Asa Jorg for Ward 7

Policy Initiatives

Asa will put livability for working families and retirees first in his policy approach. Our residents have built excellent programs for public transportation and environmental resilience. Asa will support every measure to defend and expand these programs. However, we also struggle with aging city infrastructure, lagging economic development, and rising costs of living. In the face of this, Asa recognizes that we need to position our community to meet the future sustainably.

Housing

Corvallis's lack of adequate housing impacts all members of our community, from renters struggling to keep up with price hikes, to homeowners straining to manage mortgage price increases, to those who cannot afford to live in Corvallis and must commute in. These structural harms cascade throughout every sphere of our lives. As City Councilor, Asa will fight to

  • Expand the development of affordable housing units with subsidies and public-private partnerships.
  • Support zoning initiatives to permit denser housing development, including detached single-residence occupancies.
  • Explore possibilities for the development of municipally-owned housing projects, replacing real estate firm middlemen with public management and driving down rents.

Childcare

Working couples already living in Corvallis or looking to settle in the area face difficult decisions and a lack of proper city support for their family planning. The Corvallis public school district has seen declining educational outcomes and enrollment, and the accessibility of childcare services in town is lacking. A lack of support for young children and families means a lack of development and an unsustainable population breakdown. Supporting our children's educational outcomes goes beyond just the struggle in the school systems. As City Councilor, Asa will fight to

  • Introduce an initiative to provide accessible pre-K childcare for all, modeled off of Multnomah County’s Preschool for All program.
  • Expand the development of childcare programs in Corvallis with subsidies and public-private partnerships.
  • Explore possibilities for the expansion of the Corvallis Parks and Rec summer camps, providing affordable and active childcare for children aged 4-12 during the months when they are out of school.

Economic Development

For many decades, Corvallis has centered caring for our community over appealing to outside business interests. Our residents are now being squeezed by capital flight and underdevelopment—symptoms of deeper, structural issues in our economic paradigm. Working families and retirees should not be punished for resisting big business overreach. As City Councilor, Asa will fight to

  • Center a worker-first, retiree-first approach to economic development that ensures big employers give back to the community that supports them; fight for OSU to pay its fair share.
  • Support measures to zone areas in downtown and Southtown for higher-value industrial and other business development; explore innovative, equitable ways to expand our city funding.
  • Oppose every measure to cut critical services we in the community rely on; ensure we meet our budget shortfall in a sustainable way, supporting our development in the years to come.

Policing

Corvallis is a safe community, with violent crime rates well below the Oregon average. Despite this, Corvallis police are allocated 14% of the city budget for 2025-27, making the Corvallis precinct one of the best-funded police precincts per-capita in Oregon. Increasing police presence is proven to have no effect on crime rates, and wastes money that could be better spent addressing the real causes of property crime.

Increasing the police budget when we haven't ensured working families and retirees are able to afford to live is out. Continuing to utilize ineffective and harmful sweeps when we haven't addressed structural crises of homelessness is out. Proposing to divert over $40 million in city and county funds towards the building of new policing facilities is out. As City Councilor, Asa will fight to

  • Oppose increases in police funding and all funding for Flock surveillance; ensure funds are spent addressing the real needs of the community.
  • Work with community partners to implement safe, humane alternatives outside of sweeps to address the needs of the homeless population; prioritize a housing-first policy approach.
  • Expand community oversight and anti-racist training programs for Corvallis police.