Secretary of State
I Favors a self-destruct plan for all state agencies
By GREG WASSON
Of the Emerald
A familiar claim in this year's
race for Secretary of State is
that past secretaries, and
others seeking the office, have
used the position as a political
stepping-stone. Medford
Democrat AJ Densmore says
he’d change things
“I feel the office could be
much more visible,” says
Densmore. “The way it is now,
the secretary 's office isn’t even
enforcing the election laws. If a
complaint is filed, its turned
over to the AG s (Attorney
General) office.”
Densmore says he would
aggressively’’ oversee the
election processes in the
state.
His background backs up
that claim. “I have a history in
the area of elections I helped
write the law that I would be
administering."
Turning to another major
issue in the campaign, Dens
more outlined his feelings
about auditing state agencies,
a job the constitution requires
the Secretary of State to do.
“We need to redirect our
priorities on a regular basis,'
says Densmore. To do this, he
favors building a self-destruct
clause into every state
agency. Agencies would be
given a life span of anywhere
from two to eight years.
McAlmond:
Self-made millionaire says secretary of state office
is unorganized, favors
public evaluation of expenditure
“It would force the Legisla
ture, on a regular basis, to
reexamine what state agen
cies are doing." Densmore
dismisses the “Sunset Plan”
favored by Sen. Blaine Whip
ple as not “going far enough."
Under the Sunset Plan, state
regulatory agencies would
have built-in destruct dates.
Densmore opposes the
Republican-backed initiative
to create a cross-party primary
in Oregon, and favors working
with other western states to
create a regional primary.
A 29-year-old Social
Studies teacher from Medford,
Densmore has served three
terms in the House, during
which he served as Speaker
Pro-Tempore for a year, and
assistant majority leader for a
year.
A! Densmore
By GREG WASSON
Of the Emerald
Nobody on the democratic
side of the race for Secretary
of State has a lot of good
things to say about the way the
office is being run now, and
Phil McAlmond is no excep
tion.
“The accounting division of
that office is two to three years
behind for two basic reasons.
One is the high turnover rate to
the office, and the other is the
fact that every state agency
has its own method of account
ing. It’s a ludicrous situation
now where state auditors often
can’t even find the information
they’re looking for.”
To solve the latter problem,
McAlmond proposes a uniform
accounting system for aH state
agencies. “It’s simply a must,
says McAlmond.
Unlike others in the race,
McAlmond is calling for a per
formance audit system for the
state. “A performance audit is
something the Legislature
woukj be interested in having,
but my main concern is that we
set up a fiscal analysis report
for the public.” McAlmond
Phil McAJmond
says the public should be pro
vided with the information it
needs to evaluate what it's get
ting for its money.
‘The public should be al
lowed to judge how efficiently
or inefficiently its money is
being spent."
Me Almond favors letting In
dependents vote in the prim
ary, but is opposed to the cur
rent petition drive for a cross
party primary. “We do not be
nefit our democratic system by
disenfranchising Indepen
dents. I propose that we allow
Independents to chose one
party ballot or the other at the
polls."
A self-made millionare,
McAlmond has run for the U.S.
Senate, the State Senate
State Treasurer, and Con
gress but has never been
elected to public office. A Port
land businessman, McAlmond
says he s running again, “be
cause I want to do something
for our state.”
\A/hinnlAa The state should budget
VTiiippiCi for Specjfjc program goals’
By GREG WASSON
Of the Emerald
Blaine Whipple, a Beaver
ton Democrat, is a first-term
state senator who would like to
be Secretary of State. Whip
ple, like most other candidates
seeking the office, says the
current auditing system oper
Biaine Whipple
ated by the Secretary of State
is inadequate.
“I favor the ‘Sunset Ran’ re
cently passed in Colorado,’’
says Whipple. “Under this
plan, any new regulatory
agency will self-destruct in six
years, if it can’t prove its viabil
ity. This would force the Legis
lature to look a little more care
fully at agencies and the direc
tion they’re taking.” He also
favors shifting the state
budgeting process to a prog
ram orientation.
“The state should budget for
specific program goals The
budget of the Department of
Environmental Quality, for ex
ample, should relate to
Oregon’s environmental ob
jectives and the different
priorities attached to those ob
jectives. Instead, we measure
the quality of Oregon s envi
ronment by the number of pol
lution samples taken, or the
number of permits denied."
Whipple also promises, ‘to
join Gov. Bob Straub and de
dare war on administrative
gobbtediy-gook. " Induded in
Whipple s part of the war
would be the establishment of
publicizing new administrative
rules before they are estab
lished and enforced. Whipple
points to the fiasco surround
ing the 1973 sub-division bill.
“It wasn’t the legislation that
caused the problem, it was the
rules enacted by the Real Es
tate Commissioner. If he had
put those rules up for review,
con traders around the state
could have told him they
wouldn't work. Instead we had
to call a spedal session."
At 46, Whipple is a
Portland-area real-estate de
veloper who was elected to the
State Senate in 1974. He
helped coordinate Eugene
McCarthy’s and George
McGovern’s successful cam
paigns in Oregon, and is a
Democratic National Commit
teeman.
Groener:
More frequent audits,
looser construction funds
By GREG WASSON
Of the Emerald
A conversation with Sen
Dick Groener, D-Milwaukie.
about why he wants to be Sec
retary of State, will probably
start out with a run-down of the
problems facing labor in
Oregon today.
"There's over a billion dol
lars in construction funds in
this state being held up by
what I like to call well-meaning
environmentalists. In my own
district, there’s a shopping
center being held up that
would sit right next to a free
way. That’s typical of the situa
tion state-wide."
What could Groener do
about frozen construction
funds as Secretary of State?"
“I would work with the Legis
lature for legislation that would
make it harder for individuals
to tie up construction prog
rams. Among things Groener
favors, is requiring individuals
suing to stop construction to
post bond to pay attorney fees
and court cost, should they
lose their battle.
Turning to the duties of the
Secretary of State, Groener
says he isn't pushing the idea
of a performance audit.
We should have a perfor
mance audit, but that is some
thing the Legislature should
decide. What we realty need is
more frequent audits. Some
state agencies haven't been
audited for two or three years."
Groener also faults the pre
sent Secretary of State with a
lack of follow-through in the
auditing process. He doesn't
favor the idea of putting de
struct clauses in the legislation
that establishes state agen
cies.
“I think if an agency is un
necessary, the Legislature
should take action, but I don't
fa' or the idea of destruct
clauses. Constituents are the
ones that have the problems
with the agencies, and if you
listen closely, you know what
problems you need to deal
with."
Groener has served in the
Legislature for 18 years, and in
his words, "I have served my
apprenticeship."
Dick Greener
Friday, May 21, 1976