Matthew Davie

Matthew Davie was born in Stanford, California. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Davis in 2003 and a Ph.D. from Stanford University in 2007.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Matt Davie is a business and nonprofit executive from Bend, Oregon.

He believes that we agree about more than we disagree about, and need to come out of our corners and start working from our shared common ground in order to move forward together.

Matt earned a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from Stanford and a B.S. in the same from U.C. Davis. His career experience includes running strategy at global microfinance nonprofit Kiva, working in the technology and media sector at Sega and Disney, and sitting on numerous nonprofit boards and advisory committees, including Graphite Health, ID2020, and the Linux Foundation.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Politics has become more about our differences than our shared values. It should be no surprise that we can’t get things done – we’re too busy yelling at each other. The problem isn’t that we have differences of opinion. That’s always been the case. The problem is we don’t have real conversations with people who disagree with us. I'm here to help change that. We will move the Democratic agenda forward not by ideological purity, but by starting from our common ground.The economy is constantly evolving, and we've seen that especially in Oregon and our district. Especially over the past 5 years, we’ve seen the impacts of technology, remote work, and population growth substantially change the economics of our communities. We need someone who understands the new economy, and can help make sure that we all share in its benefits, to represent us in Washington.We're at a critical juncture with climate change and the environment. We need to move beyond arguing about how many degrees it’s going to warm or how high the sea level is going to rise. These things are happening. We need to start working on solutions to both mitigate the harm and realize the hidden opportunities of climate change. Over the next decades, we will retool the world’s infrastructure for a renewable future, and this provides massive economic and social opportunities for everyone. Especially here in our district, where we have desert, forest, and valley conditions, the opportunities to revitalize our communities and lead these efforts are massive.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Economy. Environment. Education. Our Rights. Inclusive Democracy.

What legacy would you like to leave?

My life's goal is to help leave the world better than I found it. Even in these hyper-polarized time, I am an optimist and hope to provide an example to other non-traditional political candidates to step into the public service.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I am for reasonable term limits, as are most Americans. We need to start from that and then determine the path to upgrading our Democracy with the broad public support that exists today.