Shut Up And Vote

[May 10th, 2006]

^The Education of Dave Lister

Why the City Council candidate with actual business experience is blasting the Portland Business Alliance.

A funny thing happened to small-business owner Dave Lister while campaigning for City Council: He came to admire the incumbent he's challenging, Erik Sten.

And just as bizarrely, Lister is now at war with his natural constituency, the Portland Business Alliance, and its handpicked candidate in the May 16 race, state Sen. Ginny Burdick.

"All the PBA is about is advocating for their grip on power," says Lister of the city's biggest business lobby. "What they don't realize is they don't have a grip on power."

Lister, 51, who has run Integrated Data Concepts with a partner since 1981, decided in late January to challenge Sten because he thought City Hall had forgotten about small businesses like his software firm. (Lister says he moved his business from Northeast Portland to Tigard last year because of high business taxes in the city.)

He might seem a logical candidate for the alliance to back. But by the time Lister decided to run, PBA boss Sandra McDonough had already joined those recruiting Burdick to oppose Sten (as Burdick recently told WW).

The alliance has since poured $10,000 into Burdick's campaign, and Lister has gotten ticked off at the PBA after he says it tried to use him as a stooge.

In mid-February, Greg Peden, the alliance's VP of government affairs and economic development, summoned Lister for a meeting that Lister thought might mean a co-endorsement or some other kind of support.

But instead, he says, Peden asked him to serve as lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against the City of Portland for distributing public funds to city candidates. (The PBA was the largest supporter of the First Things First Committee, which spent $350,000 in an unsuccessful attempt to place a repeal of publicly funded city elections on the May ballot.)

"I said, 'If that's such a great idea, why aren't you asking Burdick to do it?'" Lister recalls. "Peden said, 'We think you could use the name recognition.'"

Peden says he approached Lister because he is a PBA member and had previously expressed opposition to publicly financed elections. In any case, Lister rejected the group's invitation.

Then, as Lister, Sten and Burdick made joint campaign appearances, Lister says he began to notice a marked difference between his opponents.

"I may not agree with Sten, but he's very bright, and he's committed to the things he believes in," Lister says.

As for Burdick, Lister emailed Peden and several alliance board members April 27, stating, "She talks the talk but she doesn't walk the walk.... People have been trying to outfox Sten for three years now and it's not working."

Peden acknowledges asking Lister to leave Burdick alone, explaining, "If you want to knock off an incumbent, I think the strategy is to talk about him, not the third person in the race."

Lister's response: a new round of lawn signs that say, "Burdick = Higher Taxes. Vote Lister."

If Lister doesn't capture enough votes to make it into a November runoff, he promises to do something that could give the PBA even longer-term heartburn—explore starting a citywide association for small businesses. Peden says that's news to the PBA.

"They don't represent me or companies like mine," Lister says. "That's got to change."

&mdashNIGEL JAQUISS

^QUICK PICKS

If you want to read more about the why's behind WW's endorsements this election, go to www.wweek.com/editorial/3226/7513. If not, use this cheat sheet summing up our reasoning behind the candidates we like in contested races.

The deadline to return your ballots is Tuesday, May 16. (For drop-box info, see below.)

Governor

Democrat Ted Kulongoski : The incumbent's occasional bursts of leadership easily trump the lackluster track records of his two challengers.

Republican Ron Saxton : He runs to the right to win the primary. That's OK as long as he scrambles back to the middle this November.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction

Susan Castillo : She's done credibly in her first four years in this post.

Portland City Council

Commissioner, Position 2 Erik Sten: The region's defining race — progressive smarts in the veteran Sten vs. the forces of Dr. Evil.

Commissioner, Position 3 Dan Saltzman : His lack of charisma is exceeded only by his smarts—he gets the nod over his main challenger, Amanda Fritz.

Multnomah County Chair: Challenger Ted Wheeler would have to work 24/7 to do as much damage to the credibility of county government as incumbent Diane Linn. Vote Wheeler.

Commissioner, District 2 : Jeff Cogen is a uniter, not a divider.

Sheriff: Anybody but incumbent Bernie Giusto, whose id seems to be in control. Write-in candidate Paul Van Orden is far preferable.

Auditor: Experience prevails. Support Lavonne Griffin-Valade in her bid to move up the office ladder.

Metro Council District 1: Rod Park deserves re-election over a clueless challenger.

Council District 4: Help shake up Metro's Stepford Wives left-stepping mix by choosing brainy libertarian Tom Cox .

Auditor: Sure, incumbent Alexis Dow has ticked off a lot of people. What good watchdog hasn't?

State Legislature

Senate 13 (Republican): Challenger Larry George is an articulate conservative. Incumbent Charles Starr is just conservative.

Senate 17 (Democrat) : Sam Chase makes a better "I'll shake up the status quo" case in Salem than Rep. Brad Avakian, who's seeking to move up to the Senate from the House.

Senate 24 (Democrat): Jesse Cornett is wise beyond his years and a much better choice than war horse Rod Monroe.

House 27 (Democrat): Mike Bohan and Tobias Read are both solid, but we like Bohan by a bit because of his broader background.

House 28 (Republican): Eldon Derville-Teer 's ideas may be alarming, but at least he has some.

House 29 (Republican): Barry Lee is a nice guy who showed up to our endorsement interview. His opponent couldn't be bothered.

House 33 (Democratic): Rep. Mitch Greenlick is a smart guy with a lightweight opponent. Don't believe us about the smart part? Just ask Mitch.

House 37 (Democrat): Bev Backa is the best in a field of earnest candidates.

