An outspoken critic of tea party politics confirmed Monday he will run as a Democrat for the state House seat held by Roseburg Republican Tim Freeman, who will run next year for Douglas County commissioner.

Kerry Atherton, 64, of Roseburg has not formally filed to be on the May primary ballot.

He said he hopes to persuade voters in the conservative District 2 that electing a Democrat is in their best interest.

“Let’s face it, this state is run by Democrats,” Atherton said. “Having a Democratic member of the House is going to be much better for the small communities. They have never had access to power, access to the purse strings before.”

Two Republicans have filed to run in the May primary: Lookingglass landscape contractor Dallas Heard, 28, and Myrtle Creek computer business owner Mark Garcia, 48. Garcia ran unsuccessfully for Douglas County commissioner last year.

A second Democrat, Myrtle Creek freelance writer and Douglas County Democratic Party Secretary Natasha Dunne-Bjornsen, is also expected to run in the May primary, according to a party official. Dunne-Bjornsen is a member of the South Umpqua School District Budget Committee. She ran unsuccessfully for the South Umpqua School Board in May.

Efforts to reach Dunne-Bjornsen Monday and today were unsuccessful.

“My complaint with the tea party is they scream and stomp their feet, but they don’t seem to come up with any solutions. What do they have to replace it with? What’s their idea? They don’t have one. My goal is to fix problems,” Atherton said.

Atherton had only positive things to say about his potential Democratic opponent. He characterized Dunne-Bjornsen as strong on social issues, especially education.

“More power to her,” he said about her decision to run.

Atherton is a retired district manager for Orenco Systems in Sutherlin and spent 10 years as an international contracts administrator at Boeing in Seattle. He said he would like to help solve the area’s financial woes by organizing teams in District 2 communities to identify economic development goals for which he could seek state funding.

“I am approaching this from a business standpoint instead of from a typical political standpoint,” Atherton said.

Atherton said tourism and logging are both important routes to a better economy for the district. He supports a plan championed by U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio to increase timber harvests on Oregon and California Railroad trust lands. The legislation, co-authored by DeFazio and Oregon Reps. Greg Walden and Kurt Schrader, proposes to transfer about 1.5 million acres from federal to state oversight. Another 1.2 million acres would be put in a conservation trust.

Atherton said the legislation, which has passed the House and been sent to the Senate, is a good compromise between environmental and economic concerns.

Atherton said he is not opposed to the Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline, which would move natural gas from Canada to a terminal at Coos Bay. However, he said if Douglas County approves a permit to allow the gas to be exported, it should stipulate that every landowner whose property is affected receive royalties. Governmental entities like first responders and the county should get royalties also, he said.

Atherton is a resident of the Mill-Pine historic district and a board member of SERVICE, or Southeast Roseburg Voice and Community Enhancement. He was also a member of FIRMGROUND for Kids, a community group that was initially formed to support a bond proposed by the Roseburg School District.

District 2 includes the city of Roseburg and part of south Douglas County.

– You can reach reporter Carisa Cegavske at 541-957-4213 or ccegavske@nrtoday.com.

This story originally appeared on Oregon Public Broadcasting.