Rep. Farrah Chaichi authored Oregon's new law limiting local police cooperation with federal immigration agents. Her Republican challenger, Dan Martin, says local law enforcement should help ICE deport people.

The two candidates for Oregon House District 35, which covers Aloha, Elmonica, Reedville and parts of Beaverton, laid out their positions in interviews first reported by Aloha Free Press on Sunday, Oct. 4. The district represents more than 70,000 people.

Chaichi, a Democrat first elected in 2022, called Aloha "heavily, densely working class" and said affordability is the top concern. She pointed to a lack of sidewalks along TV Highway as a safety crisis.

"Growing up out here, there have been the little memorial crosses all up and down TV Highway my whole life," Chaichi said. "It shouldn't be normal."

Chaichi grew up in the Sexton Mountain area and lives on the border of Beaverton and Aloha. She frames her platform around housing, healthcare and climate. She co-chairs the General Government Subcommittee of Joint Ways and Means and serves as vice chair of the House Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection.

Martin, an Aloha resident since the late 1980s, runs Beaver Express Incorporated, a Beaverton-based courier business he and his wife, Teresa, started in the 1990s. A Navy veteran who served in Vietnam as a medical corpsman, Martin told Aloha Free Press he entered the race after noticing no other Republican had filed. He describes himself as a "Conservative Constitutionalist."

LEAVA and immigration

The candidates split most visibly on HB 4138, the Law Enforcement Accountability and Visibility Act (LEAVA), which Chaichi introduced.

The Legislature approved the bill March 5 with no Republican votes, as OPB reported. The law requires officers to display their name or ID number, agency and badge. It limits facial coverings and restricts what local agencies can share with federal immigration officers.

Chaichi said the law helps residents distinguish local police from federal agents and encourages immigrants to report crimes without fear.

Martin opposes the law. He told Aloha Free Press he does not believe officers should always have to identify themselves and that local law enforcement should cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.

In an April post on his personal X account, Martin wrote that he would work with the federal government and vote to help ICE deport people in the country illegally.

When Aloha Free Press asked Martin about a repost on his X account of a meme calling for the deportation of all Muslims from America, Martin confirmed the views were "pretty accurate" and reflected his perspective.

Washington County is home to roughly 3,307 Muslim residents, according to 2020 data from the Association of Religion Data Archives. At least one mosque sits within HD-35's boundaries.

Taxes and data centers

Martin said fewer taxes and less regulation would lower costs for businesses and individuals. He declined to comment in detail on data centers, saying he did not know enough about the issue but that any data center "should pay for itself."

Chaichi is one of four Democratic lawmakers planning to propose a three-year moratorium on new large data centers during the 2027 legislative session, as the Oregon Capital Chronicle reported in August.

What's on the ballot

The HD-35 winner will serve a two-year term. Depending on their address, Aloha and Beaverton voters may also see the Beaverton City Council Position 1 runoff between Rachel Philip and Evelyn Kocher, and the Washington County Commissioner At-Large race between Nafisa Fai and Pam Treece.

As we reported Oct. 1, Fai and Treece split on housing and immigration enforcement.

The last day to register or change party affiliation is Tuesday, Oct. 13. Ballots go out to in-state voters Wednesday, Oct. 14. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Drop boxes close at 8 p.m.