OPINION
The Light-Rail Spat Wydens Our senior senator reacts to last week's column. If Sen. Ron Wyden had spent half as much time campaigning for light rail as he has protesting the column that appeared in this space last week, Tri-Met could now be moving forward with the south-north alignment. Instead, the region's transit agency is scratching its head after the loss of the $475 million measure two weeks ago. Last week, this column discussed the consequences of Wyden's reluctance to help the light-rail campaign. Though he says he supports light rail, Wyden was unwilling to help the campaign, which, if successful, would have leveraged $866 million of federal funds for the project. His decision to stay on the sidelines, according to his staff, was consistent with his general unwillingness to take high-profile positions on state and local measures. As Carol Butler, his campaign manager, explained it, "It's not his job to get involved and tell Oregonians how to vote." Our comparison of Wyden's "leadership" with that of Sen. Gordon Smith, who vigorously supported the light-rail measure, drew a quick response from Wyden's office. Within 24 hours, a flurry of phone calls took place between Wyden and Tri-Met; soon, a letter from new Tri-Met General Manager Fred Hansen was delivered to this newspaper. In the letter (which appears on page 6), Hansen doesn't challenge anything in last week's 500 Words but makes it clear that "Wyden has been an unfaltering supporter of Tri-Met, its rail program and the South/North Program." On Thursday, we received an angry phone call from Josh Kardon, Wyden's chief of staff, claiming that this newspaper had been "sold a bill of goods." "Your November 11 article," he followed up in a letter, "is based upon inaccurate information." Let's see. "Your source asserts that Senator Wyden declined to submit a Voters' Pamphlet statement in favor of light rail," Kardon writes. "In fact, Senator Wyden agreed to their request, but the light-rail campaign dropped the ball." Not so, according to Patricia McCaig, the former Metro councilor and chief of staff to former Gov. Barbara Roberts, who managed the light-rail campaign. "On two occasions we asked Wyden's office for a Voter's Pamphlet statement," McCaig says, and both times they were rejected. "Your source," Kardon's letter continues, "asserts that the Senator was asked for the use of his name in a broadcast spot.... This simply never happened. Had the request come in, Senator Wyden would have gladly assisted." Wrong again, counters McCaig. She says she asked Wyden to do a television spot with senior citizens, a crucial group of voters with whom Wyden enjoys great popularity. Again, McCaig says, Wyden's office declined. Some of this is no surprise. Wyden is a hardworking, earnest pol who nevertheless plays it very safe and does not expend political capital to support controversial measures. To those who know him well, this caution is typical of Wyden. What is novel is the way his office is going after someone who is pointing this out, someone who has nothing to gain by challenging a U.S. senator. For her part, McCaig is baffled at Wyden's effort to fiddle with the truth. "Look," says McCaig, "there was no stone that we didn't unturn in this campaign. We asked everyone to help. And the list of those who did is quite long," she says, ticking off the names of Hatfield, Blumenauer, Kitzhaber, Katz, Goldschmidt, Metro chief Mike Burton, Beaverton Mayor Rob Drake, City Commissioner Charlie Hales and, finally, Sen. Gordon Smith. "Their willingness speaks volumes." Volumes, that is, about the one person whose name is missing from the list.
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