One candidate leads with healthcare access, rural opportunity and environmental protection; the other with local development control, policing, tax restraint and parental rights. Compare how each would fund services and accommodate needed housing.
Draft; human review pending.
Key
Said
A campaign statement, in our summary or their words.
Voted
A recorded Council roll call.
— Not found
Not in the sources we reviewed. A research gap, not a position.
Prioritizes police support, local control of housing and land use, parental rights and restraint on transportation taxes.
Would let local communities decide housing and growth, not state density rules.
Supports tools, training and support for law enforcement.
Opposes the gas-tax, vehicle-fee and payroll-tax increases; cut waste first.
Would prioritize road maintenance and safety over new transportation taxes.
Summaries are our one-line readings of what each candidate says. Issue lines are short forms of the positions in each brief, AI-drafted and awaiting human review; “—” means not found in the sources we reviewed.
Four votes that split this Council
No candidate in this race sits on Council today.
— Not foundNo featured votes are selected for this race yet.
Candidate briefs, A–Z
House · District 51 candidate · Oregon Legislature · November 3, 2026
Darla Mead
Oncology nurse, community advocate and foster parent.
Photo: Campaign photo · darlameadfororegon.com
In their words
Said: As a lifelong Clackamas County resident and registered nurse, I’ve dedicated my life to serving our communities.
Voters’ pamphlet
Candidate statement · Filed for the November 2026 state voters’ pamphlet; extracted September 21, 2026
First sentence of the filed statement; the heading “CARING FOR OUR COMMUNITY, STRENGTHENING OUR FUTURE” is skipped.
The verbatim opening of their voters’ pamphlet statement, the same rule for every candidate. We chose nothing.
What they say they would do
Our summary of their platform, in our words
Wants healthcare access less dependent on employment, stronger rural economies and protection of natural resources.
Expand affordable care and separate health-insurance access from employment.
Support career education, housing and lower burdens on small businesses.
Protect watersheds and forests, invest in clean energy and reduce disaster risk.
Our reading
Our interpretation, not their words
Healthcare access
Rural opportunity
Expanded care and rural development with environmental protection; separating health coverage from employment needs a financing and delivery model the site does not yet give.
Said: New construction that fits community affordability standards rather than developer profit, staying within existing urban growth boundaries, reusing buildings, upgrading infrastructure, and pathways from subsidized housing to stable homes.
How
Said: Stay within existing urban growth boundaries, repurpose existing buildings where possible, upgrade outdated infrastructure to support development, and limit corporate short-term rentals.
Measured by
— Not in their sources
Crime, drugs and who responds
— Not foundNot found in the sources we reviewed. That is a research gap, not a position.
Taxes, the kicker and the budget
Coverage regardless of job
What
Said: Lower household health costs by making insurance access independent of employment, and bring accounting skills to finding budget improvements.
How
— Not in their sources
Measured by
— Not in their sources
Roads, transit and climate
Clean energy, forests
What
Said: Support Oregon’s clean-energy goals, keep incentives for the shift to clean-energy transportation, protect forests and watersheds, tighten rules on water-hungry data centers and reduce wildfire risk.
How
Said: Preserve and expand incentives for clean-energy transportation, expand transmission from remote to populated areas, and enforce existing environmental laws.
Measured by
— Not in their sources
The choices this office faces
Every candidate in this race is asked the same 8 questions. Darla Mead is on record on 5, with 3 still open. A question without an answer is a research gap, not a position.
No answer we could find
Let the state keep part of a future kicker refund for wildfire or other one-time needs?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
Keep the 2024 approach of recriminalized possession plus county deflection programs, and fund them in 2027–29?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
Keep adding state limits on federal immigration enforcement, on top of Oregon's sanctuary law?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
On record
Vote for a 2027 transportation package that raises the gas tax and vehicle fees again?
Said: Says rural roads are in disrepair and the budgets to fix them are insufficient; she does not say how she would raise the money.
On the topic; the exact choice is unsaid.
Close the 2027–29 budget gap with new revenue, or with cuts alone?
Said: Would bring accounting skills to finding budget improvements and wants schools funded beyond federal dollars; she does not say whether she would raise revenue.
On the topic; the exact choice is unsaid.
Make data centers pay their own way: separate power rates, an end to tax breaks, or a pause on new ones?
Said: Says data centers are being built in rural neighborhoods where they deplete fresh water and that existing regulations are insufficient to manage them.
Keep paying for state-funded shelter beds and the homelessness emergency after June 2027?
Said: Wants pathways from subsidized housing and rental assistance to long-term stable housing; she does not address shelter funding.
On the topic; the exact choice is unsaid.
Spend more state money on wildfire prevention and firefighting?
