The candidates of the Corvallis child care coalition: Top row from left: Asa Jorg (Ward 7), Bre Irish (Ward 1), Evrek Smith (Ward 4). Bottom row: Christine Dashiell (Ward 5), Greg Shiffer (Ward 6), Briae Lewis (Ward 2).
CORVALLIS, Ore.— A coalition of city council candidates has stepped forward in Corvallis, Oregon, seeking to increase the availability of affordable and accessible child care in the city. The group includes candidates in six of Corvallis’ nine wards, potentially creating a majority on the city council to spearhead a policy addressing child care should they all win their races.
Bre Irish, a former staffer for Sen. Ron Wyden and active community volunteer, is running for the city council position in Ward 1. In Ward 2 is Briae Lewis, a daycare director and the incumbent city councilor. Evrek Smith, a university student and trans woman, is running in Ward 4. In Ward 5 is Christine Dashiell, a working mother. Ward 6 is being contested by Greg Shiffer, a longtime public servant. And in Ward 7 is Asa Jorg, a university student and child of an immigrant mother and union father.
Although Corvallis’ city elections themselves are nonpartisan, the candidates this coalition has brought together belong to a number of political parties, including the Democratic Party, the Communist Party USA, and the Green Party, signaling the popular unity behind policies supporting child care.
In Corvallis, child care is one major aspect of a broader cost of living crisis affecting the city. Child care costs have gone through the roof nationwide, and the situation is no different here. Costs aren’t the only barrier, though; there is also shortage of services overall, with only 20% of young children having access to a spot in the city’s system. Corvallis is also one of the most rent-burdened cities in Oregon, with many of the city’s residents already struggling to make ends meet, even without children to care for.
It’s been known for decades that child care and preschool are critical developmental supports for children, with access to these services greatly improving life outcomes. Yet, left to the private sector, this essential service has been neglected in Corvallis and across much of the state; 23 of Oregon’s 36 counties are classified as child care deserts for children aged 0-5, and 34 out of 36 classified as deserts for children aged 0-2. Experts say this has been a contributing factor to declining public school educational outcomes and enrollment rates across the state.
Where existing child care facilities close and new ones fail to get off the ground, the candidates in this coalition say it is the job of the city government to step in and ensure access. The candidates emphasize supporting the availability and affordability of child care as a key factor for helping working families in Corvallis by putting more money in their pockets, granting greater flexibility in family planning, and supporting early childhood development.
While the slate is running primarily on child care, another contentious topic is the city budget. Like many other small cities across America, as Corvallis’ economy and tax base stagnates, it faces an upcoming budget shortfall that threatens many of the city’s services and staff.
Part of the reason for the deficit is an extremely regressive tax policy that leans heavily on city fees. Meanwhile, the largest employers in the city—Oregon State University, Samaritan Health Services, and Hewlett Packard—benefit from exemptions that allow them to pay no income taxes and little to no local taxes.
In the past few years, some voices in local politics have responded to the city’s budget deficit with calls for cuts to city services and more tax cuts for businesses. In place of this neoliberal mindset, where development is opposed to the interests of workers, the child care coalition has offered a vision where development and support of workers’ interests are inseparable.
Supporting a social program such as child care will require additional taxation, the group of candidates acknowledge, and they’ve been careful to emphasize that this burden must not be taken on by the same working families this policy is intended to help.
The candidates have proposed progressive taxation policies seeking to fund childcare policy with tax revenue from the city’s wealthier residents. There is precedent for such a policy in Oregon. In 2020, Multnomah County passed legislation establishing a program for universal guaranteed preschool access with an income tax that affected only the top fraction of the county, providing optimism about the possibility of winning a similar policy in Corvallis.
The coalition is part of an unusually crowded election season in Corvallis, as the local and national situation has driven many to get more engaged in local politics. With several longtime city councilors stepping down, Corvallis will see at least six new faces on its nine-member council, a change which many residents hope will bring an end to the gridlock and inaction of recent years.
For decades, policy in the United States has responded to economic crises by sacrificing the security of working people in favor of tax cuts and business bailouts for the rich. Now, working people are demanding a shift, and the Corvallis child care coalition hopes to be part of that shift—prioritizing people over profits.
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