OK, rather than overwhelm the site with a gazillion posts, we'll be updating filing day news here. Let's kick it off with a big one: 9:50 a.m.: Former State Treasurer Jim Hill has filed to run for his old job. He was first elected State Treasurer in 1992 and served two terms. He ran unsuccessfully for Governor in 2002 and 2
The dominoes have started falling, and they'll fall fast - because 5 p.m. is the deadline to file. With Ted Wheeler's appointment as State Treasurer, he's no longer running for re-election as Multnomah County Chair. According to Willamette Week, Steve Novick intends to file today to run for Multnomah County Chair. Novick pr
Today is the filing deadline for the 2010 election season, and one of the most important offices has many, many openings: Party Precinct Committee Person. There are thousands of these positions across the state, and few have greater value for the future, not just of your party, but progressive democracy in Oregon. We talk a
This morning at the PDX Airport Conference Center, Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski announced that he is appointing Multnomah County Commission Chair Ted Wheeler to fill the State Treasurer's job vacated by the death of Ben Westlund. Kari has already posted the official statements from Kulongoski and Wheeler. However, the ear
Governor Ted Kulongoski has just announced that he is appointing Ted Wheeler as the new State Treasurer. Currently, Wheeler is the chair of Multnomah County. In a statement, Governor Kulongoski said: “Ted Wheeler brings the perfect balance of expertise from both the public and private sectors to this job with an impressiv
It’s thoroughly depressing to see that the one Republican who claims she’s running for Treasurer is State Senator Chris Telfer. Telfer’s the one who claimed that a Secretary of State audit said that the State had billions of extra dollars lying around for the taking. When the Secretary of State’s office and Legislat
Those of us who closely follow Oregon politics and policy are deeply saddened by the death of Oregon State Treasurer Ben Westlund. He was a kind, giving man whose independent spirit and dedication to our state will be greatly missed. Unfortunately, the difficult task of finding someone to fill the office can't wait very lon
The office of the state treasurer has announced plans for memorial services for Ben Westlund: The public is invited to two memorial services for Oregon State Treasurer Ben Westlund, who died Sunday of cancer at the age of 60. A Central Oregon celebration will be at 2 p.m. on Friday, March 12, at the Riverhouse Conference Ce
First, let's acknowledge one thing right off the bat: It is unseemly and awkward to be talking about a successor to Ben Westlund so soon after his untimely death. However, the election calendar doesn't allow us the time we'd all like to reflect on Ben's life and career before moving on to the political gamesmanship. It's un
I feel absolutely horrible today about Ben Westlund. And his death has also brought the memory of the untimely loss of Bryan Johnston roaring back. Two men who proved, among other things, that “moderate” doesn’t have to mean wishy-washy milquetoast. In their honor, and because of a conversation I had with a friend thi
By Jack Lorts of Fossil, Oregon. Jack is the mayor of Fossil, the chair of the Democratic Party in Wheeler County, and is the former chair of the DPO's Rural Caucus. As the deadline for filing approaches for candidates running for Oregon legislative seats, we are learning of more and more exciting candidates. Here in the al
By Kristi Jo Lewis of Portland, Oregon. KJ is the co-founder of Global Sistergoods, and a 2010 class member of Emerge Oregon. Today, March 8, is International Women's Day, a day to recognize women's political and social achievements. It is also a day to recognize how far we have yet to go in the global fight for women's rig
It is with sadness that I must report to you that Ben Westlund, Oregon's State Treasurer, passed away last night at 2:30 a.m. In October, he announced that he was receiving treatment for lung cancer. It was a recurrence of the cancer that he beat back in 2003. Over the holidays, Ben contracted pneumonia and had been battlin
Over the weekend, Oregon Republicans gathered at the annual Dorchester Conference. In a stunner, Allen Alley crushed Chris Dudley in the conference's straw poll. As the O's Jeff Mapes reports, the vote was 225 to 165 (with 47 for John Lim, and just 1 for Bill Sizemore): Alley's victory could well have been built on his stro
On Saturday, Bill Bradbury won the endorsement of the OEA and the newly-merged AFT and OSEA. From the Oregonian's Harry Esteve: Oregon’s statewide teacher’s union just voted to endorse Democrat Bill Bradbury for governor, passing over its longtime ally, former Gov. John Kitzhaber, who wants to reclaim his old job. The d
