Candidates emerge for governor 2010 race
From our weekly issue dated December 02, 2009
The field of candidates seeking to take over the Oregon governor’s office via the 2010 election race continues to take shape.
Among Democrats, former governor John Kitzhaber is strongly favored to win the primary and general elections. Also running is Bill Bradbury, former secretary of state, who held a Portland fund-raiser with former vice president Al Gore on Nov. 19. Gore subsequently endorsed Bradbury’s candidacy.
A third candidate, former Hewlett-Packard executive Steve Shields, dropped his bid on Nov. 19. He announced his reasons for doing so in an open letter posted on his campaign Website, stating that “at a very practical level the campaign has not garnered enough financial support to continue to be viable.
During his brief bid, Shields had positioned himself as a political outsider, as he’s never held elected office. In his open letter, Shields insisted that such a perspective would be valuable in leading the state to the future.
The wildcard in the Democratic primary remains U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Springfield). He originally stated that he would make his announcement around Labor Day. But the filing deadline is March 9, and DeFazio could very well wait until then to make a final decision.
On the Republican side, Lake Oswego businessman Allen Alley announced in March and has been campaigning since. Alley narrowly lost to State Treasurer Ben Westlund in the November 2008 general election.
Gresham resident John Lim, a former state representative and senator, also is running. Sen. Jason Atkinson (R-Central Point) suspended his campaign due to family health problems, and U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Hood River) has declined to run for governor, opting instead to seek another term in Congress.
On Monday, Nov. 23, Bill Sizemore released a statement announcing that he had filed papers with the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office to run for governor.
Sizemore ran against Kitzhaber in 1998 and lost by a substantial margin. But in his statement, Sizemore said that Kitzhaber “has become even more extreme than when he was governor and his election would be ruinous to an already faltering state.”
Sizemore also stated that he is running to “break the stranglehold the public employee unions have on the state of Oregon,” and that those groups “run the entire state from top to bottom.”
Sizemore said that the public unions pressure the state’s Democratic politicians for tax increases. He also called for reform of the Public Employees Retirement System, an issue that he first addressed in 1994.
But complicating Sizemore’s efforts is a criminal investigation into his activities, being conducted by the Secretary of State’s office, and a prior ruling by a Multnomah County judge that he can’t raise and spend money on politics.
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“I may have to run my campaign from inside a jail cell,” Sizemore said, “but either we break the stranglehold the public employee unions have on this state or the future of Oregon will be a grim one.”
On Monday, Nov. 30, Attorney General John Kroger announced that the Oregon Dept. of Justice had filed tax-evasion charges against Sizemore and his wife, Cindy.
Attracting far less attention is the candidacy of Michael Hotchkiss, a 48-year-old heavy equipment appraiser from Redmond.
Hotchkiss grew up in Klamath Falls, attended the Oregon Institute of Technology and served in the U.S. Air Force. He is a lifelong resident of the state.
“I’m a regular guy who’s tired of a lot of the stuff that’s been going on over the years and trying to provide for my family, prosper and be a productive part of society,” Hotchkiss said.
Although he doesn’t plan to do any fund-raising or statewide campaigning, Hotchkiss said he thinks that state government has grown well beyond its means, and that citizens need to become more involved in the political process.
“I’m tired of the lack of accountability in government,” he said. “Here out in the private sector, we’re dying. There are more government jobs in the state of Oregon today than what we have in the private sector. That’s wrong, and we can’t have that. How do you pay for that?”
Former Portland Trailblazers basketball star Chris Dudley also may enter the race. He has formed a campaign committee and has a Website, but has yet to make a formal announcement.
“While Chris will make a decision regarding his candidacy at the appropriate time, he is currently exploring the best way he can help Oregon regain its footing and put our economy back on track,” stated Dudley spokesman Brittany Brammell.
The primary election is set for May 19.
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