4th CD candidates ask for your votes at Eugene City Club

John Q: One of the key races in the 2026 midterm elections is for the U.S. House of Representatives in Oregon’s 4th Congressional District. The district includes the two college towns of Eugene and Corvallis and the entire Oregon coast from California to Lincoln County. Speaking at the Eugene City Club Friday, here are the three candidates’ opening statements. Democrat Val Hoyle:

Val Hoyle (Democratic Party): Thank you. First of all, I want to thank the City Club for having this and all of you for being here.

I’ve been a union member. I’ve had a long career in the private sector and I come from a background where I was unlikely to go to college, nevermind end up in Congress.

I struggled through school with a learning disability and worked two jobs to put myself through college. Nothing in my life has ever come easy.

I’ve always had to work hard, but my father taught me that all work has value. You know, whether you’re picking up the chairs or you’re chairing a meeting, it doesn’t matter. Each thing that you do, you should do your best. And that’s what I’ve tried to do.

When I came to Oregon, I wanted to make sure that my children had a better opportunity for education and support than I did, and that they wouldn’t have to struggle as much as I did. So I got active in my community, not to become an elected official, not to have a name and a title, but rather to get things done.

And I worked in the community, in these communities and I earned the support and I stepped up to run for office when I saw that was the best way that I could possibly advocate for my children and our community’s children to have better schools.

So, since I have been in office it truly has been one of my greatest honors to be the Congressperson of this district. And this is one of less than 40 districts where you can’t get elected with just one party or another.

So we have what, 43% of the voters in this district are not Democrats or Republicans. This is a district of working people who want someone that will advocate for them, someone that will listen to their needs; government that will work for them, but is not overly intrusive.

And I’ve delivered. I’ve delivered more than $300 million in investments to this district, and this year my staff has brought back $8 million from agencies that were owed to Oregonians in this district.

I’m proud of the constituent work we do. We approached this work not dependent on who voted for me or what their positions are, but that I ran to represent the district from Curry County all the way to Lincoln County.

Again, it has been my greatest honor and I hope to earn your support to have a third term.

John Q: Republican candidate Monique DeSpain:

Monique DeSpain (Republican Party): We, the people are responsible for the government we choose. Your presence here tells me that you take that responsibility seriously for your families, for your businesses, and your communities. So thank you all for being here.

This election is about change for Oregon. Oregon’s career politicians have had decades to deliver the results that we so desperately need, yet they have failed.

Lip service does not make life affordable. Excuses do not produce good jobs, affordable housing, accessible medical care, childcare, or safe neighborhoods. Leaders who fail to recognize that subsidized housing is not the sole solution for the homeless, addicted and mentally ill crisis in our community, they must step aside and allow real and compassionate solutions for our communities.

When our basic needs go unmet, we deserve answers. We deserve accountability, and we deserve a change in leadership. For 15 years, Rep. Val Hoyle and her friend and political ally Tina Kotek have shaped the laws and policies that we all live with today.

And now, Val Hoyle is advancing those same failed policies to Washington, D.C. and neglecting the issues that are important to us right here in Oregon.

It doesn’t have to be this way. You have a choice. Sending the same career politician to Washington, D.C. means choosing the same failed policies right here at home.

Through the 30 years of Air Force service, that and my work as an Oregon attorney, I have taken responsibility, solved problems, and delivered results for the people that I represent.

I’ve traveled every corner of the district listening to the people of Oregon. I have lived, worked, and raised my two boys here, right in Eugene for nearly 30 years. I know the people who work here.

I know the people who farm and raise their families across Lane County and the 4th District as a parent. And as a lawyer representing businesses and families and victims of crime, I’ve listened and I’ve fought for you often against an imposing and uncompassionate government, now as a candidate offering to represent you in Washington, D.C..

I’ve listened to your concerns and I care about what you need. All people, whether Republican, Democrat, Independent, Libertarian, or unaffiliated voters, they share a vision of affordability, prosperity, public safety, transparent, accountable government, and that’s my vision as well. My priorities are your priorities.

My work in Congress will be for you, not for a party, not for a special interest, not for a president. If you want change, you need to change your congresswoman. I’m Monique DeSpain. I’m ready to work for you. It’s time for a change. Thank you.

John Q: Green candidate Justin Filip:

Justin Filip (Pacific Green Party): Thanks everybody. I thought I’d start by just telling you a little bit more about myself. I’m a graduate of the University of Oregon. I’m actually the only person on this stage who has graduated from an Oregon public university.

I’ve got a bachelor’s degree in psychology that prepared me to be a problem solver and to consider all the variables involved in making decisions. I think that’s very important.

I’m also an educator trained to teach social studies, which includes history, geography, economics, political science, and government. I’m a team builder and a leader who gets results, and I’m running independent of both major parties.

I’m expecting that we will talk today about a wide range of subjects, but the two major parties don’t really have any credibility in any of them. They have failed to deliver for the American people.

Whether it’s less war or addressing the homeless crisis or addressing general affordability and inflation, both of these parties have played an active role in getting us to where we are today, as has this whole two-party system.

I’d like to thank the City Club of Eugene for inviting me. I was excluded from the previous candidate forum in Coos Bay. My opponents each approached me to say that they regretted I wasn’t included.

But this is a great example of the two major parties pretending to care about democracy or that they don’t have any power to affect change. They clearly do.

I find it hard to believe that they could not have thrown their weight around to make sure that I was included in that event, but they chose not to.

They pretend to care, but do they?

