yes |
| 5 | Do you support further increases in the minimum wage? | Decline |
| Enforce minimum wage laws, including those that provide for periodic automatic increases - determined by the legislature | ||
| 6 | Do you support the state mandating what benefits health insurance companies must offer? | Yes |
| Often the insured is not aware of the options available in health insurance | ||
| 7 | Do you support protecting individuals from lawsuits who provide charitable medical care? | Yes |
| Except in the case of severe negligence in providing reasonable care | ||
| 8 | Do you support taxing a person's estate upon the death of the individual? | Decline |
| Do not support any increase in estate taxes | ||
| 9 | Do you support the First Amendment rights of business owners to run their business in accordance with their religious beliefs? | Yes |
| If discrimination of an individual is not present a person has the right to locate goods and services that reflect their values | ||
| 10 | Do you think BOLI is statutorily obligated to get involved with compliance for COVID-19 mandates? | No |
| This is the role of the Governor | ||
| 11 | Do you think penalties given to business owners are excessive to the extent it affects Oregon's economy? | Decline |
| Penalties must be commensurate with the potential harm to the public, if any | ||
| 12 | Do you think BOLI should first help businesses develop programs to bring them into compliance before penalties are imposed? | Yes |
| Always provide mitigating steps so not to harm successful business operations and workers | ||
| 13 | Do you think business owners settle prematurely (before adequate investigation) in order to avoid accumulating penalties for each occurrence? | Yes |
| Business owners are focused on running a successful business | ||
| 14 | Do you support more government involvement in requiring businesses to participate in apprenticeship programs? | Yes |
| Educate business owners, high schools, community colleges on importance of training qualified workforce with marketable skills | ||
| 15 | Do you believe racial disparity is a major problem in Oregon? | No |
| However, it is typically a local or neighborhood issue, if any | ||
| 16 | Do you support Oregon's sanctuary state law? | No |
| It is an invitation for crime, black market economies that usurp wages for those with less | ||
| 17 | Do you support requiring businesses and unions to inform employees that union membership is optional? | Yes |
| Always provide options to employees and their livelihood | ||
| 18 | Do you support a legislative review of the operation and adequate funding of the Wage Security Fund? | Yes |
| Fund works to ensure those abused in legal employment can be remunerated-i.e. employer went out of business without paying wages | ||
| 19 | Do you believe that all citizens have adequate access to legal help in a BOLI investigation? | No |
| Dedicated legal counsel can become very expensive or out of reach for some | ||
| 20 | Do you think "reasonable accommodations" for religious leave allows an employer to ask for verification of a religious event or tradition? | Yes |
| Verify or abuse may occur | ||
| 21 | Do you support repeal of Oregon law designating candidates for Oregon Commissioner of Labor as non-partisan? | No |
| Our state needs less politics and more bi-partisanship making ends meet | ||
| 22 | Do you believe that the BOLI system needs to be reformed? | No |
| BOLI needs to be enhanced focusing on excellent service, delivering resources, and results | ||
| 23 | Do you support the Federal government and FEMA usurping control over Oregon Governor's powers in ORS 401.188 in times of emergency? | Decline |
| Times of emergency state and federal resources must work together with the state being familiar with local health and safety | ||
| 24 | Does the will of the people through petitions or legislator's persuasion sway your application of law? | Yes |
| The people of Oregon must be considered as new information comes to light | ||
| NARRATIVE QUESTIONS | ||
| The following question will not appear in the Candidate Comparison Guide, but will be included in your Individual Candidate Guide. | ||
| 25 | Where do you draw the line between 1st Amendment rights and the laws against discrimination? | |
| Defer to the courts on balancing 1st amendment rights and discrimination | ||
| 26 | If elected, what will you change regarding mandate compliance? | |
| This is the role of the Governor. Mandates that protect criminals and vagrancy impacting business operations and job creation should be considered | ||