Affordable Housing.
Universal Childcare.
Accessible Transit.
Why I'm Running
I love Corvallis; it's an amazing town filled with even more amazing people, the people the City serves. The City of Corvallis can effectively combat economic stagnation and rising fascism to protect and assist us all, and that's why I'm running. It is unacceptable for the City to do anything other than use every tool at its disposal to meet the needs of our community. This means making living here affordable, from rent to childcare. This means ensuring none of our taxes fund genocide. It means prioritizing our needs and responsibly managing budget problems, placing the people first in every decision made. I'm confident in my ability to place Corvallis's needs above all else in my life and utilize every tool at the City's disposal for our town.
Fight on All Levels
Systemic Change
The challenges we face in Corvallis are seen across the nation. Living is becoming unaffordable, exhausting, and overbearing. The modern crisis is reflective of a deeper issue in America than the Trump Administration. America's problems are the problems of a country controlled by big business and the ultrawealthy. From bribing politicians to manipulating the legal system, the elite will continue to steamroll society until working Americans are empowered to govern.
Evrek looks to find ways to expand democracy and representation to turn the interests of working people into public policy.
State Reform
City Council can effectively improve the lives of people in Corvallis. Allowing parents, retirees, and students to be squeezed tighter and tighter in the midst of rising fascism and economic stagnation is a failure on the most fundamental level.
The City of Corvallis is constrained in its ability to help its citizens with statewide bans on local initiatives like rent freezes. Corvallis can address its problems without burdening working families and local business. Evrek will lobby the state government to legalize better policies for its citizens and support reforms to alleviate the cost of living crisis in Corvallis.
Our Rights
As the federal government pushes its fascist agenda and attacks people based on their race, gender, sex, ability, sexuality, and migrant status, it is paramount that Corvallis defends its community and keeps its vulnerable peoples safe.
Evrek will fight to prevent the federal government from encroaching on the civil rights of the people of Corvallis, work with community partners to stop ICE from terrorizing Corvallis residents, and protect our environment from the federal government's attacks on our air, land, and water.
Palestine
Palestine is an apartheid state suffering a genocide at the hands of US and Israeli weapons. The systemic, long-lasting, and intentional attacks against human rights and dignity in Gaza and the West Bank are undeniable and appalling. The US's complicity and assistance in these War Crimes is unacceptable. Evrek fully supports boycotts, divestments, and sanctions on Israel, ending the economic support of Israel's genocide against Palestinians.
Policies
Housing
Corvallis struggles with unaffordable and inaccessible housing. Shelter is a basic human right. No person in Corvallis should ever have to be unhoused.
Evrek will focus on
- Developing Affordable Housing: Establishing benefits such as tax exemptions, rent subsidies, and zoning density bonuses to incentivize affordable housing development.
- Building Public Housing: Developing publicly owned housing projects to replace landlord middlemen with municipal management to provide affordable, dignified, and accountable housing to Corvallis.
Childcare
Parents and children deserve to be parents and children. Families cannot devote the time and resources they need to develop while burdened with expensive childcare. No family should have to choose between financial stability and quality care for their children. No child should be deprived of adequate care; no parents should be forced to sacrifice family time to take care of their kids.
Evrek will strive to
- Build Universal Preschool: Create a free universal preschool program in Corvallis modeled after Multnomah County's Preschool for All program.
- Expand Access to Childcare: Support the development of childcare facilities in Corvallis through subsidies and public-private partnerships.
- Support Summer Camps: Expand summer camps run by the Department of Parks and Recreation to provide affordable community and physical activity for 4–12 year-old children while school is out.
Policing
Despite violent crime rates well below Oregon average, Corvallis spends 14% of its budget on police, making it one of the highest-funded police precincts per capita in Oregon. Higher police presences are proven to have no effect on crime rates. Despite this, the city is proposing to spend over $40 million of city and county funds to build a new jail and precinct in Corvallis instead of addressing the major issues facing our city.
The Trump Administration has gutted the Voting Rights Act, disenfranchised millions of voters, demonized queer and especially trans people, and terrorizes immigrants nationally and within Corvallis through ICE abuse and abductions. The widespread use of AI surveillance technologies threatens our privacy. Our rights must be protected from these fascist anti-human attacks.
Evrek will fight to
- Spend Funds Responsibly: Oppose wasteful increases in police budget such as the new station/jail and ensure money is spent to address the real needs of Corvallis as efficiently as possible.
- Promote Anti-Racist Police Trainings: Introduce anti-racist and accountability measures for Corvallis police to minimize the harm biased policing imposes on communities of color.
- Aid Unhoused People: Work with community partners to replace inhumane sweeps with safe alternatives to help and protect the unhoused.
- Protect Privacy: Pass a resolution banning the use of AI surveillance systems such as Flock.
- Maintain & Expand Sanctuary Status: Reinforce Corvallis's sanctuary status and work with community partners to protect our citizens by keeping ICE out.
Transportation Infrastructure
Corvallis is committed to creating a multi-zoned, walkable, accessible, clean, and progressive city with a flourishing culture of student life, commercial, and natural zones. Affordable, accessible, and safe transportation infrastructure is the heart of Corvallis.
Evrek will work to
- Build Safer Roads: Promote policies that regularly assess and restructure traffic infrastructure to protect pedestrians, bikers, and commuters.
- Increase Walkability: Support policies and funding plans that prioritize pedestrian and biker speed and integration to assist the 30% of Corvallis residents that deal with problematic congestion.
- Support Public Transit: Improve our public transit system routes and schedules to ensure they effectively meet our community's needs.
- Support Transportation Workers: Maintain and protect the wages, benefits, and security of bus drivers and city transit staff to allow them to safely serve the population of Corvallis.
Government Responsiveness
The role of our local government is to manage resources to meet the needs of city residents. City government cannot serve us if it is unresponsive and slow to listen to the people. Corvallis must have healthy and frequent exchange between city government and city residents.
Evrek will
- Increase Dialogue Between Residents and Representatives: Introduce legislation to mandate public events such as Ward Meetings and Public Forums to give Corvallis residents accessible avenues to direct representatives. Push for the creation of a volunteer assistant position for City Councilors that facilitates communication between councilors and constituents.
- End The Gridlock: Center cooperation and effective governance for the people to end City Council's stagnation.
- Increase Transparency: Build clear and effective systems to assess City Manager and city staff efficacy.
Funding
Corvallis's budget is stretched thin, and going into debt is not an option. All City Programs must be funded without increasing the burden on the working people of Corvallis.
Evrek will fund Corvallis by
- Restructuring the Tax Burden: Implementing progressive taxes that require large employers and wealthy residents to pay their fair share to the city supporting them.
- Sustainable Budget Management: Prioritizing programs that benefit city residents and support lasting development.
Photo by Rachel Surgalski
About Me
Evrek Smith is a pre-law junior at Oregon State University. She most recently engaged in electoral politics phone banking for Zohran Mamdani and afterwards organizing and phone banking for Kat Abughazaleh. Evrek has project and budget experience through her high school First Tech Challenge program and the Biomedical Engineering Chapter at OSU.
Evrek is firmly of the opinion that the government exists solely to serve its citizens—large systemic issues such as the affordability crisis and homelessness are failures of our government. She's running to address the problems plaguing Corvallis. From housing to AI surveillance, Evrek is dedicated and determined to help the people of Ward 4 and Corvallis as much as is physically possible.
If you want to see Corvallis improve, want parents to be able to afford having children, or just don't want to waste $40 million on an obsolete jail, vote Evrek for Ward 4!
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Aug. 29th
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Photo by Jeremy Lines