Ruth Linoz

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Ruth Linoz

Republican Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Education

Associate

Lane Community College, 1991

Bachelor's

Northwest Christian University, 2009

Other

Project Management Institute, 2010

Personal

Birthplace

Billings, Mont.

Profession

Public transportation management

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Personal LinkedIn

Ruth Linoz (Republican Party) ran for election to the Oregon House of Representatives to represent District 12. She lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Linoz completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Ruth Linoz earned an associate degree from Lane Community College in 1991 and a bachelor's degree from Bushnell (Northwest Christian) University in 2009. She also attended the Project Management Institute in 2010. Linoz's professional experience includes working in public transportation management for 26 years and as a project management professional with a focus on community events. She is affiliated with REBOOT Recovery, Rotary International District 5110, the Chamber of Commerce, the Main Street Cottage Grove Program, Beds for Freezing Nights, the Cottage Grove Community Development Corporation, and Lane Transit District advisory committees.

Elections

2020

See also: Oregon House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Oregon House of Representatives District 12

Incumbent John Lively defeated Ruth Linoz in the general election for Oregon House of Representatives District 12 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Lively (D)	56.6	18,227
		Ruth Linoz (R)	43.1	13,883
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	90

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 32,200
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Oregon House of Representatives District 12

Incumbent John Lively advanced from the Democratic primary for Oregon House of Representatives District 12 on May 19, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		John Lively	98.6	6,409
		Other/Write-in votes	1.4	88

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 6,497
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Oregon House of Representatives District 12

Ruth Linoz advanced from the Republican primary for Oregon House of Representatives District 12 on May 19, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ruth Linoz	98.4	3,393
		Other/Write-in votes	1.6	54

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,447
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Ruth Linoz completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Linoz's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I grew up in rural and urban communities in the Midwest and California before moving to Lane County 35 years ago, looking for a more family friendly environment to raise my daughters. While a stay-at-home mom, I volunteered regularly in their classrooms, coached their Kidsports teams, and worked part-time in retail while completing my undergraduate education at Lane Community College. I met my husband, John, a Vietnam veteran, and then we moved to Springfield 22 years ago. John is a retired business owner, and I've developed a 26-year public transportation career from a part-time, union bus operator to my current role as executive director of a rural transit agency in Cottage Grove, Oregon. My director role has enabled me to be highly involved in several community organizations as a volunteer and board member to help promote community health and economic development. I consider it an honor to apply my skills and experience in areas of service, so serving in a political office feels natural to me.

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?

• Jobs and a strong economy for Springfield not just Portland. Enabling local solutions for local problems - Salem doesn't have all the answers.
• Reigning in state agencies and their regulatory overreach.
• Government transparency - we have a right to know what happens in Salem!

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Let's be honest, the Oregon Legislature is a mess. It failed to fix the unemployment computer system leaving thousands of Oregonians without funds after losing their jobs due to COVID. Portland Democrats run the House, and their answer to everything is to raise taxes, increase regulations, and support the urban agenda at the expense of down state and rural Oregon.

It's time to stop environmental policies that don't respect the rural communities and local businesses that are dependent on natural resources. I am concerned that the growth of unnecessary regulations and taxes creates bureaucracy instead of helping industries quickly adapt to the evolving business climate and is quickly undermining the vitality of our neighborhoods. Therefore, I will support measures that encourage economic development and will reduce regulations and taxes so every community can thrive!

I like my opponent, but he's become part of the problem not part of the solution. He votes to support the Portland agenda and has not been voting to support Springfield. That is why I am running. He's had his time and now it's time for a new voice - one that will represent our views and values! I have been a business leader who unifies in our communities for 30 years. My husband, John, is a Vietnam veteran, and I've raised my family here. Together we can and will make a difference!

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

My leadership strengths are applying a high level of personal responsibility in my assignments with a commitment to complete it, and motivated to learn what is expected of this office, Being a learner enables me to thrive in dynamic work environments where I'll be asked to take on short project assignments and are expected to learn a lot about the new subject matter in a short period of time and then move on to the next one as I adapt to changing needs. I'm motivated to achieve results with a drive that keeps me focused on results among sometimes conflicting priorities which will engage my skills at adaptation to change. I am highly organized and flexible which is how I can get a lot done as I multitask like few others. I balance this performance efficiency with my view that we are all part of a larger picture, then we must not harm others because we will be harming ourselves. We must not exploit because we will be exploiting ourselves. My awareness of these responsibilities creates my value system. I am considerate, caring, and accepting of the unity of humankind, so I seek to serve as a bridge builder for people of different cultures. These qualities have been the foundation of my career and personal successes and will be utilized while serving as state representative.

