*Why Are People Poor?
We asked several candidates this question. The most intriguing answer came from Pat Moran, a Republican state House candidate from Tigard. A carpet salesman, Moran said people were poor because they were like him--lacking in initiative.
*Weirdest Fund Raiser
1000 Friends of Oregon director Robert Liberty held a "slide-a-thon" for Serena Cruz. It worked like this (we think): 1. Cruz supporters get pledges from friends for every slide they promise to watch. 2. Liberty makes the Cruzies watch his vacation slides. 3. Cruzies collect the pledges and give them to the candidate. *The Cardinal Rule
According to the Voters' Pamphlet, Stanford University seems to be the most popular school outside Oregon: Graduates include David Wu (candidate for U.S. rep), Ron Wyden (U.S. Senate), Erik Sten (City Council), Jeff Merkley (state rep) and Spencer Schock (state schools chief). *Most Nixonian Answer
On a Thursday, we asked Supreme Court candidate Bob Tiernan if he had bought any TV time yet. Tiernan gave us an emphatic "no." He had ads on the air that weekend. *Separated at Birth
Democratic state House hopefuls Jeff Merkley (right) and Randy Leonard *Talk About Special Interests North Portland state House candidate Lewis Marcus, showing remarkable initiative, analyzed contributions of his opponents and reported that 56 percent of rival Melinda Benson Wilde's contributions came from the cigarette, beer and pornography industries. *Scarlet Letter
Congressional wannabe Marilyn Shannon is the only candidate to be admonished in the Voters' Pamphlet for violating a voluntary spending pledge in her last election. *Best Impersonation of a Victim
Metro Council candidate Chuck Martin knows voters don't like negative campaigning, so he sent out a flyer that strongly suggests he's being attacked by all kinds of hit pieces. Problem is, Martin hasn't been attacked by anyone yet. State rep candidate Bill Witt did the same thing, defending himself against charges that Chuck Carpenter hadn't made. *What's in a Name?
Most people know her as Lynn Partin, so why did the state rep candidate list her name as Lynn Diane Partin on the ballot? Doesn't have anything to do with all those County Commission lawn signs for Diane Linn, does it? *End of the Campaign Trail
It's nothing new for candidates to hold auctions as campaign fund-raising events. But as far as we know, no Oregon politician previously made a buck--or $35 bucks to be exact--for selling a piece of Kevin Costner's ass. OK, Mike Valdrow didn't sell the actor's actual tush, but he came pretty darn close. Valdrow, a Republican making his third bid for state House, owns a company that rents Porta Potties. When Costner came to town to film The Postman, Valdrow got the contract to supply the set. When filming was done, the enterprising Valdrow asked a security guard whether Costner used any of his portable toilets. The guard, indeed, pointed to one unit in particular and confirmed that Costner, on at least one occasion, took his sweet time. Valdrow took the seat off the prestigious potty, cleaned it up, made a certificate of authenticity and auctioned it off at a January fund raiser. The seat was bought by fellow Clackamas County Republican Jesse Lott, a cousin to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, who bought it for his 21-year-old daughter. "I don't know what she did with it," Lott says. "I haven't seen it lying around anywhere."
*Most Optimistic
Metro Council candidate David Bragdon solicited money with a mailer that came with this envelope: |
