WINNERS:
Eager Beavers: While the U of O is usually seen
as the most fertile home-state breeding ground for politicians
(Wayne Morse, Dick Neuberger, Tom McCall, Vic Atiyeh,
Neil Goldschmidt, Ron Wyden and Peter DeFazio), Oregon
State will have two of its own seeking statewide office
in November: GOP treasurer candidate Jon Kvistad and Republican
secretary of state hopeful Lynn Snodgrass.
Shoe retailers: The May election proved that little-known
quality candidates can still win by knocking on doors.
House District 11 victor Martin Taylor and Metro councilor-elect
Rex Burkholder simply out-hustled better-known (and in
Taylor's case, better-
funded) rivals.
Cleavage: Victoria's Secret isn't so secret anymore.
We're not suggesting that Measure 81 went down only because
Erin Brockovich was willing to flaunt what she's got for
the campaign, but it sure didn't hurt.
KATU & KOIN: While you'll never hear the term
"Election-mania," politics is a little more important
than sports--even when the Blazers are in the playoffs.
Channels 2 and 6 took the high road and led with election
results, not the Blazer victory over Utah, on their 11
o'clock news. Channel 8 (which carried the game) and Channel
12 put Scottie's shot ahead of Vera's flop.
Low-income renters: With the local option giving
money to Portland schools squeaking by, housing advocates
are breathing a sigh of relief. That's because a successful
campaign led by Commissioner Erik Sten somehow had gotten
Mayor Vera Katz to set aside $5 million in a tight city
budget year. Had the local option failed, council members
were ready to raid that pot of money for the Portland
school district.
Steve Duin: The Oregonian columnist was
not just on top of his game last Wednesday morning, he
was over-the-top (in a good way). His post-primary column
snarled at the lackluster roster of victors including
Greg Byrne, Charles Starr and Lynn Snodgrass.
David Bragdon got an early birthday present. The
presiding officer of Metro, the tri-county governing body,
watched as the two most conservative of his council colleagues,
Ed Washington and Jon Kvistad, were replaced by moderate
Democrat Carl Hosticka and left-winging Rex Burkholder.
Now Bragdon can rely on a majority of moderates and a
bloc of three progressives, a great mix with which to
modernize the methods Metro employs to make this region
grow wisely.
Mark Hatfield. Oregon's former U.S. senator wasn't
on the ballot, but a namesake was. The state Supreme Court
campaign of Phil Hatfield (no relation) was short on cash
and substance. A recent immigrant to Oregon, Hatfield's
main qualification was an impressive familiarity with
the Indiana Constitution, which resembles Oregon's. Nonetheless,
he pulled down 18 percent of the vote.
Barbara Roberts. Oregon's former governor wasn't
on the ballot either, but she plugged Randall Edwards
and the No on 81 campaign--both of which emerged victorious.
Edwards' consultant Mark Wiener says Roberts, like ex-prez
Jimmy Carter, seems to be getting more popular the longer
she's out of office, at least among Democrats he polled.
"Of the people we tested, she was at the top of the list,"
he says.
Mark Hemstreet, Aaron Jones and Loren Parks. Not
content with having bought a Legislature, the local right-wing
moneymen are halfway to buying a seat on the state Supreme
Court. Their money--$95,000 combined--helped push lawyer
Gregory Byrne into a run-off with Appeals Court judge
Paul De Muniz.
LOSERS:
Vote-by-mail critics: Any hope of overturning
Oregon's new voting method died Wednesday morning. It's
true that statewide turnout was less than 50 percent,
but it was still better than any primary since 1992, when
there was still a contested presidential primary and a
couple of heated congressional battles on the ballot.
Oregon's turnout this year surpassed that in several states
that cast votes when the Bush/McCain and Gore/Bradley
battles were front-page news.
KEX Radio: The veteran AM news-talk station used
to have the best election-night coverage. No more. Upstart
KPAM (860 AM) was the only station we found with continuous
election-night coverage. GOP labor commish Jack Roberts
and Democratic ex-Secretary of State Phil Keisling provided
not only colorful commentary, but also a potential preview
of the 2002 governor's race. Lobbyist Len Bergstein joined
the banter, which was ably moderated by Bill Gallagher.
Light-rail foes: Critics of light rail hoped to
make a statement this election. They did, but not the
one they wanted. Two of their standard-bearers, legislative
hopeful Lewis Marcus and City Council wannabe Ted Piccolo,
tried to take their anti-light-rail message outside North
Portland--and both got flattened.
Homebuilders: It's hard to pave things over when
local politicians will not go along, which is why Portland-area
homebuilders woke up to some bad news last week. Their
two candidates for Metro got shot down--as did Piccolo,
their Portland City Council candidate. To add insult to
injury, their darling Fred Anderson lost his heavily favored
race for Washington County Commission to Dick Schouten,
a greenie who advocates sticking homebuilders with development
fees incurred by local governments. No wonder some builders
are making noise about leaving town.
Vladimir Lenin: Lonnie Roberts will never win
any contests for charisma, brains or eloquence, but the
ex-legislator does have something a lot of his Democrats
in Portland don't: a socially moderate, fiscally conservative
philosophy that reflects the views of many mid-county
voters. With his strong showing last week, Roberts is
the early favorite in the County Commission run-off with
left-winger Sen. Frank Shields, creating a real chance
that the Gang of Five that rules the People's Republic
of Multnomah could have its first dissident elected voice
in more than a decade.
Oregon docs: One of Oregon's most well-funded
lobby groups proved that its members are more adept at
stitching up patients than sewing up votes. The Oregon
Medical Association spearheaded the Yes on 81 campaign,
which would have given the Legislature the ability to
cap jury verdicts, such as in medical malpractice cases.
But the physicians raised only a fraction of what they
needed and ran a lackluster, uninspired campaign, leading
to a crushing defeat at the polls.
Rick Metsger: The state senator from Welches published
his own version of The Onion last session, which
parodied everything ridiculous in Salem. Without the antics
of those wacky lawmakers Marylin Shannon and Juley Gianella,
Metsger's job just got tougher.
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Willamette Week | originally
published April 26,
2000
