SHUT UP & VOTE!

[October 11th, 2006]

^When Sizemore Matters

A simple message from opponents of two Oregon ballot measures: Don't trust the man behind them.

Who's the biggest pariah in Oregon politics?

Before you guess anybody other than Bill Sizemore, check out the ads against Measure 42, a Sizemore-crafted initiative that would ban use of credit scores when evaluating new applicants for auto insurance.

Insurance companies have poured nearly $4 million into a campaign against the measure. Much of the television time they have used so far, however, focuses not on the measure's merits but on the man behind it:

"Forty-two is sponsored by Bill Sizemore, who owes millions in legal judgments for abusing Oregon's initiative process," says the voice-over announcer as a headshot of Sizemore spins on the screen.

Salem lobbyistt Pat McCormick, who's running the anti-Measure 42 campaign, says his group polled to test messages against the measure. He won't release those poll results but says the findings should be obvious.

"You could reach your own conclusions," McCormick says. "Our primary focus is to associate Sizemore's 'brand' and all that it stands for with the measure."

Sizemore rocketed to fame in the '90s as the prolific author of anti-tax and anti-union ballot measures in Oregon. He won the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 1998, but lost the race to Democratic incumbent John Kitzhaber by 34 percentage points.

Sizemore's greatest impact came in 2000, when he placed six measures on the ballot. But questions arose about how he conducted business. In 2003, a Multnomah County jury found that Sizemore's signature-gathering tactics in 2000 had included fraud, forgery and racketeering.

That decision, which included an order that his organization repay union groups about $2.5 million in damages, got fresh news legs when it was upheld last week by the Oregon Court of Appeals. The court's written opinion slammed Sizemore for a "cynical, criminal manipulation of the democratic process."

No wonder, then, that foes of another ballot initiative, Measure 41, are also playing the Sizemore card.

Even though Sizemore is not a chief petitioner on Measure 41, a state income-tax reduction sponsored by the anti-tax group FreedomWorks, opponents refer to the measure in their material as "Bill Sizemore's Shell Game."

FreedomWorks director Russ Walker says Measure 41 should stand on its own arguments but does acknowledge that Sizemore wrote it.

All the attention bemuses Sizemore.

"Their other arguments against the measures must be pretty weak," Sizemore says. "And every dollar they spend attacking me is a dollar they can't spend persuading voters of their argument."

Patty Wentz, a spokeswoman for Our Oregon, one of the groups intent on tying Sizemore to Measure 41, says he is using the consumer-friendly Measure 42 to rebuild his credibility. Wentz, a former WW reporter, says Sizemore's group is circulating as many as 30 ballot measures for 2008, many targeting more typical Sizemore scapegoats like government and unions. "Sizemore wants people to forget about who he is and how he's run his operations," Wentz says. "All he wants to do is manipulate the initiative system for personal gain."

Sizemore disagrees, noting Measure 42 has won him atypical allies such as the Consumers Union and Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon. He says he's fought for the little guy.

"People who can't defend themselves are being gouged," he says. "It's a question of morality."

—Nigel Jaquiss

^Trail Mix

Reversals of fame and fortune.

For a write-in candidate, Charles Henderson sure can make news, good and bad. Henderson, an insurance lawyer challenging the otherwise-unopposed Leslie Roberts for a Multnomah County judicial seat, has remarkably picked up endorsements from 13 of 37 sitting county judges. But the bad news that's surfaced for Henderson: Records show his driver's license was suspended in 2000 when he failed to appear in Multnomah County court for a speeding-ticket trial. Henderson jumped in as a write-in after the wave of outrage about Roberts' last-minute maneuvers to bounce Judge Youlee Kim You from the ballot (see "Rogue of the Week," WW, Sept. 13, 2006). "I've got no excuse," Henderson says. "I spaced out. The irony is, I was probably in the courthouse that day."

Oregon Voters Pamphlet satirist M. Dennis Moore has struck again. Moore, who in past elections has spoofed homophobic initiatives under the "auspices" of the "Special Righteousness Committee" and the "Traditional Prejudices Coalition," has turned his attention this election to Measure 43. That's the measure that asks voters to consider making parental notification mandatory for girls who are 15, 16 and 17 and want abortions. In one of the three satirical filings he made "in support of" the measure, Moore writes that masturbation should also require parental notification. "Every sperm is sacred!," he says. "Just like abortion, masturbation murders soulless cells."

Correction: Last week's story "Two Left Feet," on this page, incorrectly reported how many states besides Oregon have no limits on political contributions. At least four other states also have no limits. WW regrets the error.

^Shut Up And Register

The clock is ticking if you want to vote in this election.

If you haven't registered to vote for the Nov. 7 election, you have until 5 pm on Tuesday, Oct. 17, to get in the game.

The most recent numbers show that only 75 percent of all eligible voters have registered for this election. And as these charts show, the numbers are much worse for those of you between the ages of 18 and 29. To change any and all of these statistics, go to your local county elections office (in Multnomah County, that's at 1040 SE Morrison St.) or the DMV or fill out a registration form online at www.oregonvotes.org/register.htm before the end of business Oct. 17.

2006 REGISTRATION

ALL VOTERS:
ESTIMATED NUMBER OF ELIGIBLE VOTERS: 2.63 MILLION
NUMBER OF REGISTERED VOTERS: 1.97 MILLION
PERCENTAGE: 75%

AGES 18-29:
ESTIMATED NUMBER OF ELIGIBLE VOTERS 18-29: 517,000
NUMBER OF REGISTERED VOTERS: 317,000
PERCENTAGE: 61%

^Candidates Gone Wild

Where can you find Gov. Ted Kulongoski together with Supernova rock star Storm Large? Tax activist Don McIntire with one-time indie candidate for governor Ben Westlund? Conservative talk-show host Gregg Clapper with liberal brainiac Steve Novick? Cribs featuring candidates' homes? Films about ballot initiatives? Music? Beer? One place and one place only: Candidates Gone Wild on Oct. 16 at the Roseland Theater. Only a few days left to buy tickets for the year's most entertaining political evening. Come to our office at 2220 NW Quimby St. or go to Candidatesgonewild.com for details.