Timothy C. Phillips with his wife Kristen

Timothy C. Phillips, running for the U.S. Congress from the 1st Congressional District in Oregon as a Republican candidate, says the race is bringing him closer to his ethnic South Asian roots. As the race heats up, Phillips, whose mother is originally from New Delhi, seems to be making headway in his efforts to win the Republican primaries and then battle incumbent Democratic Rep. David Wu.

Just a few days ago, he got the endorsement of Oregon House Speaker Larry Campbell, and over the last few months he has been inducting some big names into his campaign team.

“Certainly this race has helped me get much more in touch with my cultural roots because I am running against an Iranian,” Phillips told News India-Times. His Republican opponent is businesswoman Goli Ameri, and the two have had heated exchanges on alleged race baiting. The incumbent Democrat is a Chinese American in what is turning out to be a battle among ethnic minority candidates. The primaries are on May 18, and elections in early November.

Phillips was born in Sacramento in 1966. His father Charles Phillips was a plumber and his mother Amy is a retired public school teacher. Phillips graduated from the Pepperdine University in business administration and moved to Oregon. He touts his successful small business, working class roots and his strong work ethic.

“My mother came here to teach and serve kids for 30-35 years. Service was her passion and profession. I saw that and she instilled in me a very strong work ethic. After having success in my business and paying my way through college by working with a stockbroker, as a first generation immigrant, I did want to build on the foundation my mother had laid,” he told News India-Times, giving the reasons behind his decision to run for Congress. “I have a very comfortable business. My family’s future is fairly secure and I decided I wanted to give something back to the community that gave so much to me. One of the ways is to be an elected official.”

With just two phone lines and very little capital, he built Phillips & Company Securities over the last 11 years. It employs more than 60 people and has some 8,000 individual and business clients, according to his campaign manager Renee Cannon. He was also active in Oregon’s business community and charities. “He knows how to create jobs. He does it every single day,” Cannon told News India-Times.

Not new to Oregon politics, Phillips served as chairman of the Oregon Opportunity PAC, supporting candidates who focused on reforming Oregon’s education system, job creation and economic growth, prior to announcing his candidacy last June. He was a member of Senator Gordon Smith’s re-election team and served on the Finance Committee for the 2002 campaign of Jack Roberts for Governor.

“I talked to senior Republican officials at the federal level and they realized that David Wu was very vulnerable and at least needed to be challenged,” Phillips said. Even if he loses, Phillips reasons, “One of the ancillary benefits is that because we have a very successful campaign we are forcing even the most liberal of congressmen to moderate their views ---- on prescription drugs, on stock options. That’s a benefit to the community.”

He has made reforming education a key point on his platform. “Right now, education is not controlled at the local level and we are concerned that it should not be Washington, D.C., bureaucrats who control it. My mother certainly experienced in her own work, problems with centralized control at the federal level.” Looking back at his politicization, Phillips said, “I’ve always had Republican beliefs ---- for more efficient government, less government, individual accountability.”

David Reinhard, a commentator on The Oregonian newspaper described Phillips and Ameri as “the kind of candidates Republicans say they want running for office ---- successful businessmen who have community ---- service credentials, are articulate champions of GOP tax and spending principles and are in sync with their districts’ profiles, while mastering the three R’s of politics ---- resume, resources and resolve.”

In his campaign, Phillips accused both Ameri and Wu of using out-of-state campaign money, and he contended Wu has consistently supported higher taxes, wasteful spending, and been against tort reforms. “The last time I checked, this is a race to represent Oregonians, not Californians or New Yorkers,” his campaign manager Cannon said. “Eighty percent of Phillips’ contributions have come from in-state-donors. We have done all of our outreach right now in Oregon. Tim is really focused on making it an Oregon campaign. But he does have family and friends in California who have contributed some,” she said. The last bout the two Republicans had was when Phillips brought out the fact that Ameri had been against fingerprinting of Iranians back in the 1990s and questioned why she supported the new regulations. Ameri shot back that Phillips was adopting racial overtones in his campaign.

“As a son of an immigrant, I was not questioning her patriotism. She decided to launch a negative race-based attack ---- she called it race-baiting or fear-mongering because I had asked her why she had lobbied against fingerprinting of Iranians. And I kind of laughed at the absurdity of that,” Phillips said. Among those who have endorsed Phillips’ candidacy are Beaverton Chief of Policy David Bishop, former Commissioner of Labor and Industries Jack Roberts, former Oregon State Senator Tom Hartung, and former Oregon State Treasurer Bill Rutherford, said Cannon.

Phillips’ wife Kristen, son Brad, 7, and daughter McCall, 5, attend the Sunset Presbyterian Church.