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House Speaker Julie Fahey is running in a two-way Democratic primary race against Erik Glass. Fahey was first elected in 2016 to the 14th District House seat. Glass did not respond to requests for comment.
Oregon House Speaker Julie Fahey is running for another term of office – 10 years after she was first elected to the Legislature.
In the May 19 Democratic primary, Fahey faces Erik Glass, who did not respond to requests for comment or questions from Lookout Eugene-Springfield.
Julie Fahey
Age: 47
Occupation: Oregon House speaker and state legislator
Residence: Eugene
Prior elected experience: State legislator, first elected in 2016
Education: Bachelor’s degree in chemistry, University of Notre Dame, 2000
Family status: Married
Fahey, as House speaker with a long legislative tenure in her district, is expected to easily advance to the November general election.
The state House District 14 includes western Eugene, Veneta and portions of unincorporated Lane County.
Fahey said she’s working to address the high cost of living across the board, with a focus on housing, health care, groceries, child care and utilities.
“Families are struggling to afford the basics,” Fahey said in an interview with Lookout. “That is my current area of focus in the Legislature.”
Her priorities include policies that will drive down rent costs and increase the housing supply, she said.
As speaker, Fahey said, one challenge will be to respond to the Trump administration’s cuts to Medicaid funding. The Medicaid-funded Oregon Health Plan provides health care, dental care and behavioral health care to lower-income Oregonians.
“If I’m reelected, one of the big challenges next year will be the Oregon Health Plan and how to respond to the fact that the federal government has cut $12 billion in funding from Medicaid funding to the state of Oregon over the next few years,” Fahey said.
Fahey, who studied chemistry in college, has worked as a business consultant and co-founded a human resources consulting firm before her election to the Legislature. Her academic work in the sciences informs how she approaches policy work.
“I have a background in math and science, and so my approach to policy work has always been very evidence-based,” Fahey said. “For example, what does the evidence say about the ways to increase reading scores for our youngest learners? What does the evidence say about instructional time and the importance of that? So that has been my mindset as we do policy work in the Legislature.”
The winner of the May 19 primary contest will face Republican Kevin Burton, a Eugene teacher, in the November election.
Erik Glass
Glass, who couldn’t be reached for comment or an interview, has said he is a small business owner who specializes in courier services and freight loading and unloading.
Erik Glass
Age: Unavailable
Occupation: Small business owner
Residence: Unavailable
Prior elected experience: None listed
Education: Unavailable
Family status: Unavailable
Glass lists a Portland street address as his campaign’s mailing address. Glass’ home address is redacted from view in campaign filings, which is allowed under state law for political candidates.
Connor Radnovich, a spokesperson for the Oregon Secretary of State’s office, said Glass’ eligibility to run for the seat was verified through his voter registration records, which show he’s been registered to vote in House District 14 since 2017.
Public voting records show Glass has been a registered voter since 2001 and previously was registered in Multnomah County before Lane County.
His political affiliations have shifted during that time. In 2012, Glass went from being an unaffiliated voter to a registered Democrat.
