Eugene weekly., August 19, 2004, Page 8, Image 8

HAMPTON CAMPAIGN
GEARING FOR NOVEMBER
Supporters of County Commissioner Don
Hampton are getting organized in anticipation
of a well-funded, “tough race” in November.
“A victory for Don is critical for everybody in
Lane County,” says Michael Carrigan, .cam-
paign co-coordinator.
Hampton, 59, was appointed to the East
Lane District position in 2003 following the
resignation of Tom Lininger. Hampton will be
facing Faye Stewart, 36, of Cottage Grove in
November. By county election rules, the top
two candidates in primary races face off in the
general election if neither gets more than 50
percent of the vote in the primary. Hampton got
32.5 percent of the votes in May and Stewart
got 30.5 percent.
The political dynamic is familiar. As in the
race between Phil Barnhart and Michael
Spasaro for House District 11 (see story last
week), a progressive incumbent is being chal-
lenged by a conservative candidate.
Carrigan says the Hampton-Stewart race is
“the key local election of 2004” in that the win-
ner will likely be a swing vote on important en-
vironmental and social justice issues facing the
county. The board splits on many issues with
progressive-leaning Pete Sorenson and Bill
Dwyer on one side and conservative-leaning
Anna Morrison and Bobby Green on the other
side.
Stewart, self-employed in logging and ex-
cavation with family ties to Bohemia Lumber,
has said he aligns himself philosophically with
Morrison. Hampton’s voting record to date on
the commission has earned him the endorse-
ments of Sorenson, Dwyer and Congressman
Peter DeFazio.
Carrigan and the campaign can be reached
at 342-1953 or e-mail carrigan@efn.org — TJT
UNIONS SHOW UP
FOR KERRY, RAP BUSH
Oregon union members showed up to hear
both John Kerry and George W. Bush when the
candidates spoke in Oregon last week. Kerry’s
appearances in Oregon drew more union mem-
bers than Bush’s appearances, but Bush was
given credit for bringing $15 million in match-
ing funds to Oregon for dredging the Columbia
River channel.
“We’re glad he got the message,” says Tim
Nesbitt, Oregon AFL-CIO president. “Now we
would like to see him respond to the thousands
of other letters our members have sent to the
White House over the past year on numerous
issues that are critical to the well-being of
working families in Oregon.”
Nesbitt says Bush has not responded to
union requests to rescind the pending roll-back
of overtime rights for six million workers; ex-
tend unemployment benefits for up to two mil-
lion laid-off workers who have been off the job
for more than six months; cancel the pending
elimination of union rights for Department of
Defense employees; end tax subsidies for com-
panies that move jobs overseas; allow U.S. citi-
zens to purchase less-costly prescription drugs
from Canadian pharmacies; add job-protection
safeguards to trade agreements, tell Congress
he will drop his opposition to the pending high-
way funding bill; endorse Congressman
DeFazio’s proposal to scrap the Northwest
Forest Plan and accelerate timber harvest in
non-old growth stands of federal forest lands;
and restore full funding for No Child Left
Behind.
Write-in Effort Draws Fire
Is the Torrey revival campaign in violation of state election laws?
By Kera Abraham
8 AUGUST 19, 2004
Torrey supporters gather for a press conference Aug 16.
thousand dollars), the advertisements, the two websites and a confidential UPS mailbox have
been careful to remain anonymous. In doing so they may have violated campaign finance laws
governing political action groups. Under Oregon law, any organization that raises or spends
money to support or oppose a political candidate is required to register as a PAC within three
business days of its first financial transaction.
According to Josi Pravinsky, compliance specialist for the Oregon State Election Division,
RunJimRun is not yet registered as a PAC. Pravinski said that Miller doesn’t consider his group
a PAC because Torrey has not yet declared his intention to run. That may not matter. “If they’re
opposing Kitty Piercy, then they are a political action committee,” said Pravinski. “In our opin-
ion, at this point they are a political action committee.” As such, they are violating election laws.
