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BY CAMILLA MORTENSEN
Secretary of State
Audits, elections and archives, oh my!
S
o when you mark your ballot for
Oregon secretary of state in the
primary election this month, will
you know exactly what that offi ce does?
Some fi red-up candidates are in the
race, but echoing the Democratic race
for the presidential nomination, Oregon’s
Democratic candidates for secretary of state
are similar in a lot of ways. There are only
a few small details in their offi cial platforms
to separate them. So the question is: Who is
going to get the most done in offi ce?
In Oregon, the secretary of state is
the person next in line to be governor if
something unfortunate happens. Moreover,
many politicians see the offi ce as a stepping-
stone to becoming the governor via election
as former Govs. Barbara Roberts and Tom
McCall did.
Oregon is one of only four U.S. states
that do not have the position of lieutenant
governor. In most states, if something
happens to governor, the lieutenant governor
takes over (like that whole unfortunate Elliot
Spitzer prostitution thing — Gov. Spitzer
stepped down, and Lt. Gov. David Paterson
found himself in charge).
Oregon has had a secretary of state since
it became a state (though the original title
was the somewhat less illustrious “clerk and
recorder”). The fi rst politician to hold the
offi ce in Oregon called “secretary of state”
went by the memorable name of Theophilus
Magruder. There is no record of what party
he belonged to, but the second person to
hold the offi ce was a Democrat and had
the equally intriguing name of Kintzing
Pritchette. He was the fi rst secretary of state
to go on to hold (briefl y, for about a month)
the offi ce of governor.
In the coolest name category for this
election is former Eugene TV newscaster
Rick Dancer, the only candidate listed
as running for secretary of state in the
Republican primary.
There have been efforts in the past to
add the position of lieutenant governor to
Oregon’s roster of offi cials. As recently as the
2007 session, the Oregon House approved
House Joint Resolution 3, which proposed
a constitutional amendment creating the
offi ce of lieutenant governor be placed on
the primary ballot. HJR 3 got hung up in
committee, but this wasn’t the fi rst time the
issue has come up in the Legislature and
probably won’t be the last.
Whoever wins the Democratic primary
will be pitted against Dancer in November.
Three of the Democratic candidates are
currently state senators, and one candidate,
Paul Damian Wells, lists himself as a “voter
advocate.” Wells’ platform is making the
offi ce of secretary of state nonpartisan. Wells
has been running for statewide offi ce for 14
years, and according to his website, “They
are still ignoring me.”
Sen. Rick Metsger is a candidate who
has already turned a television career
into political offi ce. After 16 years as an
anchorman in Portland he ran for state Senate
The secretary
of state is the
person next in
line to be the
governor.
The secretary of state doesn’t just sit
around twiddling his or her thumbs waiting
to become governor. The offi ce has some
key duties. Oregon’s outgoing Secretary of
State Bill Bradbury supervises elections,
oversees audits of state programs, directs the
state archives and administers the formation
of corporations and other businesses.
The secretary of state also serves on
the State Land Board, which oversees the
lands given to the state by Congress for
“educational uses” when Oregon became
a state. And fi nally, the holder of the
offi ce serves on Oregon’s Sustainability
Commission. Sustainability has emerged
as a key issue for the Democratic
candidates.
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and won in 1998. His campaign website lists
“sustainable development” as one of his top
issues, which may raise an eyebrow with
anti-development conservationists.
Metsger also has on his list his goals to
protect tax dollars through increased audits,
and keep Oregon’s ballots on paper and not
electronic. Like perennial candidate Wells
and Republican Dancer, Metsger supports
making the secretary of state’s offi ce non-
partisan (the other Democratic senators in
the race do not).
Sen. Kate Brown is the candidate with the
most donations and the most endorsements,
ranging from Basic Rights Oregon to the
Oregon League of Conservation Voters.
Similarly to Metsger, she lists her main issues
as maintaining integrity in elections and
government effi ciency through audits, and
she is a strong advocate for sustainability in
protecting natural resources. Like the other
candidates, she is big on improving funding
for Oregon’s schools.
Although Brown has been deemed by
Democratic pundits as the most electable
of the candidates, voters nationwide appear
to favor candidates who lend a little more
excitement to the debate or aren’t “typical
politicians.”
Eugene’s own Sen. Vicki Walker has
been called everything from “fi rebrand”
to “fearless” and has been noted for her
tendency to “stand up to powerful interests.”
Walker has been a watchdog on issues from
ending the use of dangerous wire glass
in schools to racial profi ling. She writes,
“I’m running for secretary of state because
no offi ce more fundamentally defi nes the
difference that one person can make — if
she has the courage.”
Courage isn’t an issue for Walker. In
2003 she exposed questionable practices by
the State Accident Insurance Fund (SAIF).
SAIF Corp. secretly paid $1.5 million for
lobbying to ex-Gov. Neil Goldschmidt and
former House Speaker Larry Campbell.
Walker provides the most detail on
her campaign promises on her campaign
website and also offers a 16 page “Counting
for Oregon” booklet laying out her plan
and her past successes holding big business
accountable. She too focuses on government
accountability,
elections,
auditing
government spending and natural resource
management.
Bill Bradbury has added a little spice to
this year’s election in his duties supervising
the elections division. In his letter to voters,
on page two of the voter’s pamphlet, he
accidentally provided a 1-800 number that
leads callers to a talk-line that promises
men that they can talk to “students and
housewives” who “love nasty talk as much
as you do.”
The correct number to get help
with any questions about your ballot is
(866) 673-8683. Happy voting.
ew
EUGENE WEEKLY MAY 8 , 2008 13