Benjamin Watts

State Representative, 15th District

Democrat, Independent
https://www.benwattsfororegon.com/

City where I live: Albany

Skills: Ben currently serves on the Greater Albany Public Schools budget committee to ensure that critical educational and support programs are funded.  Previously, he worked as a corporate IT Operations Manager and served in the United States Army for 5 years, including a one-year deployment to Iraq.

3 things I will do if I win:

1. 1 in 7 Oregon children suffer from food insecurity. During the pandemic era, schools served to distribute food to children who need it. I'll work with school districts to expand those programs and create distribution networks to get food into the hands of hungry Oregon children.

2. I will work to house our homeless veterans, providing transitional housing, physical and mental healthcare, addiction treatment, job retraining, and help entering permanent housing. As we find success with our homeless veterans, we'll identify challenges, solutions, and establish a model to expand to the greater community of unhoused Oregonians.

3. We must also increase the amount of housing at all economic levels. I'll work with builders and community leaders to identify opportunities to add housing from apartments to single-family homes, so we can make housing more affordable and the dream of home ownership more achievable.