The Fundraiser hosted by Mary Jane Labelle and David Pesonen went very well. Senator Wyden was very gracious and supportive of me even though we don't agree on every issue. I am so very grateful he took the time to attend and give us all the opprotunity to talk with him one on one. He is truly a great legislator.

I spent last week in Curry County. We started out the week with nearly no name recognition even after the walking I had done previously. By the end of the week we were running into people who had already been canvassed and/or heard about us and people were honking and giving the thumbs up. We have three new canvassers who are experienced and dedicated and several phone bankers who are very good as well. They continue to canvass in my absence.

I did a TV interview which was mainly focused on salmon fisheries and marine reserves but seemed to go well.

I spoke with both the recently retired Warden and current Warden of Pelican Bay Super-Max Prison. The retired Warden, Bob Horel, is now canvassing for me and has become an avid and vocal supporter of my education-to-avoid-incarceration position.

I have met two Dr’s. of education John Daggett and Barbara Hilyer who are also great canvassers and strong supporters of my vocational education position.

The Curry County Brookings office is manned by many active supporters including Tom and Linda Bozack who not only run the office but run the “Goche Hostel and Eatery” where I am welcome day and night. Tom is a superb researcher and has never failed to respond quickly to my requests for information.

Tom Buell is a volunteer whose house has been open to me when he is in town but he is out jetting around an awful lot for man of his age!

I did not get to spend much time talking with Anne Odell since she was off to Greece the day I got to town.

We spoke at forums in Gold Beach, Port Orford and Brookings on consecutive nights. The response was very encouraging. There were good questions and it gave me an opportunity to clear up some of the misinformation out there regarding several of my positions. My recently posted position on marine reserves can be read by going to the “issues” link on this website.

I stayed after each night to watch the County Commission and City Council forums and to get to know more about the local issues and candidates.

I spent yesterday in Douglas County knocking on every door including R’s. I got only a few undecided’s and a few maybes and the rest were decidedly “yes”. The people in Winston, Tenmile and Camas Valley and the surrounding areas have been very inviting and I have enjoyed immensley meeting those neighbors to the East.

Richard Chasm is doing a fantastic job with signs in Douglas County. There are so many signs in Winston I feel like a rock star driving through town. Some of the 4 x 8 signs are virtual monuments to the campaign. Maybe that is why the response at the door in Winston is so positive...He is using a lot of lumber in a big mill town.

Speaking of signage, Brian Howard has been carpet bombing Coos County with signs big and small. The new sign at the Whitsetts car wash and laundy in Bandon is some of his work. I wonder how he accomplished that alone.

Many thanks to Katie Ericson and Shawn Jennings for holding down the fort while I have been on the camapaign trail. If you want to know where I am or where I'm going do what I do to answer those questons. Call Kate or Shawn.

And, as always, Robin is my safe harbor no matter where I am or what I am doing. And, if you get an overwhelming urge to make a cash contibution to our campaign she can help you get that off your chest.

As the back stretch comes into view I want to thank all of you who have and continue to support our camapign in so may ways and ask you to not let up yet. We have many more neighbors to talk to and we still need to get the vote out from those we have already spoken with.

Let's continue to Chart Our Common Course.

I was talking to the vendors at the Festival and came to realize that virtually all of the necessities of life and many of the comforts are produced within the state. In conversations with the people I found that they all agreed they have the potential to produce far more than they currently sell but don't have an affordable, effective way of marketing their products. I know from my own business experiences that a good idea and the ability to produce it is only part of the equation of success. Marketing your idea is where the money comes from.

For those of you I haven't talked to about it the program would look like this:

The State would initiate and facilitate a county by county or regional Local Producers Catalog. Any producer in the area could be included for a minimal printing fee. The catalog would be mirrored on a website that the producer could modify themselves for basic price or availablity changes. The online component would also give the producers credit card acceptance capability without having to individually set up a merchant account. This would work similar to Act Blue which, coincidentally, you can experience by making a conrtibution to our campaign on this website :) The State would advertise the catalogs and educate the people to the wisdom of buying locally.

Then, when it's time to get mom and dad that anniversary present, instead of running to This-Mart or That-Mart people would first reach for the catalog and see what their neighbor is making. Imagine how many people would be encouraged to really start making that widget they have been thinking about if they could cheaply and easily begin marketing it. Imagine being able to hire your neighbor to help because you can't keep up with orders. Imagine...

Below is a press release we sent out to all of the papers in the district. To my knowledge only the Coquille Sentinel printed it. Thank you Jean Ivey.

So, I am posting it here so that you will know what has been happening with the grass roots, face to face contact part of the campaign.

Rick Goche knocks on Door 2500

On Wednesday July 16th Rick Goche will knock on door 2,500 of his campaign.

“If I want to represent the people I need to know what the people think. I already know what I think.” Goche says.

So far Rick has knocked on doors in the communities of Brookings, Gold Beach, Port Orford, Bandon, Coquille, Myrtle Point, Green Acres, Powers and Winston. He will soon be including the communities of, rural North Bend, Ten Mile, Camas Valley and others.

Goche, a commercial fisherman by trade, says he will only be making a short shake down and orientation tuna trip this year before he turns the boat over to his crew. No commercial ocean salmon fishing this year “certainly simplifies the campaign scheduling conflicts” Goche says with a shrug.

Rick Goche juggles a schedule that includes not only campaigning and fishing he has also been working with Wyden, DeFazio and Smiths offices to get disaster relief for the commercial and charter fishing communities in Oregon; working as a member of the Southern Oregon Ocean Resources Committee, The Klamath Common Ground Alliance, and a member of the Oregon Albacore Commission.

