Noted Oregonian and former nine-term Congressman Les AuCoin, the man who flipped Oregon's 1st District (now held by David Wu) for the first time in state history, accomplished author and liberal activist, is moving! Well, not physically, and he's actually already moved...his blog. AuCoin and his photographer wife provided an excellent on-the-ground series from their work to elect Obama in Ohio last year, and of course he is well able and qualified to comment on both national and local politics throughout the year. His output is steady if not profligate, always thoughtful and even-keeled but still principled and committed.
Update, 3:30pm--
Now with a link to all of Congressman DeFazio's many events this month!
You may have heard about the coordinated effort to disrupt public events of Congresspeople during the August recess, particularly to project on them a negative opinion on health care reform. Despite how pathetic and white-flag-waving that is, to essentially admit you've got nothing on the merits and can only hope to influence by shouting your Member down, there is certainly the dangerous possibility that some Congresspeople may actually be swayed or intimidated by this, so it is absolutely IMPERATIVE for less demonically warped citizens to offer a counter balance--not only among those of us who support serious reform, but simply to make sure that the crazies don't win and shut down reasonable debate.
But I have no idea where my Congressperson will be! you may be saying. Yeah, that's a problem; typically the traditional media only see fit to mention such events in the past tense, when it's too late. But Members aren't always dilligent and timely about their notifications, either.
In that interest, one of the heroes of the reform campaign, Firedoglake, have set up a Public Appearances spreadsheet where you can not only find out where they're appearing, but add your own reportage of events as you learn about them. I checked the list this morning and found not a single Oregon member represented, so I'm working on doing something about it. I now have all scheduled events to date listed in the spreadsheet for Mssrs. Wu (OR-1), Blumenauer (OR-3) and Schrader (OR-5). I promise to give DeFazio's (OR-4) office a call, and even Greg Walden's (R, OR-2) if I get a chance.
But to make it even easier for you, below the jump I'll reprint them here. And if you feel wild and crazy, as you hear about more events you can add them in comments too...get active! This issue is just too important to let go. If you've never gone to a town hall event, now is the time. Please.
The latest in my postings on Oregon politics is a discussion of how I intend to vote when I get my ballot on Friday or Saturday. I am posting this now both to foster discussion and because, especially on the ballot measures, I am willing to listen to arguments on whether I am wrong to think about voting the way I intend to.
Two interesting stories today, one of which is happening at the same time I'm publishing this, so I'll lead off with that: OR-1 Republican nominee and Independent Party cross-nominee Joel Haugen has repudiated his GOP ballot line option, in a statement outlining his request that his name carry the banner of the IPO instead. From Haugen's statement:
Today, I have made the decision to have my name appear on the ballot under the Independent party's ballot line in the November 4th election. I make this decision with much humility and thought for my fellow Republicans and I reaffirm both my philosophical support and bond to traditional Republicanism. I remain a registered Republican and I trust that members of my party will understand my basis for choosing this course. This action reflects the core traditional Republican values with which I grew up, hold dearly, and from which some in the party have strayed in recent years. I believe deeply in conservation, fiscal responsibility, equal rights, upholding our Constitution, and achieving a balance between the interests of business and labor. I believe that most Americans embrace these same values. Support for independent thinking, regardless of party affiliation, is what I see as the urgent need for our nation, and choosing the Independent label at this time appears to be my best course given the constraints imposed by the Oregon election system.
{analysis, and the other half of today's mini House roundup, below}
This happened a few days earlier (ably newswired by skywaker on Wednesday) and I saw it coming a mile away about a week or so ago, but access and time failed me in order to get something published properly. Certainly better a little late than never, as it's a pretty big story that touches all major parties and a couple of minor ones in Oregon, and deals with a recurring topic at LO about ballot access and electoral reform.
As the headline and our initial reportage indicate, a coalition of minor parties and a major party candidate for Congress in Oregon's First District have joined to sue the Secretary of State in order to force what they believe is compliance with Oregon statutes, said to allow simultaneous (or cross-) nomination from different parties, represented in list format after a candidate's name on the ballot. The Independent Party of Oregon (IPO) is leading the suit, and as I said at the top has not been shy about their opinion or intentions on the matter as the story and responses from the state developed to the question.
