Oregon House District 9 GOP primary | Cribbins vs. Lynn

Oregon’s State House District 9 runs along the central coast from just north of Florence to just south of Coos Bay. Boomer Wright, the current state representative, is stepping down at the end of his third term, leaving an open seat for two Republicans and one Democratic challenger.

Republicans Troy Cribbins and Claire Lynn are competing in the May primary. Democrat John Ezra Scheirman is running unopposed in his party’s primary. 

The rural district skews older and poorer than the rest of the state. The average age in District 9 is around 51, about 10 years higher than the state average, while the median household income is 20% lower, according to the Oregon Legislative District Fast Facts website. 

The local economy is supported by the three-legged stool of timber, fishing and tourism, Wright said in a late March interview, but suffers from a shortage of affordable housing, limited access to health care, and a lack of good-paying jobs. 

Cribbins and Lynn share many of the same concerns as they look to fill Wright’s shoes in Salem. Both support smaller government, lower taxes, and a relaxation of regulations they say hinder local business growth. 

Lynn declined interview requests, saying in an email that she would talk after the May 19 primary. 

But on the Hooked On Oregon Radio Show, she said she felt prepared for the job in part because of her experience working in the state Legislature. Her website says she is currently doing policy work in the Oregon House Republican Office. 

“I know how policies are drafted. I know how the amendment process works and have the relationships,” she said on the podcast.

Cribbins describes himself as a pragmatic believer in the free market system and someone who would bring private-sector and government experience to the job. 

“What I would like to do is see a much smaller, much more efficient government and let the private market do as much as they could,” Cribbins said during an interview at his home in March. Improving access to health care for rural residents and improving public schools are two of his other priorities. 

For Cribbins or Lynn, winning would almost certainly mean being in the minority. The Oregon State House is dominated by Democrats, who hold 37 of the 60 seats, compared with just 23 for Republicans. Wright, who will have served for six years in the minority when he steps down next January, sees an important role for Republicans in the House. 

“I think we’re the brakes. You know, as the train heads down the road, we are the brakes that slow things down to take a look at what’s happening,” he said. 

The two candidates appeared together at a Republican candidates’ debate in Coos Bay in early March. During a round of “rapid-fire” questions from the debate moderator, Lynn and Cribbs agreed on most issues. They both support gun rights, would repeal House Bill 3115, which limits a city or town’s ability in Oregon to restrict where someone can sleep or sit, and fully support U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in its efforts to arrest undocumented immigrants. 

They differed on two issues: Lynn described herself as proudly pro-life. Cribbins said while he was personally opposed to abortion and would support limits on access, it was, he said, an issue best left to the woman.  

They also disagreed on mail-in ballots. Cribbins said he would not support eliminating them. Lynn didn’t directly answer the question, but said she supported showing an ID to vote. 

Troy Cribbins

Every summer growing up, Cribbins would visit his grandparents in Myrtle Creek. “They were my heroes,” he said. 

His grandfather worked multiple jobs; he split cedar rails for fences, owned a log truck, and had a grocery store. The work ethic shaped Cribbins’ view of the world.

Cribbins ran his own physical therapy company for eight years before becoming administrator of Pacific Home Health & Hospice, a home health agency in Coos Bay. He also serves as a city councilor in Coos Bay. 

Cribbins believes in the free market system, but takes a pragmatic approach, drawing on his experience as a small business owner and the dual tug of his grandfather’s work ethic while growing up with an alcoholic father and a mother who would struggle as a single parent after they divorced. 

As a state representative, he said he would work for smaller government. 

“I think we try to be everything for everyone. And I just don’t know that that’s financially sustainable,” he said. The government, he believes, should allow private industry to drive the economy.

“I am frustrated with waking up in the middle of my community and seeing all the potential that’s here and the devastating effects that the overburdensome regulatory and taxing policies have had on our community.”

His priorities, if elected, include changing land-use policies and eliminating or at least modifying the Corporate Activity Tax established by the state in 2020 as an additional tax on commercial income over $1 million. He sees the tax as anti-growth, punishing companies that become successful, rather than supporting them and fostering growth and job creation.

He believes land-use policies have become a barrier to allowing for good stewardship of the land. 

“Yeah, I want clean water. But if an industry or an entity comes in and they check those boxes for what’s there, that should be enough,” Cribbins said. “That’s what we designed. You met these requirements, check. You met these requirements, check. Move the project forward.” 

He believes a streamlined system would allow for large-scale economic development, such as the Pacific Coast Intermodal Port project proposed for Coos Bay.

“I would argue that the people that live in these communities, the timber community, the fishing community, the small business community, they are the best stewards of these resources.”

He also wants to improve access to health care in the rural communities of District 9 and find ways to improve Oregon’s public education system. 

“We can’t be one of the highest spenders of education in the country and have our results be among the poorest.” 

Cribbins acknowledges the reality that he will likely be in the minority party. 

“You’ve got to be in the building. You can’t do anything if you’re not there having the conversations. And I think the conversations need to be centered around practical solutions. At the end of the day, you’ve got to deal with what you have, and you’ve got to work to make the best product.”

Claire Lynn

On her website, Claire Lynn is described as a “7th generation Oregonian and a proud Siuslaw High School graduate.” It says she has worked for the city of Florence, attended Oregon State University, and worked in the Oregon State Legislature and in government in Washington, D.C.

Wright, who decided to retire from the House at the end of this year, has endorsed Lynn. He said he has known her family for decades and worked with her grandmother, Kay King, in the Siuslaw School District. 

“I watched Claire grow up in Florence and be a phenomenal young lady,” he said of Lynn. “She knows the game, and there is a game, and there is a way in which you have to build things. You have to build trust, you have to build relationships, and all those things are important.”

Her primary opponent, Cribbins, described her as “super-bright” and is sure she will be successful in the future, but he believes his decades of experience in health care and running his own business make him the best candidate in this moment. 

He said Lynn has an insider’s perspective from her time working for the Legislature, while he brings an outsider’s perspective. 

Lynn’s website lists the high cost of living, lack of jobs, public safety and education as her top priorities. It says she would “address Oregon’s Corporate Activities Tax,” abolish the state’s clean fuels program and believes the state should remove its estate tax. She also supports increasing the harvest levels on national forests in Oregon, and, if possible, on state forest land as well. 

This money, the website says, could be used to pay for services such as the sheriff’s department in rural communities. 

Lynn was interviewed on the Hooked On Oregon podcast in March. She made her case this way: “We have to have somebody who is going to stand firm on the issues and be a vocal advocate,” she said. “I have the relationships and the experience to get to work on day one.”