Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2018)
4A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2018 Knight’s enormous donations impact governor’s race “We didn’t want Dennis Richardson to call and ask for money and to not have asked ourselves,” Marshall told Ore- gon Public Broadcasting, refer- encing Kitzhaber’s GOP oppo- nent that year. Just four years earlier, Kitzhaber’s phone call with Knight would have seemed unlikely. Knight had played a role in Kitzhaber’s near-de- feat at the hands of Republican Chris Dudley in 2010, donating heavily to the GOP candidate. But things had changed. In 2012, for instance, Kitzhaber called the Legislature into ses- sion specifically to pass a law that ensured Nike’s income tax calculation in Oregon wouldn’t meaningfully change for three decades. According to Mar- shall, Kitzhaber had “a lot of interaction” with Knight by the time he got on the phone with the candidate in 2014 to ask for money. Marshall and Kitzhaber mulled over what to ask of Knight, taking into account other large donors to Kitzhaber’s campaign. “There was a feeling that the labor unions had com- Weighing in for Buehler By DIRK VANDERHART Oregon Public Broadcasting Armed with a plan to become Oregon’s first Republi- can governor in more than two decades in 2010, Chris Dudley turned to Nike co-founder Phil Knight for money. Four years later, then-Gov. John Kitzhaber, a Democrat, made a similar pitch to the state’s best-known billionaire. In each case, Knight came through with what at the time were head-turning contribu- tions. They look minuscule by the standards he’s setting these days. Since August 2017, Knight has donated $2.5 million to state Rep. Knute Buehler, the Repub- lican who is mounting a com- petitive challenge to the re-elec- tion bid of Democratic Gov. Kate Brown. Knight has given another $1 million to the Republican Gov- ernors Association, which has spent more than $2 million sup- porting Buehler. The contributions are an interesting development for a candidate who got his start in politics working on campaign finance reform. They could also usher Oregon into a new polit- ical paradigm: Never before has a single wealthy individual given so heavily to a candidate in the state. Knight’s money is a big part of the reason this year’s guber- natorial race is the most expen- sive in state history. It has been seized on by campaign finance watchdogs, who’ve long warned Oregon’s permissive election laws permit wealthy interests to have too great a say in political outcomes. And it’s opened a new line of attack in a race where candi- AP Photo/Chris Pietsch Phil Knight at a University of Oregon basketball game in 2014. For his large donations, students affectionately refer to Knight as ‘Uncle Phil.’ dates have rarely passed up an opportunity to go negative. “What causes concern is Knute Buehler is trying to pound a ‘for sale’ sign in front of the Oregon Capitol,” Chris- tian Gaston, a spokesman for the Brown campaign, told the Salem Reporter. “If he wins, is he going to install a red phone that goes straight to Phil Knight?” “Best government money can BUY?” tweeted Patrick Starnes, the Independent Party of Oregon’s candidate for gov- ernor, who dropped out this week and endorsed Brown. The contributions also gar- nered national headlines, with Rolling Stone recently asking: “Is billionaire Nike founder Phil Knight trying to buy a Republi- can governor?” Any speculation that Bue- hler has promised something to Knight will apparently remain just that. Through a Nike spokesman, the highly private billionaire declined requests for an interview, and Buehler’s campaign has refused to answer questions about the campaign’s ties to Knight. But Knight has offered a recent glimpse into places he and Buehler agree. In a 2017 interview with Portland polit- ical consultant Jim Pasero — first noted by Willamette Week — he said that Oregon’s trou- blesome public pension system could “sink the whole state” and bemoaned current political leadership — two positions that align with Buehler’s relentlessly consistent campaign message. There’s another place to look for context into Knight’s contributions: Those who’ve benefited from his largesse in the past. Kitzhaber declined to dis- cuss his relationship with the billionaire, but his 2014 cam- paign manager, Mike Marshall, says the candidate’s request for support was common sense. mitted significant money (to Kitzhaber’s campaign) and it should be aligned with that, and no more than that,” Marshall said. “So the governor asked for $250,000, which I don’t believe he’d done before.” The resulting check was the largest single contribution Knight had ever made to a can- didate. He could have given far more — Oregon is one of a handful of states with no limits on campaign contribu- tions — but Marshall argued that $250,000 was within the