The Media

On Saturday, I was down in Corvallis at the Oregon State football game with my family when a friend of mine mentioned that the Oregonian released their endorsements for the 2016 general election.  He jokingly said, “They gave you a whole sentence….”  I was shocked since the Oregonian never interviewed me for their endorsement.  A week or so earlier, a person on their staff emailed me and scheduled a time to call, but failed to do so.  On Sunday, I looked up the Oregonian endorsement page.  My friend was wrong….they gave me half a sentence.  Needless to say it is not the lack of their endorsement that upsets me, but the fact that they present themselves as doing their due diligence in vetting the candidates, but in reality did very little.  In response to their failed effort, I submitted the following letter to the editor:

To the Oregonian Editorial Board,

My name is Brian Heinrich and I am running for US Congress in Oregon’s first district. I would like to express my surprise and disappointment by the lack of effort of your editorial board regarding your endorsements for the 2016 general election. I was contacted on October 4th by Len Reed, your associate editor, regarding my candidacy. I responded rapidly and provided multiple opportunities for him to contact me, and I gave him my personal cell phone number. While he did respond by email and say he would contact me via phone later in the day, I received no calls nor voice mails, nor any follow up communication. Therefore, you can understand my disappointment when I was informed by a friend that you endorsed my opponent, Suzanne Bonamici. Also, the portion of the single sentence that you dedicated to me provided information that is easily found on my website (https://heinrichfororegon.org)

It is this lack of thorough investigation and research that makes people distrust the media, and rightfully so. I am saddened to discover that this is what has become of our free press. You are no longer assisting the public but intentionally misinforming them.

I encourage your readers to contact me directly at (503) 307-0139 or via email at heinrichfororegon@gmail.com. I will be happy to answer any of the questions your readers might have.

Yours truly,

Brian J. Heinrich

Candidate for US Congress, Oregon District 1

 

So with this letter, I encourage anyone who would like to know more about me or my candidacy, to please contact me.  I will be happy to take your phone call, text, or email.  Do keep in mind as I am self funding this campaign, that I work full time and may not be able to answer immediately.  I will respond and I look forward to earning your vote. As listed in the letter, you can reach me via phone/txt at (503) 307-0139 and email at heinrichfororegon@gmail.com   Thank you for your interest and support.  And as I have said since the beginning, “I do not want your money, I just want your vote.”