Republican state Senate candidates Chris Telfer and Tim Knopp squared off Tuesday night, taking questions at a forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters.

Telfer, first elected in 2008, is facing a primary challenge from former State Representative Knopp in her bid to win a second term. Whichever candidate prevails in the May 15 primary will face Geri Hauser in November. Hauser is unopposed in the Democratic primary.

Knopp, who served in the House from 1999 to 2005 and as the Republican House Majority Leader in 2002 and 2003, argued that he can do a better job than Telfer at promoting job growth, restraining taxes and spending, describing the election as a chance for voters to conduct a “performance review” of Telfer’s tenure in office.

Telfer touted her accomplishments in the Senate, noting that with Democrats in control of the Senate, Republican lawmakers aren’t able to get everything they want. Telfer said most of her legislative efforts are in response to issues raised by constituents, and highlighted her efforts to help Redmond rezone 465 acres for industrial development, money she secured for improvements at the Redmond Airport, and changes in state laws on bond sales that could convince a California company to create 1,000 jobs in Central Oregon.

Moderator Dave Jones from BendBroadband asked questions of the two candidates for an hour at the Deschutes Public Library in Bend, and on most issues, Telfer and Knopp were largely in agreement.

Both candidates said they were not interested in major changes to the tax code to improve the state’s revenues during recessions, and instead advocated for more efficient spending. Telfer and Knopp both took a relatively dim view of the recent move to yearly legislative sessions, on the grounds that the newly created off-year sessions are too short to consider substantial policy changes.

Multiple questions addressed the Public Employees Retirement System, or PERS, and the prospects for reforming the system to contain costs.

Telfer said if re-elected, she intends to introduce legislation to raise the retirement age for public employees, modify the way unused paid time off is used to calculate a public employee’s retirement benefits, and to remove legislators and judges from the PERS system. She said she has recently approached Senate Majority Leader Diane Rosenbaum about opening a bipartisan discussion about how to reform the system.

“We’ve got to start the conversation, we’ve got to have the conversation,” she said. “Right now, there is no conversation.”

Knopp agreed with many of Telfer’s policy proposals for PERS, but said he’s less hopeful for a bipartisan solution. Democrats are “uncomfortable with the topic,” he said, as many elected Democrats were targeted with primary election challenges for agreeing to prior reform efforts. If legislators and the governor cannot address PERS, the job will fall to the voters, Knopp said, expressing his willingness to champion a series of ballot measures to reform the system.

Knopp attacks Telfer on gas, redistricting

Knopp hit Telfer on her vote to raise the state’s gas tax by 6 cents per gallon in 2009, calling it a regressive tax that hurts low- and middle-income Oregonians. Knopp said Telfer’s explanation that the tax would pass with or without her vote and that it would bring road construction jobs to Central Oregon was unconvincing.

“That’s trading your vote for earmarks. I don’t think that’s the right policy,” he said.

Telfer defended her vote, describing the bill as an opportunity to inject $30 million into the local economy and get people back to work.

Knopp further criticized Telfer for approving a redistricting plan that gives Democrats what he called a “substantial advantage” in House District 54, the Bend-centered district currently represented by Republican Jason Conger. Telfer said the plan doesn’t substantially change the makeup of District 54, and Knopp’s criticism is misguided.

“It’s easy to criticize the incumbent when you really have no plan of your own,” she said.

An audience-submitted question asked what state-level restrictions on abortion the candidates might support if Roe v. Wade were overturned. Telfer and Knopp both said they did not expect to see the nearly 40-year-old ruling overturned. While Knopp expressed support for a ban on partial-birth abortion, a ban on state funding for abortion and a law requiring minors notify their parents when seeking an abortion, Telfer deferred to existing law, saying the choices of others “may not be my choices.”

On health care, Knopp took a skeptical view of the Oregon Health Insurance Exchange, which was created as a result of the federal health care reform law approved in 2010. The exchange seeks to provide a way for individuals to comparison shop for private health insurance and to access government-provided health coverage or subsidies where appropriate.

Knopp said while the exchange may provide some cost reduction, it doesn’t put the individual in charge of their own health coverage. He recalled recently meeting a father who was looking at spending $500 a month to insure his three children, and said the man should instead be able to put his money into an untaxed savings account to cover his family’s medical expenses.

“Like you have an IRA, I think you should have a medical IRA as well,” Knopp said.

Telfer said she expects the Health Insurance Exchange will be a positive for the state, particularly for those who work for businesses that are too small to provide traditional group health insurance. Telfer said the exchange should allow such employees to shop for health coverage that meets their needs and budgets.

Both tout education

On education, both Telfer and Knopp said they want more time to decide if Gov. John Kitzhaber’s new board overseeing public K-12 schools and the state’s public universities and community colleges will be a good thing. State budgets should prioritize funding for education, both candidates said.

Asked about the gap between the skills of the workforce and the needs of employers, Knopp proposed a tax credit to encourage “businesses and individuals with high wealth” to put their money toward scholarships and other education programs. Telfer advocated a more traditional approach, and said she is not willing to cut education.

“The education budgets are too low; we’ve got to find ways to fund more money into the classroom,” she said.

Telfer and Knopp will have another joint appearance next week, at 6:30 p.m. Monday at a forum sponsored by the Redmond Patriots at Highland Baptist Church in Redmond.