Kulongoski, Packwood take Senate race
Emerald phcio
Ted Kulongoski
Tuesday’s Senate race held no sur
prises, as both Republican Bob Pack
wood and Democrat Ted Kulongoski
won landslide victories.
Packwood, a 12-year veteran, gar
nered 62 percent of the vote, finishing
ahead of runner-up Brenda Jose, who
took 15 percent.
Kulongoski’s main opponent,
Charles Porter, was second with 21
percent of the vote, while Jack Sumner
of Hepner finished third at 14 percent.
“Ted’s feeling is that it is going to be
a real horse race between him and
Packwood,” said Marv Fjordbeck,
Kulongoski’s press aide. "It’s going to
be a close race.’’
Packwood was surprised at his large
victory margin since he spent little
money on primary campaign advertis
ing, according to Craig Smith, Pack
wood's campaign manager.
After his victory was guaranteed,
Kulongoski challenged Packwood to
seven debates around the state before
the November general election. Smith
said Packwood will debate, but de
clined to say when and where the sen
ator will take on Kulongoski.
"I believe that holding the debates
throughout the state would best facili
tate voter decisions in all regions of
Oregon,” Kulongoski said.
Smith said Packwood's first goal for
the primary election campaign is to
"get the issues out early.”
Jose and Huss, Packwood’s stron
gest opponents, accused the senator
throughout the campaign of liberal vot
ing in the Senate. Packwood is best
known for his support of abortion
rights.
Kulongoski and Porter, both Eugene
attorneys, agreed on almost every issue
during the campaign.
Packwood holds positions on the
Senate finance and banking commit
tees. He has raised more than $1 million
to finance his campaign — a state
record.
Weaver, Fitzgerald take party primaries
Incumbent Jtm Weaver sailed
to victory Tuesday over weak
opposition from self-proclaimed
“workers’ candidate” John
Newkirk in the Democratic 4th
Congressional District primary.
Republican Mike Fitzgerald also
easily defeated his opponent,
Rutledge Jay.
With 94 percent of the
precincts counted Weaver, a
three-term Congressman, gar
}
MARK HAMILL • HARRISON FORD • CARRIE FISHER
BILLY DEE WILLIAMS • ANTHONY DANIELS
70 MM AND DOLBY STEREO
PG
TIMES
11:00 AM -1:30-4
:45-9:30-12:00 AM
LOOKING
FORA
ROOMMATE?
Start
with
ODE
Classified
Advertisino
Pag* 4 Section A
nered 74 percent of the vote to
Newkirk’s 26 percent, while
Fitzgerald scored 77 percent to
Jay’s 23 percent.
“I am grateful, first of all, to
the people who turned out to
make our campaign success
ful," Fitzgerald said at his
Rodeway Inn election-night
headquarters. “And I want to
thank the voters who turned out
in such great numbers.”
Fitzgerald predicted he would
face stiff opposition from
Weaver in the general election.
"You bet I’m going to have a
problem with Mr. Weaver,” he
said.
Fitzgerald accused Weaver of
presenting himself as a conser
vative in the 4th district while
voting as a liberal in Washing
ton. Fitzgerald also denied that
his extensive ties with the timber
industry would hurt him in
November.
“This is a timber economy
here, and it needs to be repre
sented in Congress,” Fitzgerald
said.
Weaver, a traditional liberal,
was unavailable for comment.
His victory was no surprise,
since Newkirk, a political unk
nown, waged only token oppo
sition.
Fitzgerald, a Curry County
commissioner, is a former
advertising executive from San
Diego.
With 463 of 493 precincts
reporting, Weaver led Newkirk
59,054 to 19,856, while Fitzger
ald led Jay 41,596 to 12,541.
The economy and unem
ployment should be the
predominant issues in the gen
eral election campaign.
voters approve Lansing,
Myers in treasurer race
In Tuesday’s state treasurer
primary race, Republican in
cumbent Clay Myers and
Democrat Jewel Lansing deci
sively beat their respective op
ponents, Republican George
Wingard and Democrat Jason
Boe.
Myers beat Wingard by a vote
of 123,990 to 87,799.
“My race is going great,"
Myers said in a telephone inter
view before the final results
were in. "I had been predicting
between 53 and 59 percent to
Bob Packwood as we sat in the
whirlpool, listening to the elec
tion returns.”
Of his defeat, Wingard said, "I
tried to get across the point that
he wasn’t a good (money) man
ager, but the people just weren't
responsive.”
But Wingard doesn’t feel his
race was a total failure.
"I don’t know if my campaign
failed or Myers’ was just suc
cessful,” he said, adding that
Myers had 90-percent name
familiarity to his 27 percent.
Wingard will continue his
two-year term as state senator
and says he is “looking forward
to new leadership in the Sen
ate," now that Jason Boe is no
longer senate president.
Myers will face Democrat
Jewel Lansing in November’s
general election.
Lansing, Myers’ opponent in
the 1976 general election,
Tuesday received 00,000 votes
to Boe’s 00,000.
Alyse Lansing, Jewel Lans
ing’s daughter and press aide,
said her mother was “really
tickled and excited” about the
results and “feels much
stronger now” than she did in
1976.
Her background as a certified
public accountant and as five
year Multnomah County Auditor
qualify her for the state trea
surer post, she said.
Because all Oregon’s land
and mineral rights come under
the state land board's jurisdic
tion, Lansing said serving on the
board is one of the Insurer's
primary responsibilities. She
proposes creating an agency to
coordinate federal and state
policy on state lands because
“so many of the lands fall
between the cracks” of state
and federal agencies.
8ecause of the speculative
nature of Myers’ controversial
stand-by committments, Lans
ing would change the adminis
trative regulations to disallow
those types of committments.