Knocking on 2500 doors in as rural a district as House District 1 is “a lot different than walking districts in the cities where you can easily walk from door to door” Goche says. “Most of the time I spend driving around in the nooks and crannies of our communities”.

When he does get to the door Goche introduces himself as a commercial fisherman who has “had enough, so I’m gonna go do it myself!” He doesn’t only talk about fishing issues. He tells the potential constituent about what he considers to be the “Four cornerstones in the foundation of our future: Education, jobs, natural resources and healthcare”. “These four issues are so interdependent, on the South Coast; you can’t talk about one without considering the others.” Goche explains.

“I am fascinated by the stories and ideas our neighbors tell me about,” Goche says. “But no one prepared me for the emotional aspect of grass roots campaigning”, Goche continues. “I have sat with a mother, whose son was bound for Iraq the next week, as she cried to think he might not make it back to see the baby his girlfriend carries. I have watched educators tremble with frustration over the injustices they see in the education system, and I have listened to proud parents share their joy over the accomplishments of their children who made the most of the sacrifices their parents made in order to send them to college.” “I have heard heartbreaking stories of medical disasters turning into financial disasters way too many times,” Goche continues.

“These experiences strengthen my resolve to do what I can to help out.” Goche says. “Knocking on our neighbors doors is my favorite part of the day.”

Rick Goche is a salmon and tuna fisherman, small business owner, and has a small tree farm where he and his family live in Coquille. He has worked in the seafood business from research to retail for most of the last 40 years. He has also served on several state fisheries commissions. He looks forward to serving the community as your state representative.

For more information, contact Rick Goche at 541-396-6886 or rickg@ari1.com

The Goche Team marched in Port Orford's Independence Day Parade. A fun parade but I was sore,again, the next day from running back and forth across the street. Afterwards Robin, Leah and I had lunch at the Senior Center and spoke to people there.

Last week I spent some time in Douglas County. I went to a County Commissioners meeting talked about some of the concerns I have a regarding the proposed LNG pipelines affects on spawning habitat and about other fisheries issues.

The fundraiser at Charlie and Marian Vincent's Saturday was great! Good food, good friends and good fun. The Vincent's place looked really nice. Luckily there was plenty of shade because it was HOT. Representative Roblan made time in his busy schedule to attend. Thank you all for making this first fundraiser a success.

Robin and I left a little early so we could get to Winston in time to attend the Graffiti Days Cruise, Winston style. I am confident we were the only Prius in the Cruise! We got smiles, waves and thumbs-up from the hundreds of spectators who lined the mile or more long route. Later, after eating some of the oysters Richard Chasm barbecued at Umpqua Cycles, we borrowed his roadster and made another lap in it. Thank you Gino of Umpqua Cycles for the invitation to the annual fundraiser for cancer research.

Between all of the events I have been walking and knocking on doors, talking to the people about our campaign and what is important to them. Knocking on our neighbors doors has become my favorite part of the day.

As we handed out literature about our campaign I was struck by hearing several times from those few who declined to accept our material…”wrong party”.

So, were those individuals saying they are from the “wrong” party or I am from the “wrong” party? What constitutes a “wrong “party? Aren’t we all Oregonians? Are there “wrong” Oregonians?

As I knock on our neighbors doors and talk about how we can make things better in our communities I also hand out a piece of literature that talks about our campaign. As I am telling about the fact that I am a commercial fisherman who has had enough and am going to go take care of our business myself, I watch as some scan one side then the other of the literature, then back and finally say, “what party?”.

There is a reason I did not put a party affiliation on any of my literature. There is a reason why I don’t introduce myself as a member of a party. It is simply this: I am fed up with partisan politics. We have serious problems and they require our best efforts so I want people to give themselves a chance to hear what I have to say before they pigeon hole me. I vow to continue to try to avoid those catch phrases and buzzwords that we tend to stereotype one another by so that we can think beyond the wedge issues and get down to the important business of “We The People”.

The other day I met a woman who has had 30 brain surgeries over the course of 6 years whose life is consumed with pain and worry. I have met an author (who wishes to remain anonymous) who was just finishing his 6^th book when I knocked on his door. I have met educators who have trembled with frustration over the injustices they see in the education system and I’ve sat with a mother while she cried over the prospect of her son going to Iraq the following week and maybe never returning to see the unborn baby his fiancée carries.

Daily I am fascinated by the incredible amount of talent behind our neighbors doors; Decades of experience in every trade there is; nuclear engineers and renewable energy pioneers; Authors, artists and loggers with new ideas for how to do things; proud mothers of daughters and sons who have made the most of the decades of savings that were spent to send them to college.

And then there is the frustration. People frustrated by the lack of common sense exhibited by their leaders; Frustration with rules, regulations and laws that contradict each other and common sense. I meet people who have been inspired to vote for the first time ever, or in years, and I’ve met those who have given up in exasperation vowing never to vote again.

The most memorable and personally inspiring new voters were a twenty-something couple in Gold Beach who asked if I would help them register. When I came back the next day with registration cards (I had given out all I had) they had invited friends over to talk with me about politics, registering and voting. Their engagement, hope and trust were humbling. Experiences like those strengthen my resolve to do whatever I can to make things better in our community for them and all of us.

In other news: we wil be in the Coquille Gay 90's Parade this weekend. We will also have a camapign table inside the community center. Please drop by and say hello. Bring a friend!