A first time candidate won the race to represent District 7 in the Oregon House of Representatives. Cedric Hayden of Fall Creek beat former Cottage Grove Mayor Gary Williams in the Republican primary. District 7 includes parts of Lane and Douglas Counties. No Democrat ran in the primary.
Hayden is not new to politics. His father Cedric Lee Hayden is a former Oregon legislator. Hayden contributed to his own campaign and did a lot of fundraising and canvassing voters door-to-door. He says his priority is to bring jobs to the region.
Hayden: "We need to take a serious look at our timber resources, our natural resources, get people to work, improve our economy and then improve our schools and our social services like our police and fire. And to me those are all tied together, not separate issues, and it take the economy to lift that whole boat if you will."
Unless there's a successful write-in campaign in the November election, Hayden will replace Bruce Hanna in the House. Hanna is leaving office after a decade in the legislature.