bounds of a “social compact” he thinks exists in Oregon. “I was comfortable with it, because the labor unions were coming in at the same level or even more,” said Marshall, who is supporting Brown in this year’s election. “The notion of $2.5 million is just outrageous. It’s just Phil Knight trying to tip the process in favor of his candidate.” Like Kitzhaber, Dudley had an existing relationship with Knight by the time he asked for the billionaire’s financial back- ing in 2010 — he’d met the sportswear magnate during his two stints playing for the Port- land Trail Blazers. “We talked about the issues,” Dudley said. “When I ran, that was most focused on education … and then the economy and what was going on with Ore- gon and Oregon struggling at that time.” Knight ultimately made four contributions totaling $400,000. Dudley wound up outspending Kitzhaber by around $3 mil- lion, and losing by 1.5 percent- age points. “Questions would come up: ‘If you’d won, would you feel any obligation to someone who supported your campaign?’” Dudley said. “Absolutely not. All Phil wanted was what’s best for Oregon.” He sees the same situation with Buehler. “It’s not surprising that (Knight) would connect with Knute,” said Dudley, who resides mostly in California these days but supports Buehler. “Similar to myself, Knute is moderate, and he lines up with where Phil is on a lot of stuff: He’s pro-choice, he’s pro-free trade, he’s pro-business, he’s in favor of pension reform to fix the funding of schools.” Trusted Business and Community leader who cherishes our village spirit and the environment. Thank you to all who support my campaign. Join us for our 9 th Anniversary Celebration November 10 th ! From now through November 10 th Mention the secret code: JASMINE and save 20% on clothing & gifts* *some exclusions apply e Your place for Flowers AND Fashion Specializing in North Coast Comfort-Chic Style Women’s Clothing & Accessories Joanna Gaines Magnolia Home Candles Fashion Jewelry Gifts And so much more! 971 Commercial Street In Astoria www.bloomincrazyfloral.com 503.325.3571 Christen Allsop Tracy Able John Buehler Sharon Hart Clyde Paul Dueber Jeff Etchison David Frei Susan Glarum Tommy Huntington Ed Johnson Suzanne Kindland Bob Lundy Nancy Mc Carthy Bob Neroni Brian Olson Ken Potter Ken Quarles Cindy Richter Linda Beck Sweeney Nancy Jack Teegle George Vetter Jean Williams Betsy Ayres Phyllis Bernt David Clyde Margo Dueber Molly Edison Bob Fuller Tabea Goosen Jeff Harrison Duane Johnson Jim Kingwell Sandi Lundy Arlene Mackey Debbie Webb Nelson Brandon Ogilvie Carolyn Probst Holly Nelson Russell Sally Steidel Claudia Toutain Dorbec Paula Vetter Wes Wahrmund Rex Amos Joe Burnt Darrell Clukey Doug Duer Lenore Emery Victoria Fuller Bonnie Gorsuch Jennifer Harrison Tree Johnson Jack Kerwin Joyce Lincoln Jeanie Mc Laughlin John Nelson Maureen Ogilvie Judi Pardini Bob Reid Bill Steidel Andrew Tonrey Katie Voelke Jan Siebert Wahrmund Diane Amos Deborah Boone Watt Childress Tami Florer Richard Gorsuch Lucinda Hayes Daryl Johnson Mary Kerwin Jim Litherland Les Mc Nary Bob Necker Jim Osburn Uli Pardini Scott Rekate Lisa Sumption Pierre Toutain Dorbec Judy Wood Jerome Arnold Jon Broderick Jennifer Chldress Herb Florer Dale Hintz Amy Jones Barb Knop Peter Lindsey Marge Mc Nary John Rippey Carmen Swigart Colleen Toomey Doug Wood Jan Arnold Stacy Benefield Linda Cook Lisa Fraser Lotte Greaver Linda Hintz Michele Johnson Lisa Kerr Denise Lofman Debbie Morrow Bob Rice “Bob Cat Bob” Steve Sinkler Marilynn Taylor Risley Wilkinson Sharon Amber Mike Benefield Tim Cook Pat Funk Mindy Hardwick Tom Jiroudek George Kittlewell Gary Leer Mike Morgan Sheri Russell Maryann Sinkler Dylan Wilkinson Gayle Andrus Will Benefield Lolly Champion Jim Fontaine Joe Hummel Buzz Johnson Pam Leer Karen Meili Cleve Rooper Nancy Shire Doug Wood Jim Azumano Carol Bennett Allyn Cantor Cole Horsley Nancy Johnson Emmas Lindsey Kate Merrill Marilyn Rooper Jillayne Sorenson Les Wierson Lois Azumano Jenny Becker Sally Conrad Beth Holland Laurie Jiroudek Tom Merrill Jessica Sund Myrna Wierson Kirk Anderson Kevin Becker Tina Chapman Laurel Hood Mike Johnon Lynn Murray Greg Swedenborg Connie Word Karolyn Adamson Terry Brooks Pam Chater Karen Hoyt Jason Menke Hazel Skaling Schlesinger Virginia Wright Debra Atiyeh Marnie Beemer Mary Beth Cottle Michael Henderson Elizabeth Menke Cadie West Robert Atiyeh Gregg Bell Chris Childress Elly Henderson Phil Massebeau Colleen Balzer Jo Anne Creamer Kirsten Massebeau Mike Balzer Kimm Mount Susan Martin Judith Pearson Carol Knutsen Kathy Leduc Sam Steidel Debra Laws Steidel Doug Buttermore Penny Rice Pamela Richardson Patricia Rouse Jan Smith Julie Walker Flora Young Maureen Dooley Sroufe Mike Manzulli Nadia Gardner Abbas Atwi Clatsop Assoc. of Realtors Oregon Assoc. of Realtors Paid for by Robin for City Council Committee
