(VERY handy comparison chart...! - promoted by torridjoe)
Oregon's newspapers are surprisingly consistent in their newspaper endorsements. They nearly unanimously support the four legislative referrals (measures 54-57) and the open/top two primary (measure 65); and they nearly unanimously oppose all the Sizemore/Mannix measures (measures 58-64).
Check out this chart: (citations after the jump)
Jenni Simonis is a diehard Democratic activist in Multnomah, particularly in the East County area of Gresham where she lives. She's also a regular reader and contributor to Loaded Orygun, and true to her roots and activism this fall she's running for a seat on Gresham City Council.
She's running on a strong progressive platform focused on working class issues--as basic as being able to work a job in Portland or Gresham without a car using public transportation, being safe using that transit and in the city overall, or dealing with the increased need for services due to the influx of Portlanders squeezed out by high home prices.
That's pretty cool for her to step up like that, and we think she's got a good chance of winning. Apparently Democracy for America's Jim Dean thinks so too, and so DFA have put their relatively rare stamp of approval on Simonis' candidacy:
BURLINGTON, VT –DemocracyForAmerica.com, our nation's largest progressive political action community, has endorsed Jenni Simonis’s campaign for Gresham City Council.
"Jenni Simonis is an active community leader with the skills to deliver for the people of Gresham," said Jim Dean, Chair of DFA. "Democracy for America is proud to endorse her campaign."
Jenni Simonis is an experienced entrepreneur, writer, and community leader who has worked for non-profit organizations and Multnomah County. She is currently in the process of starting a web design firm for small businesses and non-profits.
Jenni is president of the North East Neighborhood Association, which covers the area north of Division to the city limits and east of Hogan to the city limits. This area includes Mt. Hood Medical Center, Gresham Golf Course, and Mt. Hood Community College.
Jenni serves as a precinct committee person for the Democratic Party of Oregon, having been appointed in 2000, elected in 2002, and re-elected in 2004, 2006, and 2008. In this position, she has worked to keep her neighbors informed on matters including elections, ballot measures, and important local and national issues.
Democracy for America is a key endorsement in this race, bringing donations from progressives and providing volunteers to participate in door-to-door, grassroots outreach. DFA has helped elect over 550 progressives to office from Governor Deval Patrick in Massachusetts to Rep. Donna Edwards in Maryland’s 4th Congressional District.
Look everyone, it's a picture of that totally talented, crazy-hot chanteuse Storm Large!
I'll have to get back to you on who those other people in the photo are; somebody had to point out to me that there actually WERE other people in the shot.
OK, just kidding--of course that's Portland Council candidate Amanda Fritz and Commissioner/Mayor-elect Sam Adams, along with the exec directior of the Portland Neighborhood Business Associations Alliance, Jon Turino. Obviously Amanda's smiling; she just got Mayor Sam's endorsement for her runoff against Charles Lewis. Sam has a politician's "OK, this is my 100th photo and my jaw is tired so I'll keep the teeth visibility to a minium" look. But Turino looks pretty thrilled to be on Ms. Large's arm--and why not? He's got the potential headstart on "entering the Storm Center" (Davey Nipples notwithstanding); neither of the others are attracted to women! Although I do see Kate Brown lurking at background left...
Silly sexual innuendos (and my Carteresque heart-lust for Storm) aside, this is a big boost for Fritz. Adams has a large coterie of supporters with no vote to cast for him this November, since they pushed him over the top without a runoff in May. The signal from the presumptive Mayor--this is the person he'd like to work with for the next four years--is a strong and compelling one. I like Charles Lewis, especially the things he's done with Ethos Music, but it's beginning to appear that Fritz is steamrolling her way to a Council seat on her 2nd try. (And might I add that if not for Portland's public financing process, she wouldn't have run either time.)
Go Storm! I mean, Amanda! Sheesh, I'm going to go take a shower.
