Roy Kaufmann

Roy Kaufmann earned a high school diploma from University City High School, a bachelor's degree in international relations from the University of California, Davis in 1999, and a graduate degree in international relations from the University of San Diego in 2001.

His career experience includes working as a communications consultant.[1][2]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I'm a father of four, an immigrant, a first-generation college graduate, and I've spent his career advocating for Oregonians. For more than twenty years I've helped Oregon leaders and public officials communicate clearly with the people they serve. I've seen the good and the bad in state government, and I understand that the best leaders remain skeptical of powerful interests and always think for themselves.

Right now, Oregon’s MAGA Republicans are more focused on aligning with Trump than with their constituents. They seek to dismantle the institutions, rights, and protections that generations of Oregonians fought to build. How can the Oregon GOP stand up for you when they’re busy bowing down to Trump? Your hardworking family deserves better.

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?

Fight for family farms!

HD18 runs on agriculture. The farms, nurseries, Christmas tree farms, vineyards, and grass seed farms that define our landscape are families, legacies, and the core of this community's identity and economy.

We need to protect what our farming families have built. We need to cultivate a new generation of farmers, growing food for Oregonians and feeding grateful customers around the world. We need to double down on agricultural and natural education. In a world increasingly disconnected from the land, Oregonians have made it clear: we want to stay connected to ours.Fix Our Healthcare System

Oregon has spent decades building toward something most states only dream about: a healthcare system where almost everyone is covered. In 2025, we achieved a 98% insurance coverage rate. The best rate in the nation. We made it a priority because Oregonians understood something fundamental. We all benefit when everyone can see a health care provider. And we all pay more when they can't — in emergency room visits, in charity care, in hospital rates that climb to cover the uncompensated costs that get passed right back to the rest of us.

Oregon can be the first state in the nation to achieve universal healthcare. It's time to build something better.Fulfill the Promise of Public Education

Roy raised 4 kids through Oregon's public schools. He loves learning, and he believes that one of the most powerful things we can do for a child is get them curious and keep them that way. As a father, public servant, and Oregonian, one of Roy's guiding principles is that the goal of raising a child is to guide them from dependence to independence — to build up their strength and skills so they can fly with their own wings.

Our public schools are not doing that well enough. We're running a 19th century system in a 21st century reality. Kids need more than content — they need to know how to think. We need to support our teachers and school support staff and also achieve higher outcomes.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I believe Oregonians want a state that lives up to our motto, “She Flies with Her Own Wings.”

We’ve done that in the past, with our forward-thinking Land Use laws (UGBs, for one), which I will protect and strengthen.

I also believe the time has come for a State Bank of Oregon modeled loosely on the successful Bank of North Dakota, that will keep more of Oregon’s wealth in Oregon, where we can use it to support farmers, small business owners, school districts and local governments with the kind of financing and investment that will make Oregon stronger and more economically resilient for our kids’ generation and their kids’ generations.

And I believe we need to open the primaries and allow the majority of Oregon voters to participate!

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

One of my political heroes is the late Governor Tom McCall, whose leadership gave us Oregon's land-use laws and the Urban Growth Boundaries that have helped keep Oregon livable and farmable while growing dramatically since the laws were enacted in the early 1970s.

One of my all-time heroes is Carl Sagan, the astronomer and popular scientist, who saw the promises of our species and also saw the dangers of our culture long before most people did.

Lastly, I'm a huge comedy fan and the list of my comedy heroes is long! It includes the guys of Monty Python, the irreplaceable Mel Brooks, the genius George Carlin, the odd Steven Wright, and so many more. Of course Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert live full-time at the top of that list.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Dignity, open-mindedness, hard work, and critical thinking.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Actively represent your constituents. Reach out to them, help them, ask them what they need, and fight for them.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I'd like to show that Oregon is still the kind of place where big ideas can take root and benefit us and our descendants.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was as an usher and ticket-taker at a movie theater. I worked there for a few months before "moving up" to a sandwich shop in the same mall!

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

Checks and balances.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Our biggest challenges will be how we grow sustainably without surrendering our values to the highest bidder. Oregon is a wondrous place, and we have to protect it. At the same time, we need to do a better job educating all our kids, and supporting small businesses that are the backbone of our economy.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

I believe the best form of policymaking is collaborative. I think that "compromise" has become a dirty word in our divided, Two-Party duopoly, which is why I'm running as an Independent.

What was the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember?

The first historical event I remember is the tragedy of the Space Shuttle Challenger. I was 8 years old, and it was the first big news story I remember hearing and also being upset by.