Shut Up & Vote

[November 1st, 2006]

^Ad Nauseam

Swingers and the ads that sway them.

Forget soccer moms in the Oregon governor's race.

Political analysts say the key to this year's contest between Gov. Ted Kulongoski and Republican Ron Saxton is the young, independent voter—many of whom are newly registered and could break either way.

Yet neither candidate has won this group over yet, says Pacific University poli-sci professor Jim Moore.

"Kulongoski has not gone out of his way to get these voters," Moore says. "And Ron Saxton is sending them the exact message they don't want, which is his strong Republican agenda."

With this key segment of swing voters arguably the most media-literate and -skeptical chunk of the electorate, we rounded up six young, undecided independents to show them TV spots from both candidates. Our "focus group" members—among the thousands of voters freshly registered by the nonprofit Bus Project—rolled their eyes at all the ads. But on balance, they gave the nod to the Democratic guv. Here's why:

*Whose ad? Saxton's.

The rundown: Saxton wields a ticking stopwatch and gives viewers 10 seconds to come up with something Kulongoski has done.

Votes won? Zero.

Why? It's not a good sign when a room erupts in laughter during a serious ad. Our group called the ad "obnoxious" and "absurd." "There wasn't any information," said Gordon Rose, 24. "It makes the election look like a schoolyard popularity contest."

*Whose ad? Kulongoski's.

The rundown: Saxton gets linked to the anti-choice lobby and big corporations.

Votes won? Four.

Why? While our viewers complained it didn't tell them anything about Kulongoski, they liked that the ad actually gave them some facts. Still, a few were skeptical. "TV is the perfect medium for this sort of thing, because you can make serious allegations," said Meighan McFalls, 23. "But I know I don't have the full story."

*Whose ad? Saxton's.

The rundown: This ad presents info showing Kulongoski's failures as governor.

Votes won? Two.

Why? Viewers rated the "death music" playing against a montage of negative facts about the guv as the ad's most notable part. "I don't buy this at all," said Dustin Johnsen, 26. But Brent Sandmeyer, 23, said, "If you haven't made up your mind yet, this ad definitely gives you a bad feeling about Kulongoski."

*Whose ad? Kulongoski's.

The rundown: Saxton's talking head is juxtaposed with a harsh critique of his record as chairman of the Portland School Board.

Votes won? Four.

Why? Viewers ranked this ad among the most effective because they said it contained relevant facts they hadn't realized. "I didn't even know that Saxton was on the school board, so I found this extremely informative," said Azad Madjd-Sadjadi, 24.

^More Ad Reviews

*Whose ad? Saxton's.

The rundown: The Republican talks about the changes he'd make as governor, adding, "I'll be with my party when it's right, and against it when it's wrong."

Votes won? Zero.

Why? Saxton's stab at bipartisanship didn't resonate. "If he's with his party when they're right, and against them when they're wrong, why isn't he running as in independent?" said Johnsen.

*Whose ad? Kulongoski's.

The rundown: The guv talks about what he's done for Oregon's kids.

Votes won ? Six.

Why? This positive ad—without a mention of Saxton—was by far the favorite. "This ad is so appealing because Kulongoski actually tells you what he's done—he's added 30,000 kids to the Oregon Health Plan—instead of just standing there, holding a baby and telling you that he's going to change health care," says Josh Johnsrud, 28.

—BRITTANY SCHAEFFER

^Trail Mix

So what did GOP gubernatorial candidate Ron Saxton know about North Korea , and when did he know it? Trail Mix asks because video of Saxton greeting supporters accidentally appeared in a Oct. 20 Fox News piece about North Korea. The clip shows Saxton hugging fans and shaking hands in a bar, while the commentator discusses U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's talks with Chinese officials about Kim Jong Il. The Fox anchor inadvertently added to the hilarity by noting: "That is not Secretary Rice, but a happy man in a bar." Check out the video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAPd_SUGyFM.

Last week, we showed you a giant pig being hauled around Oregon by Measure 48's backers to symbolize the "piggybank" they say their spending-limit measure would create. This week, we show you opponents' message from a recent stop: that no matter how much lipstick you put on a pig, it's still a pig , and that no rainy-day fund is guaranteed. Moreover, 48's foes warn the measure will slash funding to schools and other services.

^More Trail Mix

The popular porn site cruisingforsex.com wants you to use your hands for something else next Tuesday, Nov. 7, when election ballots are due. The New York-based site will shut down Tuesday in hopes its 60,000 daily users leave their sticky keyboards (or, uh, laptops) long enough to vote. For the appropriately titled Vote! Don't Stroke! campaign, those trying to get on the site Election Day will instead be redirected to League of Women Voters site VOTE411.org. Site founder and owner Keith Griffiths tells Trail Mix that he hopes to encourage other businesses to follow suit. Says Griffiths: "I believe anything that we can do to try to convince the men who normally go to our site to enjoy themselves, to instead go out and vote is a very good thing."