(photo credit: Amanda Fritz for Portland City Council)
I think we can probably dispense with the background on Senator Hillary Clinton's latest "who knows what could happen?" comments about her vulture status for the nomination, and move on to note as a lead-in the reaction to her comments by Josh Kardon, Chief of Staff to Ron Wyden and Clinton's Oregon Steering Committee Chair:
I realize some of you find it outrageous and unforgivable that I remain loyal to one of the greatest Democratic women in our history. My loyalty to a woman I have known for 15 years is based on my enduring belief that she happens to be the best prepared progressive for the job and my knowledge of her extraordinary intellect, strength, and decency. As I stated last night, the race is about to be concluded, and I won't be surprised if I am soon busting hump for a candidate I don't know personally, but whom I already admire a great deal.
Kardon's pose is that as soon as the primaries are over (as well as the rules committe meeting of the DNC on May 31st), it will all be over and we can join hands.
Among the superdelegates, Wyden is prepared to wait the longest to choose sides.
“He said something about a hot August night in Denver,” said spokesman Tom Towslee when asked when the senator would announce which candidate he’d back for the nomination.
Towslee said Wyden’s healthcare proposal was too important to jeopardize a potential vote in the Senate from whichever candidate he doesn’t endorse if an early pledge of superdelegate support is perceived as a slight.
Merkley left himself wide open for this, and I hope Steve's close in this last week of balloting makes him pay. From a press release issued moments ago:
Jeff Merkley said recently that in his opinion the campaign doesn't start until you get on television. He's also asserted that he represents 'the new politics of hope and change.' If you look at what he has on television right now, it's apparent that for Jeff Merkley 'the new politics of hope and change' consists of a desperate effort to convince Oregonians that Steve Novick is a very bad man," said Novick at a Salem press conference. "We've decided not to respond in kind.
Our campaign from the beginning has been based on faith in the voters. Faith in the voters that they'll appreciate a little laughter with their politics. Faith that the voters want a candidate who would offer details about the challenges this country faces and what we need to do meet those challenges. And we have faith that the voters will embrace the candidate that ends the campaign on a positive note.
With popular former Governor John Kitzhaber on Steve's side, the job is that much easier. Wanna see the ad? But of course...
Does this qualify as an endorsement? On Friday, during the KPOJ Morning Show in Portland featuring national broadcaster Thom Hartmann, he and broadcasting colleague Carl Wolfson divulged their Senate votes while taking a call from a 70-year old Aloha voter who is also going with Steve.
Click the link for the audio, here's the transcript:
Thom Hartmann: Ben in Aloha, nice to welcome you to the show, Ben.
Ben in Aloha: Hey, thank you guys, I would really like to thank that lady for keeping the faith out there. And I would also like to mention Steve Novick's campaign. I'm 70 years old and I think that Steve is the best chance that we have to move Oregon forward in the Senate --
Thom: I would tell you Ben, I voted for him yesterday. We mailed in our ballots this morning.
Ben: Cool, awesome. I'm going to pass out some literature for him today in a couple of very active spots --
Carl Wolfson: Hey Ben --
Thom: And that said, I think that Jeff Merkley is also a great candidate.
Carl: Yep. I voted for Steve Novick as well, as we're talking about balance, I voted for Steve Novick last Friday and again, Jeff Merkley, an excellent candidate, but I voted for Steve Novick as well and Ben, thank you very much for bringing that to our attention. Thom, I guess we're 2 and 0 on the Novick campaign.
Thom: Yeah.
And somewhere off air, I bet Heidi Tauber makes three. Just a hunch.
Ha ha, no---Tom Potter doesn't actually have a Daley-style patronage machine (although he has a strong vision for building one some years into the future; there's a task force working on it), but maybe some folks are still listening to Uncle Lame Duck, and he's thrown down his chips and is betting on black (how can it be racially insensitive if Wesley Snipes said it?):
As mayor of Portland, I want to let my fellow Oregonians know that I will be casting my vote on May 20th for Barack Obama.
Senator Obama is the only presidential candidate who has the right combination of strength, integrity and wisdom needed to bring reconciliation and hope to our nation.
During the course of this campaign we have watched Senator Obama come under fire and work through difficult issues with grace and integrity. At each step of the way he has responded by unifying our diverse communities and inspiring us to be part of something bigger than ourselves.
Most importantly, millions of Americans – white, brown, black, wealthy and poor, urban, suburban, and rural – have for the first time been moved to join the political process and have rallied to his vision. Senator Obama will bring fresh leadership and new ideas to make our nation and our world a better place.
