A12
ELECTION
East Oregonian
Saturday, April 30, 2022
Previously suspended judge challenges
incumbent in Court of Appeals race
while nonpartisan judges
are elected to determine the
facts, not represent constit-
SA LEM — Voters uencies, the absence of
will encounter something people of color from posi-
unusual while filling out tions of power can omit
their ballot for one seat important perspectives,
on the Oregon Court of such as when the 13 Court
Appeals this year: a choice. of Appeals judges confer as
Judge Darleen Ortega, a group.
“As a result, I think
who has served on the
appellate court since 2003, the process is missing
is facing a challenge
key information,
from Vance Day,
resulting in biased
a former Oregon
outcomes,” Ortega
Republican Party
said in a written
chairman whom the
reply to questions.
Oregon Supreme
“My experiences
Court suspended
as a Latina from a
from his role as
challenging back-
Day
ground, along with
a Marion County
my compassion,
judge in 2018 for
making false state-
help me to be curi-
ments.
ous about things
Day says the real
that others miss,
reason behind his
and regularly help
suspension was his
me to deepen the
religious opposition
conversations we
to gay marriage,
have at the court as
Ortega
which became
we apply the law.”
For his par t,
apparent when he
refused to marry same-sex Day, 61, says he will bring
couples.
ideological diversity to the
The statewide race for a appellate court. Describing
six-year term is the fi rst real himself as a strict construc-
electoral test for Ortega, tionist who interprets the
who at 59 is the fi rst woman Constitution as it was orig-
of color and the only Latina inally intended, Day claims
to serve on Oregon’s second that Ortega and other judges
highest court.
have embraced an “equity
The incumbent says that doctrine” that picks winners
By ZANE SPARLING
The Oregonian
East Oregonian, File
Dan Daltoso, associate director of Umatilla Morrow County Head Start, right, shows Ore-
gon U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden through the program’s operations Aug. 31, 2021, at the Neal Early
Learning Center in Boardman. Wyden is running for reelection in 2022 and has raised $11
million for his campaign in the past two years.
Wyden reports strong fundraising
as Dems’ Senate majority wobbles
By GARY A. WARNER
Oregon Capital Bureau
WASHINGTON — U.S.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon,
has raised $11 million during
the past two years, solidify-
ing his spot among the “solid
Democrat” seats on the 2022
electoral map.
The five Republicans
running in the GOP primary
have raised less than
$500,000 all together.
Wyden’s latest Federal
Elections Commission report
lists over $7.87 million still in
his campaign fund.
Since winning a special
election for the seat in 1996,
Wyden has been reelected
four times to full six-year
terms, never receiving less
than 57% of votes cast.
Despite a slump in Pres-
ident Joe Biden’s approval
rating, Wyden’s reelec-
tion is rated as “strong” or
“solid” among major polit-
ical forecasters, including
the Cook Political Report,
FourThirtyFive, and the
Center for Politics at the
University of Virginia.
While impressive by
Oregon standards, Wyden’s
political bankroll is small
when compared to some
other Senate races.
The Federal Election
Commission reported that
as of April 22, candidates
running for the 35 U.S.
Senate seats on the ballot
this year had raised $796.2
million.
Republicans tot aled
$404.8 million while Demo-
crats had raised $388.4
million.
Sen. Raphael Warnock,
D-Georgia, had raised over
$67 million to defend the seat
he won in a 2020 special elec-
tion. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.,
has raised $41.9 million.
The Senate fundraising is
the fl ood of money reported
to the FEC.
During 2021, candidates
for the U.S. Senate and U.S.
House raised $1.3 billion and
spent $720 million. Political
parties raised $862.6 million
and spent $668.3 million.
Political action commit-
tees supporting a specific
cause or group raised $3.2
billion and spent $2.5 billion.
Wyden is chair of the
Senate Finance Committee.
While the odds-on favorite to
win reelection, Wyden’s role
in the Congress that convenes
in January could change for
the second time in two years.
Republicans were a major-
ity in the Senate through
2020, but lost control to
Democrats when the elec-
tion gave Democrats 48 seats,
along with two independents
who caucus with the party.
The total of 50 seats matched
the number of Republican
senators.
The 50-50 tie was broken
by the election of Presi-
dentBiden and Vice Pres-
ident Kamala Harris. The
vice president also holds the
largely symbolic position of
president of the Senate.
Harris can break some tie
votes, but more importantly,
she gives Democrats and
their allies an offi cial major-
ity, which include the chair-
manship of committees.
ELECTION BRIEFING
Phil Knight gives
$1M to PAC to
elect Republicans
SA L E M — N i k e
co-founder Phil Knight
has given $1 million to a
political action committee
focused on electing more
Republicans to the Oregon
Legislature.
Knight disclosed the
huge contribution to the
Bring Balance to Salem
political action commit-
tee on Tuesday evening,
April 26, according to state
N OW
H IRING !
S T . A NTHONY H OSPITAL
AND S T . A NTHONY C LINIC
M ANY P OSITIONS A VAILABLE
B ENEFITS FOR F ULL AND P ART T IME P OSITIONS
Scan
me to
browse
our
available
positions
and losers.
“You can’t have a justice
system which views those
in the system differently
depending upon their color,
their experience or whether
they’re an oppressor or an
oppressed person,” he said.
“Our laws should be applied
to all people in all places at
all times equally.”
Single-candidate races
featuring only the incum-
bent judge are the norm
in the Oregon judiciary,
as most judges choose to
retire midterm, allowing
the governor to handpick
their successors, who can
then run as an incumbent
during the next election.
While the court itself does
not track contested races,
they are exceedingly rare,
although defense attorney
Kyle Krohn made them less
so in recent years.
Krohn lost to incumbent
Judge Rex Armstrong in
2018. Incumbent Judge Joel
DeVore also defeated Krohn
in the May 2020 primary. In
both cases, the incumbents
won handily.
Adrian Brown, a former
assistant U.S. Attorney in
Oregon, triumphed over
attorney Rima Ghandour
in another hotly-contested
judgeship in Multnomah
County Circuit Court in 2020.
c a m p a ig n
finance
records.
Bring
Balance
to Salem
has not yet
Knight
spent much
of its total
$2.7 million raised, but will
support candidates who
support limited govern-
ment and “common sense
problem solving,” accord-
ing to a spokesperson for
the group. Democrats hold
majorities in both chambers
of the Oregon Legislature.
Most of the money raised
by Bring Balance to Salem
comes from the timber
industry, with $250,000
each donated by Swanson
Group, Roseburg Forest
Products, Murphy Company
and Sierra Pacific Indus-
tries. Freres Timber kicked
in $150,000 and Norman
Brenden, the former chief
fi nancial offi cer of a chain
of senior living homes, gave
$100,000, according to state
records.
— The Oregonian