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

I believe the core responsibility of an elected official is to serve their constituents, not personal agendas or special interest groups that don't benefit the goals of the voters. Similar to my experience as a professional project manager, voters should be respected and treated as valued stakeholders in the development and application of laws and regulations by their elected politicians. This relationship works best when the elected official spends time to learn the interest of the voters represented and to regularly account for decisions made on their behalf. And the quality of the relationship is often directly related to the level of education and information voters receive about issues before the legislature, accessible avenues for input and feedback on the process, and openness to diverse opinions in word and deed. Ultimately, the elected official must take responsibility for their role in managing the legislative process for what the constituents want as outcomes and should be the measure of successful service.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Neil Armstrong's first walk on the moon when I was nine years old. I was a fan of the National Geographic magazine, so world events, especially space exploration, fascinated me.

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

The summer before seventh grade, I was a dog sitter while its owners were on vacation for a week and babysat a 2 year old girl at the parent's home the entire summer. I was responsible for her care, prepared lunch and snacks, performed light chores and entertained her while her mother worked.

Every state besides Nebraska has two legislative chambers. What do you consider the most important differences between the legislative chambers in your state?

I believe the biggest value of Oregon's chambers operating with senate and house of representative leaders is to enable each of the sixty representatives to develop a close relationship with their constituents for the initial development of bills and regulations or proposing changes. It is also easier for the representative to witness the impacts of chamber decisions.
A smaller number of thirty senators provide the next level of leadership oversight from a more regional perspective of statewide governance. Ideally, this combination of oversight and focus of responsibility serves the voters with a legislative version of checks and balance operations and self-imposed accountability.

What process do you favor for redistricting?

Redistricting should be led by a nonpartisan process with a focus on maintaining as many shared agencies within an area like school districts and county/city representative boundaries so that the new district boundaries can operate effectively under the leadership that is assigned to serve and represent it.

If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

My interest in improving my district's economic health, fiscal accountability and exploring reasonable natural resource management would fit well with the Natural Resources, Economic Development, and Agriculture and Land Use. The joint committee of Ways and Means Transportation and Economic Development Committee would be a nice assignment because of my 26 year career in public transportation industry.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Footnotes

[show]

Current members of the Oregon House of Representatives

Leadership

Speaker of the House:Julie Fahey

Majority Leader:Ben Bowman

Representatives

District 1

Court Boice (R)

District 2

Virgle Osborne (R)

District 3

Dwayne Yunker (R)

District 4

Alek Skarlatos (R)

District 5

Pam Marsh (D)

District 6

Kim Wallan (R)

District 7

John Lively (D)

District 8

Lisa Fragala (D)

District 9

Boomer Wright (R)

District 10

David Gomberg (D)

District 11

Jami Cate (R)

District 12

Darin Harbick (R)

District 13

Nancy Nathanson (D)

District 14

Julie Fahey (D)

District 15

Shelly Boshart Davis (R)

District 16

Sarah McDonald (D)

District 17

Ed Diehl (R)

District 18

Rick Lewis (R)

District 19

Tom Andersen (D)

District 20

Paul Evans (D)

District 21

Kevin Mannix (R)

District 22

Lesly Muñoz (D)

District 23

Anna Scharf (R)

District 24

Lucetta Elmer (R)

District 25

Ben Bowman (D)

District 26

Sue Rieke Smith (D)

District 27

Ken Helm (D)

District 28

Dacia Grayber (D)

District 29

Susan McLain (D)

District 30

Nathan Sosa (D)

District 31

Darcey Edwards (R)

District 32

Cyrus Javadi (D)

District 33

Shannon Isadore (D)

District 34

Mari Watanabe (D)

District 35

Farrah Chaichi (D)

District 36

Hai Pham (D)

District 37

Jules Walters (D)

District 38

Daniel Nguyen (D)

District 39

April Dobson (D)

District 40

Annessa Hartman (D)

District 41

Mark Gamba (D)

District 42

Rob Nosse (D)

District 43

Tawna Sanchez (D)

District 44

Travis Nelson (D)

District 45

Thuy Tran (D)

District 46

Willy Chotzen (D)

District 47

Andrea Valderrama (D)

District 48

Hoa Nguyen (D)

District 49

Zach Hudson (D)

District 50

Ricki Ruiz (D)

District 51

Christine Drazan (R)

District 52

Jeffrey Helfrich (R)

District 53

Emerson Levy (D)

District 54

Jason Kropf (D)

District 55

E. Reschke (R)

District 56

Emily McIntire (R)

District 57

Greg Smith (R)

District 58

Bobby Levy (R)

District 59

Vikki Breese-Iverson (R)

District 60

Mark Owens (R)

Democratic Party (37)

Republican Party (23)