Maurer seeks top school spot
From our weekly issue dated February 03, 2010
Rep. Ron Maurer (R-Grants Pass) has announced that he intends to run for Superintendent of Public Instruction, a statewide office.
Maurer currently is in his second term as a state representative, and sits on the House Education Committee. His district includes most of Josephine County.
Prior to his stint in the Legislature, Maurer served on the Grants Pass School Dist. 7 Board of Education from 2001 to 2004. He holds a bachelor“s of science degree in education from Oregon State University (OSU), a master“s degree in adult continuing education from Kansas State University and a doctorate in education from Northern Illinois University.
Maurer also has four children in public schools. In a Monday, Feb. 1 telephone interview, Maurer spelled out his reasons for seeking the superintendent position.
“I cannot sit on the sideline and watch Oregon“s education system continuing to run into a ditch when the management of our Dept. of Education is in such bad shape,“ Maurer said. “A lot of it has to do specifically with the internal operation of the Dept. of Education.“
Maurer said that if elected, he would work to bolster communication between the Dept. of Education and school districts.
“There is much we can do to improve the relationship for the districts that allows teachers to teach instead of being bookkeepers and slaves to bureaucracy,“ Maurer said. “School districts should not operate as essentially wards of the state.“
Maurer had yet to file for the position as of press time, but said he plans to do so by the end of the month. The deadline to file is March 9.
Susan Castillo currently serves as Superintendent of Public Instruction. She earned a bachelor“s degree in communication from OSU and began her career as a television journalist with KVAL in Eugene.
Castillo was the first Hispanic woman ever elected to the Legislature, and she served in the Senate from 1997 to 2002. During that time, she as vice-chairman of the Senate Education Committee.
A resident of Eugene, Castillo was first elected to her position in May 2002. She began her second term in January 2007.
Maurer“s decision to run for that seat means that he will not seek a third term as state representative. But at least one candidate already has lined up to run in his place.
Josephine County Deputy District Attorney Wally Hicks, a Republican, said he plans to file for the position currently held by Maurer.
Hicks“ mother and grandmother were both born in Grants Pass. His greatgrandparents owned a dairy farm just outside of Grants Pass during the Great Depression.
In 1993, at the age of 17, Hicks enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps.
“I celebrated my eighteenth birthday at boot camp,“ Hicks said.
Hicks was on active duty with the Marines until May, 2005, and achieved the rank of Captain. He earned a bachelor“s degree in history from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., in 2000 and served a tour of duty in the Iraq War in 2004.
In 2005, Hicks worked as a volunteer law clerk with the U.S. Dept. of Justice Office of Immigration Litigation. His duties included enforcing immigration laws.
During the 2007 legislative session, Hicks was an aide to Sen. David Nelson (R-Pendleton). Hicks, 33, graduated from the University of Oregon School of Law in 2008. He joined the District Attorney“s office later that year, and handles cases involving juvenile delinquency and violent and repeat adult offenders.
Hicks said that his decision to run was inspired partly by the Legislature“s passage of House Bill 3508 last year.
That bill suspended some provisions of Measure 57, which was passed by voters in November 2008.
Measure 57 established minimum sentences for nonviolent property offenders.
However, the Legislature passed 3508 as a means of cutting the cost of Measure 57“s implementation. Among other things, HB 3508 increases earned time for nonviolent offenders from 20 to 30 percent.
Hicks characterized HB 3508 as an “affront to crime victims.“
“It“s appalling that the Legislature would pass a bill that requires prosecutors to call the families of murder victims and ask for their position about releasing their loved one“s murderer a bit early because of the legislature“s decision,“ he said.
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