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ELECTION GUIDE
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2016
Governor Candidates
GOV. KATE BROWN
Name: Kate Brown, Democrat
Residence: Portland/Salem
Occupation: Oregon governor, lawyer.
Prior government experience: Oregon governor, 2015-present; secretary of
state, 2009-2015; state senator, 1997-2008; state representative, 1991-1996.
Positions: During her campaign, Brown has touted her record fi ghting for
working families since she took the governorship. She supported and signed laws
to give workers paid sick leave, retirement savings plans and an increase in the
minimum wage. She has promised to focus on increasing the state’s high school
graduation during her fi rst elected term. Earlier this year, she hired Colt Gill, for-
mer Bethel schools superintendent, to serve as Oregon’s fi rst education innovation
offi cer, to make recommendations for boosting the graduation rate, which ranks
fourth lowest in the nation. Brown has endorsed a controversial corporate sales
tax measure, Measure 97, which would yield an estimated $3 billion per year in
new revenue, describing it as the only viable option for avoiding cuts in state bud-
gets, particularly in education.
Brown also has made passing a transportation package in 2017 one of her
priorities.
Key endorsements: Oregon AFL-CIO, Oregon AFSCME, Oregon Education
Association, Oregon School Employees Association, Basic Rights Oregon.
Fun fact: Brown was childhood friends with fellow Minnesotan Jack Ohman,
Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist, who has worked at The Oregonian and The Sac-
ramento Bee.
DR. BUD PIERCE
Name: William “Bud” Pierce, Republican
Residence: Salem
Occupation: Oncologist.
Prior government experience: Oregon Task Force on Resolution of Adverse
Healthcare Incidents, U.S. Marine Corps.
Positions: During his campaign, Pierce has said his experience as a private
physician would bring a fresh approach to Salem. Pierce has said he wants to cut
taxes and opposes a corporate sales tax measure on the Nov. 8 ballot, which would
raise $3 billion more per year in tax revenue. Instead, Pierce wants to eliminate
or consolidate some government programs and pare down unneeded positions
through attrition. He says his proposals to fi x the Public Employees Retirement
System unfunded liability also would help address some of Oregon’s chronic bud-
getary problems. One proposal calls for future public employees to pay for a share
of their benefi ts. He has advocated for public-nonprofi t partnerships to address
homelessness.
Key endorsements: Oregon Farm Bureau, National Federation of Indepen-
dent Business, Republican Governors Association, National Rifl e Association,
former GOP gubernatorial nominee Chris Dudley.
Fun fact: Pierce met his wife, Selma, while they both were living in a co-ed
dormitory at the University of California Los Angeles.
COMING FRIDAY: THE DAILY ASTORIAN ENDORSEMENTS IN LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL ELECTIONS.
Secretary of State
Candidates
BRAD AVAKIAN
Name: Brad Avakian, Democrat
Residence: Beaverton
Occupation: Attorney; current state
labor commissioner.
Prior government experience: Com-
missioner of the Bureau of Labor and
Industries, April 2008-present; Oregon
State Senate, 2007-April 2008; Oregon
House of Representatives, 2003-2007.
Positions: Avakian, who says he’ll tar-
get government waste and encourage
voter participation, also wants to make
civics education a requirement in pub-
lic schools, promote renewable energy
through the secretary of state’s position
on the state’s land board, and audit state
agencies to determine whether they pay
men and women equally for equivalent
work. Further, he says the secretary of
state has a duty to audit private compa-
nies doing business with the state when
“red fl ags” or other warning signs of
potential foul play in the carrying out of
public contracts.
Key endorsements: Avakian has gar-
nered endorsements from the Oregon
Education Association, Oregon AFL-
CIO and a wide swath of other labor
groups. He’s also been endorsed by U.S.
Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden; and
NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon PAC and the
Planned Parenthood PAC of Oregon have
given to his campaign.
Fun fact: Avakian and his family have
a 12-year-old Bernese Mountain dog
named Jazzy.
Measure 94
What it does: Measure 94 amends the
Oregon Constitution by removing a require-
ment that judges retire by the age of 75. The
mandatory retirement age was imposed in
1960. St. Helens attorney Agnes Petersen
DENNIS RICHARDSON
Name: Dennis Richardson,
Republican
Residence: Central Point
Occupation: Businessman, non-prac-
ticing attorney.
