>La Grande Observer | Union and Wallowa Counties' News Leader

The La Grande Farmers Market had more than music, produce and socializing this past Saturday: A high-profile politician paid a visit, as well.

Jeff Merkley, a candidate for the U.S. Senate in this fall’s election, was campaigning in town on his “100 Cities for Change” tour. La Grande was the 66th he’s visited.

Merkley, speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives, is challenging incumbent Sen. Gordon Smith, a Pendleton-born Republican who has served since 1997.

Merkley said that, while the war in Iraq remains “a very intense issue,” he hears more about health care and economic issues from residents of the many towns he’d visited.

He said medical provisions need to be bolstered, especially in rural areas.

“You really don’t have health care if you have to travel 200 miles,” he said.

Merkley said he would support Sen. Ron Wyden’s Healthy Americans Act, which includes a provision to ensure private health coverage for all U.S. citizens.

Attracting and retaining physicians in the less populated regions of the state is part of Merkley’s “Grow Oregon” plan, he said, which involves bolstering physical infrastructure, services and jobs.

As far as infrastructure is concerned, he explained, “To have a prosperous rural economy, we need to invest in transportation, we need to invest in water and we need to invest in communication.”

Merkley is a strong proponent of alternative energy sources such as cellulosic ethanol.

“I want to build the rural economy by investing in renewable energy,” he said.

Merkley, the son of a millwright, said he supported thinning in second-growth forests to reduce congested timber.

In addition to funding research into renewable energy supplies, Merkley said he wants to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil by, for example, regulating all U.S.-based trading of commodities and requiring oil companies to use drilling permits on public lands and ocean floors or lose them.

“We need to be independent of the oil sheiks,” he said. “Essentially, they have a chokehold on us.”

Merkley was not reserved in his indictment of his opponent, Gordon Smith.

“He isn’t out and about,” Merkley said. “A senator needs to be listening to people and taking the heat for their votes.”

Despite his criticisms, Merkley maintained that his campaign has not been releasing ads since the primary season closed and would likely not do so until after Labor Day.

Merkley said the contentious back-and-forth seen on television derives from Smith and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, a national organization.

“In this type of campaign, your words are twisted,” Merkley said.

He defended a $34 million remodeling project at the state Capitol, which Smith has blasted in recent ads. Merkley said a bipartisan effort brought about the furniture additions, designed to last for decades, and that his office was not included in the upgrade.

He’s challenged Smith to a series of eight debates across the state — including one in Pendleton — but, so far, the invitation hasn’t been accepted.

Prior to visiting the La Grande Farmers Market, Merkley spoke at an open house at the Union County Democrats’ downtown office at 1203 Adams Ave.