Said: Says her family evacuated in the 2020 fires and she will fight for solutions that mitigate natural disasters; she does not say how much the state should spend or how to pay.
Mead · creating local economic opportunityCandidate statement · Website reviewed September 21, 2026Campaign position. Claimed results and numerical premises have not automatically been independently verified.
Mead · enforcing environmental protectionsCandidate statement · Website reviewed September 21, 2026Campaign position. Claimed results and numerical premises have not automatically been independently verified.
Mead · Meet DarlaCandidate statement · Website reviewed September 21, 2026Campaign position. Claimed results and numerical premises have not automatically been independently verified.
Oregon Secretary of State · filed candidate statement · PDF page 263Candidate statement · Filed for the November 2026 state voters’ pamphlet; PDF printed September 9, 2026; reviewed September 21, 2026Written by the candidate or campaign for the state voters’ pamphlet, which is not published until September 29, 2026.
House · District 51 candidate · Oregon Legislature · November 3, 2026
Matt Bunch
Candidate for House District 51.
Photo: Campaign photo · mattbunch51.com
In their words
Said: It has been a true honor to serve as your State Representative.
Voters’ pamphlet
Candidate statement · Filed for the November 2026 state voters’ pamphlet; extracted September 21, 2026
First sentence of the filed statement (exactly 12 words, so one sentence); header fields skipped.
The verbatim opening of their voters’ pamphlet statement, the same rule for every candidate. We chose nothing.
What they say they would do
Our summary of their platform, in our words
Prioritizes police support, local control of housing and land use, parental rights and restraint on transportation taxes.
Give law enforcement tools, training and support.
Let local communities shape growth rather than requiring higher density statewide.
Oppose gas, vehicle-fee and payroll-tax increases; prioritize road maintenance.
Our reading
Our interpretation, not their words
Local control
Police support
Local discretion over growth, police support and no transportation-tax increases; the site does not say how housing demand or road needs would be met without new revenue, and it describes him as the sitting representative while the research object lists him as a candidate.
Said: Let residents and local leaders decide housing, growth and land use rather than state-required high-density development.
How
— Not in their sources
Measured by
— Not in their sources
Crime, drugs and who responds
Tools for police
What
Said: Give law-enforcement officers the tools, training and support they need, with community-based solutions rather than new bureaucracy.
How
— Not in their sources
Measured by
— Not in their sources
Taxes, the kicker and the budget
No transportation taxes
What
Said: Opposes the transportation package’s gas-tax, vehicle-fee and payroll-tax increases; cut waste instead of adding taxes.
How
Said: Cut waste and prioritize essential infrastructure, road maintenance and safety improvements, instead of adding new taxes.
Measured by
— Not in their sources
Roads, transit and climate
Maintain roads first
What
Said: Prioritize road maintenance and safety improvements over new transportation taxes.
How
— Not in their sources
Measured by
— Not in their sources
The choices this office faces
Every candidate in this race is asked the same 8 questions. Matt Bunch is on record on 4, with 4 still open. A question without an answer is a research gap, not a position.
No answer we could find
Let the state keep part of a future kicker refund for wildfire or other one-time needs?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
Make data centers pay their own way: separate power rates, an end to tax breaks, or a pause on new ones?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
Keep the 2024 approach of recriminalized possession plus county deflection programs, and fund them in 2027–29?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
Spend more state money on wildfire prevention and firefighting?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
On record
Vote for a 2027 transportation package that raises the gas tax and vehicle fees again?
Said: Opposes the transportation package’s gas-tax, vehicle-fee and payroll-tax increases; would cut waste and prioritize road maintenance and safety instead of new taxes.
Close the 2027–29 budget gap with new revenue, or with cuts alone?
Said: Voted no on SB 1507 on February 25, 2026; his statement says he is fighting to protect tax relief, including eliminating state taxes on tips and overtime.
Keep paying for state-funded shelter beds and the homelessness emergency after June 2027?
Said: Calls growing homelessness a serious concern and wants community-based solutions without new bureaucracy; he does not say whether to renew state shelter money.
On the topic; the exact choice is unsaid.
Keep adding state limits on federal immigration enforcement, on top of Oregon's sanctuary law?
Said: Voted no on HB 4138 on February 24 and March 6, 2026, the bill requiring officers to identify themselves and limiting masks.
Bunch · aboutCandidate statement · Website reviewed September 21, 2026Campaign position. Claimed results and numerical premises have not automatically been independently verified.
Oregon Secretary of State · filed candidate statement · PDF page 261Candidate statement · Filed for the November 2026 state voters’ pamphlet; PDF printed September 9, 2026; reviewed September 21, 2026Written by the candidate or campaign for the state voters’ pamphlet, which is not published until September 29, 2026.
