Scott Bruun: Oregon’s Race for Secretary of State More Important Than Ever

Email to a friend Permalink

Wednesday, June 03, 2015

Scott Bruun, GoLocalPDX MINDSETTER™

Over the next few months, especially once the 2015 legislative session ends, Oregonians will begin to spend more-and-more time talking about the office of governor. And why not? It’s the top job, the Big Kahuna. The number one position in all of Oregon government.

More to the point, we’ll talk about it because the Top Job is now off-kilter. Kitzhaber’s implosion changed everything. We weren’t supposed to have gubernatorial election in 2016, after all. And there certainly wasn’t supposed to be a sitting governor enjoying all the benefits of incumbency during the next election.

This of course has changed the calculus for Republicans who were looking to field a top candidate for an open guv’s seat in 2018. It has also changed the calculus of State Treasurer Ted Wheeler who, term-limited from continuing his current job, was hoping to be the Democrat’s Mahonia Hall-heir apparent

Meaning? Well, Republicans will still field a good candidate for governor – just earlier. Maybe Allen Alley, whom I wrote of last week. And Ted Wheeler? Well, Ted will have to spend more time in the private sector than he planned. That, or he’ll decide to make Charlie Hales’ life miserable by running for mayor of Portland.

That may be a show worth watching.

In many respects though, the biggest show for 2016 is one that has not yet gained much attention. Namely, the contest to be Oregon’s next secretary of state.

The secretary of state race is likely to be an open-seat election. The current incumbent, Jeanne Atkins, is a place-holder. Put in the position by former-secretary Kate Brown after she became governor, it’s commonly understood that Atkins is to politely leave office after the current term ends. This, in order to make way for either Democrat Speaker Tina Kotek or Democrat Majority Leader Val Hoyle.

It’s manipulative for sure, but you gotta hand it to Oregon’s Democrat leaders. They start planning political chess-moves for their people at about… well, birth. For four decades now, they’ve won and keep winning their nepotistic-board game. Consequently, for four decades now, Oregon governance has and continues to stumble through partisan mediocrity.

For these reasons, the 2016 election for secretary of state is huge. The job, done correctly, is vital for Oregon business and government oversight. It must be the state’s watchdog. It will also be the position largely-responsible for drawing legislative districts following the next census should the legislature fail to find agreement.

The secretary of state position may be Oregon’s number two political office. But it’s a close second. And for Republicans, Independents, non-affiliated voters, or any Oregonian (including Democrats) looking to rediscover the long-lost concept of balance, the race next year provides a tremendous opportunity.

To win the day Republicans need to nominate, as William F. Buckley use to say, the “rightward-most viable candidate.” In Oregon, this means a Republican candidate who resonates with conservative voters while also speaking to the concerns and aspirations of centrist and urban voters. A tall order, perhaps. But the stakes are too big to get it wrong.

That candidate, and the rest of us, would do well to remember that the office of secretary of state is not about abortion, climate change, same-sex marriage or guns. It is, instead, about business efficiency and support, government accountability, and asuring well-run and above-board elections. It is also about rebuilding trust and objectivity in Salem.

And balance.

That balance will be achieved by a candidate and future secretary who’s not afraid to audit the Salem crowd. That is, someone who will ask the hard questions of governors, legislators and agency-heads. Someone who will be the grown-up in the room, and not so politely-complicit with Salem insiders.

Balance will also be achieved through someone who effectively audits the machinations of government. Someone who’s willing and able to stop the scandals, stop the financial misfeasance, and stop the ruinous and partisan policy-gimmicks that waste the hard-earned money of working Oregonians.

Finally, balance will be achieved by a secretary of state who truly seeks to make elections fair and impartial. Someone who will work to end Oregon’s self-serving method of legislative redistricting. Someone who might, say, propose and work for a constitutional amendment in Oregon. An amendment that makes redistricting non-partisan by finally taking it out of the hands of politicians.

On just about every level, from economic and education performance, to ethics and good-government, Oregon can do better. Much better. When it comes to Oregon’s number two office we can decide to settle for more of the same, or we can finally choose a different path. We can choose a hyper-partisan leader from Oregon’s hyper-partisan legislature, and thus ensure the status quo. Or we can finally choose a grown-up, and a real leader.

The choice is yours, Oregon.

Scott Bruun is a fifth-generation Oregonian and recovering politician. He lives with his family in the 'burbs', yet dutifully commutes to Portland every day where he earns his living in public affairs with Hubbell Communications. 

---

Related Slideshow: Timeline of Kate Brown’s Life and Political Career

Related Articles

• Scott Bruun: The Importance of Winston Churchill in Portland
• Scott Bruun: The Problem With Congress’s Work Schedule
• Scott Bruun: The Problems With Portland’s City Government
• Scott Bruun: The Future As Seen In Seaside
• Scott Bruun: The Challenges Legislative Democrats Face in 2015
• Scott Bruun: Ted Wheeler’s Wheel of Big Government Solutions
• Scott Bruun: The Beaver State’s Lame Duck
• Scott Bruun: There’s No More Political Giants in Oregon
• Scott Bruun: Time for a Spring Cleaning in Salem
• Scott Bruun: Why Oregon Needs Allen Alley in the Governor’s Office

Enjoy this post? Share it with others.

Email to a friend Permalink