As Republicans watch Jim Huffman roll out his U.S. Senate campaign, they can't be very impressed by what they see. On Thursday, Huffman made his campaign announcement at the Halton Company, a local dealer of Caterpillar heavy equipment. Speaking to his supporters, Huffman decried the 2009 economic recovery and stimulus bill
On Friday, John Kitzhaber won the endorsement of the Oregon AFL-CIO: “John Kitzhaber understands the pressures union members and all middle class Oregonians are under,” said Oregon AFL-CIO President Tom Chamberlain. “Of all the candidates he has the strongest plan to create jobs and help lead Oregon out of the recessi
Oregon GOP Chairman Bob Tiernan has asked two members of the House GOP caucus to end their re-election bids. Why? Because they had the temerity to exercise some independent thought and vote to support the tax increases passed during the last legislative session. The two are Rep. Bob Jenson (R-Pendleton) and Rep. Greg Smith
For months, Congressman Peter DeFazio has noodled around with the idea of running for Governor. Every few months, he'd declare publicly that he'd decide by some date in the future - and that date would come and go, and a new date would be set. Well, now, he's made it official: He's running for re-election to the House. Mape
In the tradition of Stephen Colbert … it’s my very first edition of Tip of the Hat / Wag of the Finger! Today’s topic is ‘tax breaks and statewide candidates.’ Today I am tipping my hat to Ron Wyden, who is proposing a job-creating attack on one of the biggest, most problematic Federal corporate tax breaks, the de
By Lisa Adatto of Portland, Oregon. Lisa is the Oregon Director of Climate Solutions, promoting realistic solutions to the climate crisis. As the dust settles from the legislative session, we have the opportunity to look calmly at the issues. One that has gathered more ink than others (particularly in the Oregonian) is the
Over at the O, Jeff Mapes elicits a sorrowful whine from Jim Huffman over the just-the-facts presentation of his writings at Meet Jim Huffman: He seemed a bit disheartened to find that the Democrats are already digging into his archives. "I've got such a vast amount of stuff I've written, much of which, frankly, I don'
Later this evening, L&C law professor Jim Huffman will enter the race for the U.S. Senate against Senator Ron Wyden. His announcement will certainly include plenty of high oratory about the role of government, yadda yadda. Huffman will add a certain lofty academic mien to the overblown Tea Party hollering we've heard so muc
It is an odd thing for a fairly partisan liberal to admit, but I wish Republicans took governance more seriously. Public policy benefits from a genuine exchange of ideas about how to solve problems; the friction between opposing ideas sharpens each position. Weaknesses are exposed and addressed and parties refine their poli
In the race for the 4th congressional district, Springfield Mayor Sid Leiken has dropped out. From the Register-Guard's Matt Cooper: Springfield Mayor Sid Leiken announced Wednesday that he will run in May for the Lane County Board of Commissioners, ending his bid to unseat U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio in the 4th Congressional D
Been trying to stay out of the Portland council races as much as possible. Living in Clackamas County and having the business HQ in the Lloyd District (and paying the various taxes from that location) makes me at least an interested party. Also interested in promoting women and minorities to elected positions as much as pos
Only Will Ferrell's FunnyOrDie.com could have brought together Barack Obama, George Bush, Bill Clinton --- and a few more old friends.
Regular BlueO commenter Bill Bodden responding to the thread on Kari's post about Senator Jim Bunning (R-Kentucky), who is holding up a bill extending unemployment insurance benefits: One thing about Bunning and his partner, McConnell, they give us incentive to appreciate living in Oregon and not Kentucky. There are indeed
Nestled in the heart of Oregon's beautiful wine country, House District 24 is one of the loveliest places in our state. It's also being represented right now by Jim Weidner, who by any objective measure is an embarrassment. While Oregon continues to struggle economically--with many citizens out of work or just barely gettin
The following comment was posted by Will Newman, the author of the guest column posted Saturday entitled "Arrogance: What a parking ticket and Aaron Campbell have in common." I find the responses fascinating, and in some cases, saddening. It is interesting to see how many people don't actually read what I said, ju