I am confident that Obama will show the same leadership in the White House that he has on the campaign trail. At last, we will have someone on our side at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
I mention the patronage angle in jest, partly because Kos believes the only in-state endorsements that really matter in Presidential races are the ones of big city mayors, because they can mobilize their troops for the benefit of the candidate. As noted, it's not clear Potter really has troops to rally, and when the city is more abuzz about Sam vs Sho, Potterville is a ghost town.
Still, couldn't hurt! And now it's official, and all.
More newspaper endorsements have rolled in for Steve Novick over the last day or so, bringing his total to 7 among general circulation papers, to 3 for Jeff Merkley. Gordon Smith's hometown East Oregonian was one of the nod-givers, who notes that they think Novick's "unconventional and audacious style presents the best option for Democratic hopes to unseat Smith." Clear choices and not the same old, same old seems to be what a lot of people want, no matter their particular ideological bent.
But I want to focus on the other two papers Novick just snagged, the Pamplin Group's suite of community biweeklies that cover the Portland Metro area, and the Ashland Daily Tidings, one of the state's smaller papers. Despite the generally recognized belief that an endorsement from The Oregonian represents the most coveted "get" for a candidate (and Novick got it!), I think these two others stand out as better endorsements for him, albeit in different ways.
There are three Portland-based, general circulation newspapers: The Oregonian, The Willamette Week, and the Portland Mercury*. The number of times they've all endorsed the same candidate for a major office recently can probably be counted on one hand (or less!), but when it comes to the Democratic nomination for Senate, they're in perfect harmony: they want the guy with the hook.
We covered The O's big Sunday endorsement of Steve; let's add in the others. First, Willamette Week, whose nod may certainly have been less of a surprise than that from the House of Stickel, but which comes on the heels of a joint endorsement interview Novick's critics--and even some supporters--mark as his low moment of the campaign. They may or may not have liked Novick's answers on the peripheral questions of the race, but they liked Merkley's issue positions even less, making note of three separate areas of "concern."
In the end, the editors appear happily surprised to have Novick exceed their expectations to become a legitimate, solid candidate with the potential for greatness:
Let’s be clear. Back in January 2007, Novick was little more than a placeholder. Novick has a rapier wit, a winning affinity for sports references and an impressive behind-the-scenes résumé working for worthy causes. But Oregonians were waiting for another, more credible Democratic challenger to Smith, a telegenic senator who’s raised boatloads of cash and worked to style himself in the moderate image of past Republican icons such as Mark Hatfield, Bob Packwood and Tom McCall. We all thought that other person would come along.
We were hotly divided between the fun, speak-his-mind insurgent who calls to mind the late Sen. Paul Wellstone and the impassive Merkley, who calls to mind the widely respected Sen. Al Gore—the wooden version, before he became as steaming as the planet.
In the end, we rallied around Novick because we see a capacity for a refreshing independence and an unwavering willingness to tackle our toughest issues, like providing universal health care and ending the war in Iraq. We recognize, too, he could be a spectacular failure, a quotable firebrand for the left who is both alienating and alienated. Our hope is he commits himself to becoming the Senate’s best workhorse before shooting for the ranks of Sunday talk-show showhorse. Novick, please play nice.
{the Merc's endorsement, and even bigger swipe at Merkley, below}
OK, so it's a bit of a hefty gig for some of you reading me now, but hey--I just got a guy in NYC interested enough in Steve to join his Facebook group, maybe he's a Pearl Jam fan! And even though you're here in Oregon or the PNW, I bet you have a relative or a college buddy or that cool professor who introduced you to dope like Donald Sutherland in Animal House, who'll be out there and would love a scarce ducat like this. Or maybe you'll be out there, or haven't planned a vacation yet? I hear NYC and DC are actually OK tourist destinations.
This is easy money for Steve if the right people hear about it, so spread the word...
Oregon Democrats have long coveted the seat of Sen. Gordon Smith, the only Republican currently holding statewide office. They consider him vulnerable because of the way he has supported the policies of an unpopular president while managing to rile many in his party. And in a year in which Democrats are expected to gain ground in Congress, they just may be right.
