Oregon Secretary of State

Vicki Walker

Tattoo she'd get: A butterfly on her hip.

This primary to replace Democratic incumbent Bill Bradbury, who can't run again because of term limits, pits three accomplished state senators against each other.

They are vying for a big job. In addition to serving as custodian of all state records, the secretary of state performs three primary functions: overseeing the Elections Division, auditing state agencies and serving on the State Land Board with the governor and state treasurer. As an added bonus, Bradbury's successor will get to tackle a monster political issue—the redrawing in 2010 of legislative districts.

Sen. Kate Brown, who has represented Portland in the Legislature since 1992 and was Senate majority leader until recently, is probably the most familiar among the three to local voters. A juvenile-rights lawyer, Brown is a champion on equity issues and was an effective fundraiser for her caucus.

Sen. Rick Metsger (D-Welches) may also be familiar from his 16 years as a reporter and sports anchor at KOIN TV. In the Senate, he has concentrated on transportation and has earned a reputation as a consummate deal-maker.

Either Brown or Metsger could be a fine secretary of state, although neither has advanced many specific ideas about how to make the office perform better. And neither possesses the fiery energy of Sen. Vicki Walker. The Eugene Democrat has produced a 16-page booklet of ideas about how to remake the office. That thoroughness is no surprise.

Since entering the Legislature in 1999, Walker, a mild-mannered court reporter by day, has been a whirling dervish of activity, much of it directed at annihilating the status quo. Walker crusaded against mismanagement at the publicly owned workers' compensation insurer, SAIF Corp. In that battle, she did what was then unthinkable for a Democrat: blasting former Gov. Neil Goldschmidt, whom SAIF was then paying $40,000 to lobby the Legislature. (Walker later tipped WW to Goldschmidt's sexual abuse of a 14-year-old girl in the 1970s, leading to an exposé, "The 30-Year Secret, WW, May 12, 2004).

But Walker has done far more than challenge Goldschmidt: Along with Metsger, she authored Senate Bill 408 in 2005, a bill that plugged a billion-dollar tax loophole for utilities. She passed a bill that ended golden parachutes for school administrators and another that prohibits the state from entering into secret settlement agreements. Under her guidance, the state's 75 auditors would crank up government accountability, and the hucksters and fast-buck artists who make a living from the initiative system would face a very determined elections cop.

Video of WW endorsement interview(thanks to Portland Community Media)

WWeek 2015