House 42 (Democrat): The only metro-area House incumbent facing a lighter-weight opponent than Greenlick is Rep. Diane Rosenbaum.

House 44 (Democrat): Longtime district resident Mark Kirchmeier has the record of service to merit your vote.

House 46 (Democrat): Nurse Mary Lou Hennrich brings healthcare expertise to the operating table that her four opponents don't.

House 51 (Democrat): At 22, Ryan Olds gets the eager-beaver vote.

Courts State Supreme Court: Polished and experienced, Virginia Linder deserves to end the embarrassing all-male lock on Oregon's highest court.

Multnomah County Circuit Court Position 31: Pro-tem judge Julia Philbrook noses out four other qualified candidates with a strong combo of résumé plus temperament.

Congress

1ST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT (DEMOCRAT): One election, Rep. David Wu may face a real primary challenge. This isn't that year.

3RD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT (DEMOCRAT):

Rep. Earl Blumenauer is poised to get some juice if the Dems take back Congress. Don't blow it.

If you don't want to shell out 39 cents to mail in your ballot or worry that it won't arrive by the 8 pm deadline Tuesday, May 16, you can always drop off your ballot. For a list of drop-off locations in Multnomah County, go to www.co.multnomah.or.us/dbcs/elections/2006-05/drop_sites.shtml. In Washington County, check out www.co.washington.or.us/deptmts/at/election/dropsite.htm. In Clackamas County, see www.co.clackamas.or.us/elections/dropsite/locations.htm.

^POLITICAL CHATTER

Campaign filings show at least three initiatives aimed at the November state ballot (No. 14, a tax code change sponsored by Loren Parks; No. 6, a spending limit sponsored by the Taxpayer Association of Oregon; and No. 47, an Oregonians in Action anti-eminent-domain measure) are using Good Impressions Printing Co. The Portland firm gained notoriety in 1999 when a U.S. district court jury in Portland returned a $109 million verdict (later reduced to $4.7 million) against a group of anti-abortion zealots who targeted abortion providers with a website and posters likening them to Nazi war criminals. At the time of the verdict in the so-called "Nuremberg Files" trial, one of the defendants, Andrew Burnett, served as Good Impressions' general manager. His wife, Diane, continues as its president. And on Tuesday, Andrew Burnett answered its phone.

The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde have spent $615,000 so far on independent expenditures in the governor's race and may be ready to shell out much more. Their goal, as recorded on expenditure filings: "Support R. Saxton oppose Kevin Mannix...Support J. Hill oppose T. Kulongoski."

The candidates they back have spoken against a project that would compete with the Grand Ronde's Spirit Mountain casino: the proposed Warm Springs casino in Cascade Locks. Their enemies are in favor of it.

Grand Ronde representative Justin Martin would neither confirm nor deny a widespread rumor that the tribes are willing to put $5 million into the race, saying, "We'll spend what it takes to educate Oregonians on this issue."

^WEB-ONLY CHATTER!

State Supreme Court candidate Jack Roberts has picked up a $150,000 donation from the American Justice Partnership, an organization that The Oregonian reported Tuesday calls itself "the nation's largest industry trade group."

But don't be misled into thinking the industry is the legal industry. In fact, AJP is an affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers trade group, a big-bucks advocate of overhauling the legal system.

The AJP is dedicated to advocating for "legal reform" in the interest of insurance companies and other large corporations. So what's that mean? Limitations on tort claims and restrictions on what the AJP calls the "out-of-control legal environment" in which corporations are subject to "meritless lawsuits" and pay settlements that amount to "blackmail."

The other shoe has fallen in a Beaverton City Council race, and it's got a big swoosh on it. Nike boss Phil Knight contributed $17,500 of the $18,250 in cash that council candidate Bob Burke reported collecting in his two most recent campaign fundraising reports.

And all of the $7,545 that Burke reported as in-kind campaign work, such as telephoning voters, came from Knight or Nike. Burke, a mortgage broker, is running for a seat on the five-member council against incumbent Betty Bode, who recorded a total of $5,800 in cash in her two latest reports, none of it from Knight or Nike.

Nike, of course, beat back any prospect last year that Beaverton would annex it (and its property taxes) inside city limits. The take from Beaverton Mayor Rob Drake, whose election committee donated $2,000 to Bode last week: "Why is Nike buying an election, especially when they worked so hard not to be in the city?"

Nike spokesman Vada Manager says Knight is getting involved in Beaverton on behalf of the company's roughly 1,000 employees who do work in off-campus buildings that are inside Beaverton city limits. Manager goes on to note that Beaverton City Council isn't the only political race to which Knight is donating.

The chairman of Oregon's only Fortune 500 company has donated $50,000 to Gov. Ted Kulongoski's re-election campaign; $8,000 in cash and poll services to the re-election bid of Washington County Commissioner Andy Duyck; and $5,000 apiece to the re-election effort of Tom Brian, chair of the Washington County Board of Commissioners, and to Desari Caldwell, who's running for an open seat on the five-member county board.

U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer became the second Oregon Democrat in a month's time to appear on Comedy Central's Colbert Report. The congressman from East Portland went head to head last Thursday with Stephen Colbert as part of the show's ongoing "Better Know a District" series.

Blumenauer managed to retain more of his dignity than did Rep. Darlene Hooley, who couldn't stop giggling when she appeared and got grilled about Oregon's medical marijuana laws.

The bow-tied Blumenauer, on the other hand, merely came off as nerdy. Best moment: Colbert saying Blumenauer's "obsession with bicycles borders on the interesting."