We think the candidate they should send to face Smith is, in some ways, the unlikeliest one of all: Steve Novick, an Ivy League lawyer who stands 4'-9" and has a hook instead of a left hand.
This choice is unorthodox not just because of Novick's remarkable personal characteristics and history, but because the Democratic Party establishment is supporting another solid candidate, Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley. Merkley launched his campaign after other prominent Oregon Democrats decided not to undertake the rigors and risks of a race against a well-heeled incumbent.
Oregon Democrats have a choice for U.S. Senate between Jeff Merkley, a seasoned politician, and Steve Novick, a seasoned political activist. They are highly intelligent, very well educated and nearly indistinguishable on the issues.
The winner of the May 20 primary will square off against Republican incumbent Sen. Gordon Smith, an accomplished politician with a multi-million dollar war chest.
Either Merkley or Novick would make a fine senator. We think Democrats who are serious about defeating Smith should choose Novick.
...
Some observers discount Novick because he hasn't served as a legislator while Merkley has, saying he would be less effective. We don't buy that for a minute.
Novick was chief of staff for the Senate Democrats in Salem, and has spent years running campaigns and working behind the scenes in the legislative process. He makes a convincing case that he would be a tough negotiator for legislation he wanted to see passed. He exhibits a clear grasp of budget and public policy issues and clearly understands how the legislative process works.
When asked about his experience, Novick points to senators such as the late Paul Wellstone of Minnesota and Oregon's own Wayne Morse, who won election with no legislative background.
In the general election campaign, Smith will likely tack toward the left to appeal to Oregon's Democrats, and we see the possibility that Merkley would drift to the right. We have no doubt that Novick would stick to his guns, giving voters a clear choice in November. [emphs mine]
"He's the embodiment of change," Wu said this morning on a conference call with reporters.
Wu went on to say that he's comfortable with the positions taken by Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton on domestic and international affairs. The closest Wu got to outlining any actual distinction between the two candidates was when he lauded Obama as having "brought the temperature down" in the campaign, a sign of both Obama being thoughtful and a "natural conciliator."
Asked whether that meant he considered Clinton to be more divisive, Wu said, "I didn't say that."
Wu also kept the window open—by the smallest of cracks—to changing his mind, saying in response to a question that he'd obviously think about his decision if Clinton were to win his congressional district by 25 percentage points. "But I don't think that's going to happen," he said.
Yeah, me neither Dave. So that evens the "superdelegate" score at 2-2, with Wu joining Sir Bow Tie on the other side of the fence from Guv Ted and Lame Duck Darlene. Will anyone else come out of the endorsement closet before the primary?
Updating, a fuller statement released by the Obama OR campaign:
"I think we are blessed to have two strong candidates for president," Congressman David Wu said. "I am endorsing Barack Obama for president today because I believe that he is best suited to turn the page on this sorry episode in American history. He and I both had the judgment to oppose the Iraq War from the very beginning.
"Every dollar that we have spent in Iraq-which adds up to over $500 billion so far-is a dollar not spent at home, a school not built, a bridge not repaired," continued Wu. "We need new policies both at home and abroad. Like Americans, the international community wants to see real change in America and I believe that Senator Obama embodies that change."
"I thank Congressman Wu for his support, and look forward to working with him to bring this war in Iraq to an end, strengthening our economy and addressing the issue of climate change," said Senator Barack Obama.
While the blogosphere bickers, the Big Beltway Boys are likely pondering Jeff Merkley's sharp drop in contributions last quarter, and reading one of their favorite periodicals for the punditry class and their objects of affection, Roll Call. Seems they heard the harmonious notes for Novick last week:
The Rock Vote. If elections were decided by hipness alone, it seems Oregonian Steve Novick would easily trounce GOP Sen. Gordon Smith in the November elections. Novick’s campaign got a boost with an endorsement last week from a list of musicians that reads like a rock geek’s dream lineup at the 9:30 Club. While endorsements from musicians are a staple of political campaigns, this group stood out for its sheer indie credibility — no small distinction, when a candidate is running in a state that gave birth to grunge.