Concerned by the apparent violation, City Recorder Mary Feldman contacted the state
Election Division. “Their advice was that based on the fact that all three elements that are re-
quired to register an organization as a PAC are present, they need to register as a PAC,” said
Feldman. She then contacted Miller and recommended that he register as a PAC. “He had some
additional questions,” she said.
On Tuesday, Dan Isaacson of Eugene filed a complaint with the Election Division requesting
that the organizations behind RunJimRun.org and TruthAboutKitty.org be required to comply
with Oregon election law. If the organization is determined to be a PAC, the state Election
Division will send a notice citing the violated statute. There is no penalty for the first violation,
but the PAC will be required to submit a Statement of Independent Expenditures detailing its fi-
nancial transactions. The information will then be on the public record.
“Oregon’s election laws are in place to allow the public to follow the money,” said C.
Michael Arnold, Piercy’s treasurer, in an e-mail to EW. “The process is supposed to be open.
The public is misled otherwise.”
Torrey is expected to decide within a month whether or not to run as a write-in candidate. If
he refuses, said Miller, organizers will write off the campaign.
ew
KERA ABRAHAM
O
pponents of Mayor-elect Kitty Piercy have launched a campaign to convince outgoing
Mayor Jim Torrey to run as a write-in candidate against Piercy on the November bal-
lot, but the campaign appears to be in violation of state election laws.
Torrey supporters ran full-page ads in The Register-Guard Aug. 16 and 17 encouraging
Eugene residents to write in Torrey in November. Piercy is the only name on the ballot since she
won 51.6 percent of the vote in the primary. The open letter was signed by Jeff Miller, a former
mayor of Eugene. The R-G, the ad was created by Derek Adams of Roseburg’s American Flyer
Advertising for Miller.
Torrey has not yet declared his intentions, but creators of the website www.RunJimRun.org
aim “to convince Jim that he should be a write-in candidate this November. Jim has been and
will be the one true mayor for all of Eugene.”
Torrey supporters held a rally at City Hall Monday. About 50 people attended, most wearing
bright yellow T-shirts reading “RunJimRun.org.” Miller, a Republican who signed Monday’s
open letter in the R-G, addressed the crowd.
“Jim has nothing to do with this,” said Miller. “He didn’t say yes … He said, ‘I’ll never say
never,’ and that gives us hope.”
Supporters at the rally cited the proposed West Eugene Parkway — which Piercy opposes
and Torrey backs — as a primary reason to re-elect Torrey as mayor. “To me it seems kinds of
silly to be protecting that area just because it’s listed as a wetland,” said 31-year-old builder
Aaron Solbeck, a volunteer for the Torrey write-in effort.
“Jim does a great job leading the city and we want him to continue,” said Chelsea Konrady,
a teacher and a longtime friend of Torrey’s.
But if the movement to re-elect Torrey is a grassroots effort, some of the people funding the
campaign appear to be taking great pains to remain anonymous.
In early July, a survey firm from Portland called Eugene residents to ask about local politics.
Surveyors asked respondents to rate local politicians including Torrey, Nancy Nathanson and
Piercy. They also asked respondents whether they would support a write-in candidate for mayor.
The firm, Moore Information of Portland, was hired to conduct the survey but refused to dis-
close who funded the project.
Two related websites — www.RunJimRun.org and www.TruthAboutKitty.org — are also
cloaked in mystery. RunJimRun praises Torrey and urges citizens to maintain the status quo
under his leadership. TruthAboutKitty describes Piercy as a radical liberal tax-lover who will
divide Eugene along party lines.
Although there is no admitted affiliation between RunJimRun and TruthAboutKitty, the two
websites are both registered through Domains by Proxy, a company that anonymously registers
Internet domains so that the registrant can’t be identified. Both sites were created within the
same minute on Aug. 4. And both sites are hosted on the same computer on the Globalcon net-
work, a self-described “Christian Web Hosting Company.”
The people who paid for the survey (which, according to the R-G, may have cost several