Local candidates take the stage at AAUW Candidate Forum

At a recent Candidate Forum held at Astoria High School, candidates for various Oregon legislative seats and the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners addressed community questions on a range of topics. Astoria School District Superintendent Craig Hoppes moderated the event, which was hosted by the American Association of University Women (AAUW). Notably, the three candidates running for the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners—Mike Brosius, Mitra Vazeen, and Glenn Gaither—all explicitly stated their opposition to building a data center in Clatsop County. Their reasons included concerns over the required infrastructure and the significant energy demands such facilities would place on the region. This unanimous stance from local political hopefuls indicates a potentially challenging political environment for any future data center proposals in the county. The forum also covered other issues such as immigration, education, business friendliness, and transportation infrastructure, with candidates like Rachel Armitage, Courtney Bangs, Tripp Dietrich for State Senate District 16, and Adam Dean, Christian Honl, Max Sherman for State House District 32 sharing their platforms and answering audience questions.