A8
ELECTION GUIDE
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, October 19, 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, former 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 avoid-
ing cuts in state budgets, 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 Educa-
tion 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 Sacramento Bee.
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
target government waste and encourage
voter participation, also wants to make
civics education a requirement in public
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
garnered 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
challenged it in Multnomah County Circuit
DENNIS RICHARDSON
Name: Dennis Richardson, Repub-
lican
Residence: Central Point
Occupation: Businessman, non-prac-
ticing attorney.
Prior government experience: State
representative, 2003-2014; Central Point
City Councilor, 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
Oregon project and the Department of
Energy’s Business Energy Tax Credits.
He also wants to make public records
more accessible, encourage business
growth and “balance” environmental and
business 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
political action committee has secured
campaign donations from Restoregon
PAC, the National Federation of Inde-
pendent Business, and various Republi-
can state lawmakers.
Fun fact: Richardson has nine
children — including eight daughters,
some of whom have made appearances
and given testimonials in his campaign
videos — and 32 grandchildren.
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
issue and referred the matter for voters to
DR. BUD PIERCE
Name: William “Bud” Pierce, Republican
Residence: Salem
Occupation: Oncologist.
Prior government experience: Oregon Task Force on Resolution of Ad-
verse 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 Ore-
gon’s chronic budgetary problems. One proposal calls for future public employ-
ees 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.
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; Oregon
Court of Appeals, 2005-2011; Multnomah
County district and circuit court judge,
1989-2005; assistant U.S. attorney for the
District of Oregon, 1980-1988.
Positions: Rosenblum grabbed
headlines 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
victim’s advocate to remain confi dential,
ban “revenge porn,” and extend the statute
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
general. She is married to Richard Meeker,
co-owner of Willamette Week’s parent
company.
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.
Endorsements for: The City Club of
DANIEL CROWE
Name: Daniel Zene Crowe, Repub-
lican
Residence: Mt. Angel
Occupation: Lawyer, executive di-
rector 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’ en-
vironmental 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.
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.