On the list of artists backing Novick: Colin Meloy of the Decemberists and Thomas Lauderdale of Pink Martini (both of Portland), Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam, Michael Stipe of R.E.M., Britt Daniel of Spoon, Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie, Krist Novoselic of Nirvana and Flipper, Dave Dederer of the Presidents of the United States of America, Corin Tucker of Sleater-Kinney, and Rufus Wainwright.
Sounds like Novick will have a veritable jukebox of options for picking a campaign song.
He's also likely going to end up with enough cash from the Pearl Jam ticket giveaway to buy a couple of jukeboxes. Those concerts are long sold out, folks--meaning that Sir Steve is sitting on perhaps the last cache of publicly available seats without (traditional) scalping. My guess is it will cost a minimum of a couple hundred to get a ticket, and for the NY show, it wouldn't be unreasonable to ask something as high as $1000 apiece. Maybe a little more, a little less--but it could be lucrative. Steve may have to endure cries of "out of state supported!" from the East Coasters looking to snap up PJ ducats any way they can, but I think he'll survive.
An interesting statement from Novick over the weekend, clarifying and expanding his remarks on blogging in last week's Willamette Week endorsement interviews:
In the Willamette Week endorsement interview the other day, I gave a pretty dumb answer to a question about the impact of blogs on politics. Some folks online are blowing my comments up as a betrayal of the netroots, so I wanted to take a moment to apologize for my statement and clarify what I was trying to say.
We were asked: “The blogs … do you think they've helped or hurt the Democratic nominee's chance to win in November?” Given the editor’s additional comments, I took this to mean, “Has all the back-and-forth between the candidates’ partisans on the blogs so far helped or hurt the cause?”
The truth is that blogs and the netroots are doing a lot to beat Gordon Smith and they are doing a lot to help my campaign. I was proud to attend the Yearly Kos conference last year and be recognized as a netroots candidate. I’ve blogged here on my site, on Daily Kos, Huffington Post and Loaded Orygun. And I’m incredibly thankful for all of the online support I’ve received and the value of the blogs in exposing just how out of step Gordon Smith’s record is with the priorities of regular Oregonians.
My concern, which I agree came out very poorly, was whether the internal fights between like-minded progressives can distract us from the larger task of taking back our country. In my own primary, we’ve seen bloggers who are typically allies divided into increasingly personal and repetitive fights that I worry do little to help reach a broader audience or advance our cause. Of course, as I noted in my comments, this is (hopefully) really just a loss to those individuals, but I worry about the cost to personal relationships and uniting progressives in the general election. Kossacks have been having a similar discussion over the past month about the back and forth in the presidential race. And it was in that context that I thinking when I responded to the question. (I feel quite sure that’s how Willamette Week intended the question, too.)
I really don't think much apology was called for, except perhaps to soothe the souls of the sensitive bloggers who thought all internetdom had been unfairly castigated as the realm of the pajamaed loser.
Certainly the idea that many people waste a whole lot of time blogging is unassailable, but the answer--particularly when dropping the initial part of it where he agrees with Merkley that blogs can provide good information--ended up sounding grumpy, typically blogophobic--like the media's general reaction bloggers expect. So perhaps a mea culpa is best, if only to explain to the larger audience who may not know of Novick's own active blogging experience, or the specific context of blogging WWeek was asking about, and heard it as just another attack on bloggers.
What I find interesting is that Novick is taking a step back on this, while there's not even a hint of an apology apparently coming from the campaign for saying it preferred Frohnmayer to Merkley at this point in the primary (which seems to have manufactured some more outrage among the usual suspects, but which probably sounds eminently reasonable to the majority of people who are currently planning on backing someone besides Merkley). Novick said he'd back Merkley if he won, but some feel Merkley is entitled to automatic support no matter how lame a Democrat you've been.
I believe Steve is sincerely pretty shocked at the range of nasty and substanceless attacks unleashed and tested that Merkley has let go on him--and then to make it about STEVE being negative? I never thought I'd call Steve naive about anything, but he seems to have trusted Jeff Merkley--which you can probably do, until you start threatening his meal ticket.