What is this, Chicago? On the same day that Woodburn resident Joanne Baisch got her Oregon ballot, a second ballot arrived for her husband, Reuben, a retired teacher who died April 15 at the age of 82. Joanne Baisch says she's hidden the ballot away so there's no danger of anyone submitting it, but remains worried others might not be so honorable. "I would just hate to think that all the people who died—that their ballots could be used," she tells Trail Mix. Her daughter Anne Lewis echoed that fear in a letter to the editor that ran in The Oregonian on Sunday. "What is going on in this state that a dead person can receive a ballot more than six months after he has passed away?" Lewis asked. Election officials in Marion County, the county where Woodburn is, say they purge their records regularly and that fewer than 10 ballots are returned during any given election cycle because the voters have died.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski is leaving no piedra unturned in his re-election bid. The Democratic incumbent, who's caught hell from Republican opponent Ron Saxton over immigration issues, made a play Friday for the estimated 3 percent of registered voters who are Latino. The gobernador went on Hispanos en América, which airs on the Spanish-language radio station KWBY La Pantera AM out of Woodburn. He used the opportunity to play up his roots as a steel-mill-working, Catholic-boys'-home-going grandchild of non-English-speaking immigrants (who, shhh!, just happened to be Polish). In true "ich bin ein Berliner" fashion, Kulongoski finished the interview in stilted Spanish with "juntos podremos ganar"—together we will win.

^Quick Picks

That nagging noise in your head? Perhaps it's the realization that you have until 8 pm Tuesday, Nov. 7, to return your election ballot. For how and where to do that, go to www.co.multnomah.or.us/dbcs/elections/2006-11/drop_sites.shtml. For the who and what to vote for, read below. For a longer version of our reasoning, go to www.wweek.com/editorial/3250/8117.

Governor

Gov. Ted Kulongoski (Democrat)

State Supreme Court

Jack Roberts (nonpartisan)

Congress

1st Congressional District: Rep. David Wu (Democrat)

3rd Congressional District: Rep. Earl Blumenauer (Democrat)

5th Congressional District: Rep. Darlene Hooley (Democrat)

State Measures

39 (Condemnation limits) NO

40 (Judicial districts) NO

41 (Taxpayer deductions) NO

42 (Credit scores in insurance) NO

43 (Parental notification) NO

44 (Prescription drugs) YES

45 (Term limits) NO

46 & 47 (Campaign finance reform) YES

48 (State spending limits) NO

Local measures

26-80 (Metro Open spaces) NO

26-81 (Multnomah County Library levy) YES

26-83 (Mount Hood Community College Bond) YES

26-84 (Portland Public Schools levy) YES

26-85 (David Douglas Schools bond) YES

26-86 (Reforms to Portland's fire and police disability retirement system) YES

26-88 (Reynolds Schools bond) YES

^LOCAL RACES

Multnomah County Commissioner District 2: Jeff Cogen (nonpartisan)

Metro Council District 4: Tom Cox (nonpartisan)

Multnomah County Judge Position 28: Judith Hudson Matarazzo (nonpartisan)

Multnomah County Judge Position 31: Cheryl Albrecht (nonpartisan)

Multnomah County Judge Position 37: write-in Charles Henderson (nonpartisan)

^LEGISLATURE

Senate Districts

13: Larry George (Republican)

15: Sen. Bruce Starr (Republican)

17: Rep. Brad Avakian (Democrat)

19: Sen. Richard Devlin (Democrat)

24: Rod Monroe (Democrat)

26: Sen. Rick Metsger (Democrat)

House Districts

26: Lee Coleman (Democrat)

27: Tobias Read (Democrat)

28: Rep. Jeff Barker (Democrat)

29: Rep. Chuck Riley (Democrat)

30: David Edwards (Democrat)

33: Rep. Mitch Greenlick (Democrat)

34: Suzanne Bonamici (Democrat)

35: Rep. Larry Galizio (Democrat)

36: Rep. Mary Nolan (Democrat)

37: Bev Backa (Democrat)

38: Rep. Greg Macpherson (Democrat)

39: Mike Caudle (Democrat)

42: Rep. Diane Rosenbaum (Democrat)

44: Tina Kotek (Democrat)

45: Rep. Jackie Dingfelder (Democrat)

46: Ben Cannon (Democrat)

47: Rep. Jeff Merkley (Democrat)

48: Rep. Mike Schaufler (Democrat)

49: Rob Brading (Democrat)

50: Rep. John Lim (Republican)

51: Ryan Olds (Democrat)

52: Suzanne VanOrman (Democrat)