Prior government experience: State
representative, 2003-2014; Central Point
City Councilor, YEAR-2002.
Positions: Richardson says as the
state’s auditor of public accounts, he’ll
root out waste and fraud, and has fi xated
on the state’s failures in the Cover Ore-
gon project and the Department of Ener-
gy’s Business Energy Tax Credits. He
also wants to make public records more
accessible, encourage business growth
and “balance” environmental and busi-
ness interests through the secretary of
state’s position as one of the three elected
offi cials on the state’s land board.
Key endorsements: Richardson’s
been endorsed by two prominent Dem-
ocrats — Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scap-
poose, and Rep. Brad Witt, D-Clatskanie
— as well as the secretary of the Inde-
pendent Party of Oregon, Sal Peralta. The
former gubernatorial candidate’s politi-
cal action committee has secured cam-
paign donations from Restoregon PAC,
the National Federation of Independent
Business, and various Republican state
lawmakers.
Fun fact: Richardson has nine chil-
dren — including eight daughters, some
of whom have made appearances and
given testimonials in his campaign videos
— and 32 grandchildren.
challenged it in Multnomah County Circuit
Court in 2014, when she was denied a place
on the ballot to run for Columbia County
Circuit Court because she was older than
75. Petersen argued the constitutional pro-
vision is discriminatory, but her case was
dismissed.
State lawmakers later took up the
Attorney General
Candidates
ELLEN ROSENBLUM
Name: Ellen Rosenblum, Democrat
Residence: Portland
Occupation: Lawyer, Oregon attor-
ney general.
Prior government experience: Ore-
gon’s attorney general, 2012-2016; Ore-
gon Court of Appeals, 2005-2011; Mult-
nomah County district and circuit court
judge, 1989-2005; assistant U.S. attorney
for the District of Oregon, 1980-1988.
Positions: Rosenblum grabbed head-
lines in 2014 for refusing to defend the
state’s constitutional ban on same-sex
marriage, winning praise from gay-rights
advocates. She secured funding from the
state Legislature earlier this year to start
the Elder Abuse Unit at the Department
of Justice. She also championed laws
that protect schoolchildren’s information
from being misused for advertising, allow
information rape victims provide to a vic-
tim’s advocate to remain confi dential,
ban “revenge porn,” and extend the stat-
ute of limitations for rape cases. She has
proposed legislation for 2017 to improve
access to public records.
Key endorsements: Gov. Barbara
Roberts, Oregon Education Association,
Oregon AFSCME Council 75, Oregon
League of Conservation Voters, NARAL
Pro-Choice Oregon PAC.
Fun fact: Rosenblum is the fi rst
woman to serve as Oregon attorney gen-
eral. She is married to Richard Meeker,
co-owner of Willamette Week’s parent
company.
issue and referred the matter for voters to
decide this election. Proponents have said
the mandatory retirement age is useless
and amounts to age discrimination. The
Oregon Commission on Judicial Fitness
and Disability provides a way to address
judges’ ability to serve on the bench, they
said.
DANIEL CROWE
Name: Daniel Zene Crowe,
Republican
Residence: Mt. Angel
Occupation: Lawyer, executive direc-
tor of the nonprofi t, Oregon Veterans
Legal Services.
Prior government experience: Mt.
Angel School Board member, chairman
of the Military and Veterans Law Section
of the Oregon State Bar; 20-year career in
the U.S. Army.
Positions: During the campaign,
Crowe has criticized Rosenblum’s
response to allegations that former Gov.
John Kitzhaber used his public position
to benefi t his fi ancée, Cylvia Hayes’ envi-
ronmental consulting business. Crowe
has said he would more aggressively
pursue prosecution of public corruption
cases. He also has called for improving
the process for writing ballot titles and
increasing the rigor of the Department
of Justice’s oversight and review of state
contracts.
Key endorsements: National Rifl e
Association, Oregon Firearms Federa-
tion, National Federation of Independent
Businesses.
Fun fact: Crowe is chairman-elect of
the Military and Veterans Law Section of
the Oregon State Bar.
Endorsements for: The City Club of
Portland has said the mandatory retirement
age is outdated. Members of the club cited
recent research showing aging affects people
differently. There is no mandatory retirement
age for federal judges.
Endorsements against: No opposition
group has organized against the measure.