I bet Karen Minnis wasn't too surprised when she was compared to a pedophile Congressman, but then again that was HER style all the time, threatened or not. Novick doesn't do that stuff, but it's sure being done to him. He didn't think he'd see that cornered animal response from Merkley, but once it was clear he was behind, Merkley started going negative, and going personal. It made for a messy City Club debate. What will the KGW version reveal?
Steve Novick seems to be peeling support away from rival Rep. Jeff Merkley. A poll earlier this week saw him leading the presumptive frontrunner, and now his campaign released the news that the Graduate Teaching Fellows Federation (GTFF), American Federation of Teachers Local 3544 broke away from ATF-Oregon, the state affiliate chapter which endorsed Merkley, in order to support Novick.
Not only was the Federation willing to break from ATF-Oregon’s decision, but they are planning a resolution which would ask the full state chapter to also throw their support behind Novick.
"We are proud to declare our support for Steve Novick in the Democratic primary," said Keith Appleby, GTFF Vice President for Political Education.
Unknown how the resolution will fare (one expects leadership will not appreciate reopening that can of worms), but doing so at the convention could spark a discussion at the rank and file level that may likely not have previously occurred. And with OEA throwing their weight behind Steve--and the fairly dramatic shift in CW caused by the KATU poll establishing him as the frontrunner, would AFT consider re-evaluating its previous decision?
Steve's comments on the nod:
It is a real honor that the GTFF members felt so strongly about my grassroots campaign that they were willing to buck the state leadership to show their support. And as a U. of O alum, I know that with fighting Ducks on your side, you can't lose," said Novick. "With the support of Pete Sorenson, Tony Corcoran, the Cottage Grove Blackberry Pie Society and many more, I know that LaneCounty will be Novick country in upcoming primary.
Graduate students would certainly seem to be one of Steve's better demographics, you'd figure--and their presence in Eugene and on the UofO campus opens up a key avenue of support in a county where Novick must (and has the potential to) compete strongly.
So the momentum continues, and I hear more are coming--endorsements that might appeal less to organized interest groups, more to actual voters in crucial areas. Stay tuned!
Haven't spoken much about the AG race lately; it's actually been fairly quiet. Still hard to get traction in March, and if the Presidential race isn't sucking out all the oxygen, the Senate race is breathing the rest.
Also, it seems as if one candidate has been building momentum from the start and continues to garner strong endorsements from a wide variety of people and groups from all walk of life. For instance, mayors:
Oregon Attorney General candidate John Kroger today announced the endorsement of Mayors Kitty Piercy of Eugene, Bruce Abernethy of Bend, Alan Unger of Redmond and Phillip Houk of Pendleton.
Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy
“I support John Kroger because he wants to tackle two of the biggest challenges our state faces –environmental pollution and child abuse,” said Kitty Piercy, Mayor of Eugene. “He will be an Attorney General who works hard to make a real difference for Oregon families, our quality of life and our future.”
These endorsements follow the support of city leaders around the state. John has also garnered the support of Portland City Commissioners Randy Leonard, Erik Sten and Dan Saltzman, and Hermiston Mayor Bob Severson.
“Winning the support of mayors across the state makes a huge difference in our campaign,” Kroger commented. “It shows that our message of tackling our meth problem and protecting the environment is important to civic leaders all across the state. I look forward to working with Mayor Piercy and all my supporters when I am elected Attorney General.”
Eugene, Bend...Redmond and...Pendleton? Not your usual coalition of leadership, but it seems the best candidates are the ones who end up having a little crossover flavor for some reason. Obama has the Obamacans, Novick has them in stitches at Fox, and now Kroger has the Mayors of the Desert (and Eugene). Throw in Hermiston and he's got the watermelon farmer vote, too.
Do they mean a whole lot individually? Probably not, although the smaller the town the mayor oversees, the better the influence on his domain. But it's a signal of Kroger's wide appeal. He has a number of strongly progressive principles working for him, but he doesn't come off as a softy or someone who just thinks everyone needs a hug.
I think the objective eye on this race has to see Kroger as the minimal frontrunner over Macpherson, based on the surprise of some endorsements, and the way in which he's actually seemed to have raised the profile of the AG's race. It's still mostly under the radar, but he's garnered his support base quickly and continues to build it. And side by side, I just think Kroger impresses more.