John Q: And here are the closing statements from each of the candidates. Val Hoyle:

Val Hoyle (Democratic Party): Again, I’d like to thank the City Club. I’d like to thank the candidates that have stepped up to run. It certainly is not easy, and I am grateful to the City Club that you actually included everyone that is running for this seat.

As I’ve said previously, it’s one of the greatest honors of my life to be in Congress.

I am not like most of the people that I serve with. I don’t come from the same background. I don’t have the same pedigree. I, you know, don’t follow the same rules. I don’t go in and act like the kinder, gentler person when I see that things are wrong. I’m also not going to be the person that stands up that you see on TikTok and works to shake my keys in the limelight.

That’s not what I do. I show up and get to work, and it’s why I have been recognized as one of the most effective freshmen in Congress and in my sophomore year, effective at constituent services and taking care of the people in this district. I don’t look for praise.

I certainly did a lot of work for 40 years before I ever had a title. I don’t need a title to do the work. I will continue to show up for this district to work on making sure that we have more housing at every level, that we have jobs, that we address climate change. It is real.

I will continue to work with our Tribal nations whose support I am very, very grateful to have; on bringing more of our public lands into trust so that this government will not sell off our public lands ’cause they are ours.

I’m going to work towards good paying jobs because on the South Coast people were promised a just transition after the timber industry crashed and all we did was just transition into unemployment.

Somebody said to me, we used to export lumber, and now we export our kids. These people deserve to have jobs and a path to the middle class. Mostly I want to work to restore our democracy because right now we have an administration. We have a speaker of the house that have said that they want to overturn our elections by undermining our faith in the electoral process by making it harder for people to vote.

So we’re going to have to fight to make sure we vote, to make sure that our ballots are counted, and to make sure that our elections are certified, and understand that this administration and Donald Trump will do anything that they can because he can’t accept losing and he doesn’t want to be held accountable.

And my job is to make sure that every legal eligible voter gets to vote and that whoever they vote for ends up in Congress. I would be privileged to earn your support, and to serve in Congress—in the majority with Democrats—for a third term.

John Q: Monique DeSpain:

Monique DeSpain (Republican Party): Thank you for being here and taking seriously your responsibility to decide who will represent you. I began today with ‘We the people,’ because the power to change our government belongs to each of us, and it belongs with you.

You do not have to tolerate failure. You don’t have to tolerate or accept the disastrous Tina Kotek and Val Hoyle policies that have made it nearly impossible for working families to get ahead and have caused retirees and businesses to flee Oregon and close their doors. You should expect more.

You do have the free will to vote for whoever stands before you. And today you’ve heard very different visions about our future and why we are where we are.

If you keep your current congresswoman, nothing is going to change, regardless of which party is in control. Finger-pointing and blame is what you’ll get. Flip-flopping on the issues that are important to you. You’ll continue to have an ineffective representative who is AWOL across the district. (For those of you who are not in the military, absent without leave.)

Oregonians deserve to be seen and heard and represented by their congresswoman.

I offer a new direction, backed by a lifetime of service, responsibility, and results for the people I’ve represented. Thirty years in the Air Force, over a decade in senior leadership taught me that leadership means accepting responsibility and following through and delivering results even when it’s tough.

Even when the environment isn’t perfect, as a lawyer, I’ve stood up for people and I’ve represented them. I’ve given them a voice, and I’ve brought people in conflict to resolution and solutions, and I’ll bring that same commitment to you when I am representing you in Congress.

I’ll work to remove the barriers that drive up costs and hold back housing, hold back businesses and hold back good, reliable medical care.

I’ll support law enforcement. I’ll support healthier forests and demand accountability around how your tax dollars are being spent.

And I’ll work with anyone, with any party to deliver the results we need here in the fourth district because your priorities will always be my priorities.

My service will be to you, not to a party, not to a president. And if you want a better future, choose it. Just imagine if you did. Imagine if you set aside your party jerseys and you voted for leadership with integrity, with honesty, and a proven record of delivering results. I’m Monique DeSpain and I ask for your vote.

I’m ready to work for you. It’s time for honesty, integrity. It’s time for results. It’s time for change.

John Q: Justin Filip:

Justin Filip (Pacific Green Party): I’ve got to disagree with Monique. We have a chance, okay? You just have to believe, okay? This idea that you only have two choices is ruling class propaganda. They want you to believe that to keep you in line. I want you to think for yourselves.

I want to thank my partner, Nora, who has been very supportive of me and helped run this campaign. I couldn’t have done it without her; my parents who have been very supportive. I want to thank them. I want to thank the City Club.

I want to thank every reporter who’s reached out to me, and I want to thank everyone who has offered words of encouragement or support because I get told all the time, this isn’t possible. I get told all the time about what we can’t do.

I’m here to tell you what we can do, but you have to change your mindset first, okay? You have to change your mindset and what you think is possible. If you think all that’s possible is staying on this two-party ride, which just brings us more and more war and more and more wealth inequality, I don’t think that that is going to do it.

We’re going to need a radical revolution eventually. It’s going to be, I’m going to tell you, it’s going to be ballot or bullet. It’s coming. The wealth inequality is too great. The masses are getting restless.

I want to do it peacefully. We’re going to have to take our government back. It’s been captured by billionaires and corporations that run these, both of these parties.

If you consider yourself a progressive, you saw what the Democratic Party did to circle the wagons to prevent a Bernie Sanders presidency. Anything that’s going to threaten the current establishment, they’re going to try to squash. They’re going to tell you it’s not possible. You have to believe.

John Q: Candidates for Oregon’s 4th Congressional District Val Hoyle, Monique DeSpain and Justin Filip speak at the Eugene City Club just as ballots begin arriving in the hands of voters.