Val Hoyle Leading Lou Ogden to Become Oregon’s Next Labor Commissioner

Hoyle's supporters pounded Ogden with social media campaign that termed him "unacceptable."

Rep. Val Hoyle
By Nigel Jaquiss

A remarkably hostile race for Oregon labor commissioner looks like it's going in the Democratic win column.

Although the race to head the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries is nominally non-partisan, nobody told that to former House Majority Leader Val Hoyle (D-Eugene) or six-term incumbent Tualatin Mayor Lou Ogden, a Republican.

Hoyle's supporters pounded Ogden with social media campaign that termed him "unacceptable" because a tenant in his home was convicted of child porn charges in 2010. Ogden's backers claimed Hoyle was an NRA shill, despite gun rights activists having tried to recall her in 2015 because of her support for a gun control measure.

In the end, although Hoyle didn't get to put a D next to her name on the ballot, the large—10 percentage points—registration advantage Democrats hold over Republicans appears to ensure her victory. She has 51.6 percent of the vote to Ogden's 35.1 percent.

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