Well, the overwhelming endorsement of Steve Novick over Jeff Merkley and all other candidates in the US Senate race has generated quite a bit of media attention. We reported the blog entry Jeff Mapes posted soon after the vote, which was followed relatively quickly by Willy Week, who noted, "After the announcement, Merkley stood at the back of the room at the convention revealing no visible emotions. Novick met with reporters off the floor where he said the OEA's endorsement would boost his campaign by putting "boots on the ground."
And shortly after that, PolitickerOR got a few new quotes of their own:
When asked whether he believed the recent discussion of Merkley and charter schools entered the educators' dialogue, Novick said no. He believes, rather, that the delegates responded to his challenging Merkley on the "real issues" like taxes while "Merkley has gone after a ten year old Letter to the Editor. He's starting to get desperate. He's running a campaign on petty accusations," Novick said.
Merkley's spokesman Matt Canter says the candidate is still extremely confident and inspired by the work he has done with the OEA in the Legislature.
"Jeff is the only candidate who has been working with teachers on the front," Canter said.
Given that, why the Novick landslide?
"Novick brings the experience of years of being a political consultant, and Jeff brings different experiences to the table," Canter explained. "He's never organized an endorsement conference."
Can anyone translate that answer? Novick won because Jeff hasn't ever organized an endorsement conference? If not having done it before is an excuse for being blown out, how does he feel about a general election for Senate he's never done before?
Just received from the Novick campaign, the results of the Oregon Education Association vote to endorse in the US Senate race:
Steve Novick ~ 58,000 (62%)
Jeff Merkley ~ 19,000 (20%)
John Frohnmayer ~ 12,000 (13%)
Total 94,000
Margin: ~ 61.7%
Threshhold for endorsement 60%
Steve Novick has received the full and sole endorsement of the Oregon Education Association's 94,000 48,000-member union for US Senate in the fall.
I have a strong feeling this will be balanced out by the news of a dual endorsement or perhaps even a sole Merkley endorsement by SEIU, but even if that's the case, substantial union support and resources will be available for both men this spring--cancelling out a major prospective Merkley advantage.
Portland lawyer Steve Novick won a big victory over House Speaker Jeff Merkley just minutes ago when the state's powerful teacher's union endorsed him in the race for the U.S. Senate held by Republican Gordon Smith.
Up until today's vote by the Oregon Education Association, Merkley had won most union endorsements and had broad support from the national Democratic establishment. But Novick showed his ability to woo a union known for the openness of its endorsement process.
The voting by the 337 delegates at the Salem Conference Center was weighted based on contributions made by each local to the OEA's political fund.
Novick won 58,322 votes compared to 19,013 for Merkley and 12,541 for Oregon Independent Party candidate John Frohnmayer. Another candidate, David Loera, received 342 votes and 1,513 votes were cast for no recommendation.
Novick said the vote was the culmination of 11 years of working with the 48,000-member union on a wide variety of issues, ranging from his work against measures sponsored by conservative tax activist Bill Sizemore to his efforts to lower video lottery commissions for retailers so that more of the proceeds could flow to schools.
Novick said he also thought teachers appreciated that he had called for raising taxes on capital gains and for raising the cap on wages subject to Social Security taxes.
While I had suggested there would be strong symbolism for Oregon voters in former Governor Kitzhaber's endorsement of Steve Novick for Senate, KATU went a little more concrete. Considering Kitzhaber's health care focus, his endorsement of Novick's health care plan has specific meaning. And KATU asked Merkley about it. Watch for the highly uncomfortable "why are you even asking me this?" look on his face as he replies. This was not how he expected his March to start off, I don't think...
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Jenni Simonis is a diehard Democratic activist in Multnomah, particularly in the East County area of Gresham where she lives. She's also a regular reader and contributor to Loaded Orygun, and true to her roots and activism this fall she's 
There are three Portland-based, general circulation newspapers: The Oregonian, The Willamette Week, and the Portland Mercury*. The number of times they've all endorsed the same candidate for a major office recently can probably be counted on one hand (or less!), but when it comes to the Democratic nomination for Senate, they're in perfect harmony: they want the guy with the hook.