The IPO and Working Families Party (which I belong to) are also strong proponents in the Legislature for fusion voting, and in fact the "list-style" ballot is a valid form of fusion, albeit one that diminishes the ability of the minor endorsing party to claim a numeric level of support. In full fusion voting, each qualifying party has their own line, and candidates may appear multiple times. This is not currently allowed in Oregon law--but the IPO, WFP and Haugen all agree that the law does allow list-style endorsing. It's in part on this basis that I believe the groups sued the state for banning fusion, but lost. Their argument is far more salient here, in my opinion. From IPO's release:
"We had hoped that the Secretary of State would recognize the mistake and allow us to move on," said Party Secretary, Sal Peralta. "The opinion of our legal advisors is that the state's actions are inconsistent with Oregon law, and we need the court to make a determination."
“The Independent Party makes a strong argument that the statutory changes in 1995 require that party nominations accepted by a candidate should appear on that candidate’s ballot line,” said Senator Ben Westlund, who was recently cross-nominated by the Independent Party in his bid to become State Treasurer. “The statute seems to indicate that both nominations should be printed in this case.”
Westlund joins fellow Democrat, Jeff Merkley, and Republican, Joel Haugen as the candidates who have been cross-nominated by the Independent Party.
The case is set out in the attached Complaint and Motion for Preliminary Injunctive Relief. The Marion County Circuit Court has scheduled a hearing for August 21. [emph mine]
No doubt Ben is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the endorsement and the legal argument, and has no real debt of fealty to any major party system--but he happens to be right and he's respected for a reason. It speaks well for the suit to have Westlund back it. In a Mapes piece online, Merkley's team has welcomed the nomination, but seems a bit less strident in their advocacy for the principle of ballot access. (Fairly, it should be said the roadblocks to fusion in 2007 were mostly in the Senate, not the House, and incumbent House member Peter Buckley is representing the WFP as the cross-nominated candidate showing potential harm).
The Independent Party of Oregon, the state's third largest political party, today announced the nomination of Joel Haugen as the party's candidate for US House of Representatives in the 1st Congressional District of Oregon. Haugen, a Republican who won 70 percent of the vote in the May primary, joins Democrat Jeff Merkley, the Independent Party's nominee for US Senate, as the second candidate cross-nominated by the Independent Party.
"Joel's appeal to traditional Republican values and his willingness to reach across party lines in service of the public interest place him in a long-line of independent, civic-minded Oregon leaders" said party chair, Linda Williams.
"Joel is using his campaign to try and raise awareness about the fact that there are many politicos in the major parties who have lost sight of the national interest in the fog of partisanship," said party secretary, Sal Peralta. "We support his efforts to try and bring the conversation back to the reasonable middle and encourage all people of goodwill to support his candidacy."
One other interesting side issue is that the IPO is seeking to have their party label appear next to Haugen's name on the ballot, along with the GOP's (R). The state currently prohibits a candidate from appearing one more than one ballot line (something advocates of fusion voting are attempting to change), but IPO thinks that the law is on their side:
In reviewing the statute on ballot design, ORS 254.135, the Independent Party has taken the position that, although a candidate's name may only appear on a single ballot line, his or her name may be followed by both the name of the party of which he is a registered member and the name of a party of which he is not a member. This was the practice in Oregon prior to 1958.
It is the position of the party that modifications made to the statute in 1995 had the effect of permitting the name of multiple nominating parties to appear next to the candidate's name.
"We remain optimistic that the Oregon Secretary of State will recognize that the current practice is inconsistent with the statutory requirement," said Linda Williams, herself an attorney.
The party supplied examples from the 40s, where multi-party labels were shown. Of course the candidate has to approve the nomination of any party who endorses him, but one expects in this situation, Haugen will accept it with open arms.
This isn't a total surprise, given that the IPO has noted with interest the way Haugen has been treated by the state GOP. But it does make for an interesting race in Oregon's 1st. David Wu has generally won his previous races fairly easily, and this is one of the worst environments for a Republican in many years.
But there is definitely an undercurrent of discontent with Wu in both Democratic and independent circles, and combined with IPO's balancing by nominating Merkley for Senate, the nod may draw voters who are seeking a more universally clean house in Congress. Even before today's nomination, Blue Oregon's Kari Chisholm was already spooked by the prospect . I've asked for comment from the Haugen campaign--including whether he plans to accept--and road-willing I'll update this post if I get one.
This latest in my continuing series of diaries on Oregon politics will discuss the current status of Oregon's political landscape by using voter registration as a guide. With this model, we can see clearly how strongly the Democratic party is positioned for this fall.
In order so that those of you who have been reading my Oregon politics diaries can understand who these people are I have been talking about, I present the following entry. For brevity's sake, only statewide and congressional candidates will be discussed.
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