Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in Oregon Politics: Cedric Hayden, Diane Rosenbaum, and Cylvia Hayes

Email to a friend Permalink

Friday, October 02, 2015

Douglas Fasching, GoLocalPDX Contributor

Representative Cedric Hayden

Hot

Representative Cedric Hayden. This summer was one of the worst fire seasons on record. The state spent roughly $74m with dozens of houses, nearly 95,000 acres of state-protected land and about 650,000 acres of federal land destroyed. There were over a thousand firefighters on the front lines battling these fires, but only one was an elected official.

While I was binge-watching OITNB and Daredevil, Representative Cedric Hayden spent his summer fighting the Stout Fire near his home in Roseburg and the Corner Creek Fire near John Day making sure the casualties were not greater. Apparently being a full time dentist wasn’t taking up enough of his time. A cynic might suggest that fighting raging forest fires was a pleasant reprieve from dealing with the democrats in Salem.

Needless to say, he was a lot more active than I was (and as you can tell from the picture ---> a lot more manly than I ever will be). When you put yourself in danger to protect this state, you get in the Hot Column. So, nice work Representative Hayden.

Commissioner Amanda Fritz. Last week Commissioner Fritz made the Hot Column for what she did not have to do, namely run a competitive race to retain her seat on the City Council. This week Commissioner Fritz makes the Hot column for what she did do. She stood up to Mayor Charlie Hales and told him to go pound sand.

As the Commissioner in charge of the Bureau of Parks & Recreation, she has final say of what contracts are entered into on behalf of the city regarding public parks. Nike was the corporate sponsor of Duniway Park, the park next to the old downtown YMCA, but that contract expired nearly 16 years ago. Enter Under Armour, the sportswear manufacturer that has been slowly chipping away at Nike’s market share (it still isn’t even close, but it is more than Nike would like).

They recently purchased the old YMCA and are in the process of converting it to their new North American headquarters (what an amazing coincidence that they would choose the same city where Nike’s headquarters is located!).

Anywho, Under Armour wanted the corporate sponsorship of Duniway Park since it is right next door and offered the city 5.5m. They would even spring for new soccer fields and a few other perks. Fritz said, “Great!” Easy peasy, right? Not so fast.

Last week, the Mayor asked Fritz to hold off signing a deal with Under Armour. Rather he wanted her to send the deal to the City Council for approval. I am not sure what the Mayor thought would change if the entire City Council got to vote on this contract. It is not like they all got cash from Nike in the last election like he did.

Maybe if Hales hadn’t stripped Fritz of the Bureau of Development Services a few months ago and left her to find this out from news reporters, she may have been inclined to indulge the Mayor. As it stands now, not so much.

So, for standing your ground, welcome Commissioner Fritz once again to the Hot Column. On a completely unrelated note, the Ted Wheeler lawn signs you ordered should be arriving any day now.

Matt Geiger. Matt Geiger is running to be State Representative for District 22 and he might be getting an early Christmas present. Word out of Salem is that Representative Betty Komp is not running for re-election. His road to Salem will not be easy as the Dems have more than a 2000 voter registration edge in the district, however, his chances of winning are a lot better if she decides not to run.

Keep in mind, this is not the same Matt Geiger who ran against and lost to the five-term Representative two years ago. That Matt Geiger was a Republican. This Matt Geiger is a member of the Independent Party. It is unclear why he changed parties. He seems to be running on the same platform and he is still getting money from conservative rainmaker Andrew Stimson. Maybe he thinks voters will be more inclined to send an Independent to the Capitol. Maybe just like wrapping a dog’s pill in a piece of cheese, he thinks the Independent Party label will make him easier for the voters to swallow.

His motivation for switching parties, however, is neither here nor there. Whenever you don’t have to face the very popular incumbent that beat you by 10 points in the last election, that gets you in the Hot Column. Speaking of the Independent Party...

Not

The Independent Party of Oregon/The Oregon Giving Back Fund. The Independent Party of Oregon made headlines in August when it was certified as a major political party in the state of Oregon. The major force behind the growth of the party, the push for certification and the co-chairs of the state committee are the husband and wife team of Linda Williams and Dan Meek (Why is that important? Keep reading).

The Oregon Giving Back Fund (OGBF) was established in 2013 as a non-profit in the state of Oregon with the purpose of, according to its limited web presence:

“...support[ing] established projects, principally in Oregon, in the areas of protecting the environment and supporting education at all levels. We also have an interest in supporting projects dealing with local, national, or international justice issues, especially in areas overlooked by others.”

On August 21, four days after certification, the Independent Party received a $3,000 contribution from the OGBF. There are several reasons why this transaction stands out.

First of all, contributions to state political parties do not seem to fall into the purview of the Fund’s mission statement. Also, the Fund purportedly provides educational grants, not money to fund political campaigns. I wonder if the donors to this non-profit know where their money is going. Who are they? Unfortunately, there is no way to find out. The OGBF is a registered 501(c)4 so there is no requirement that the names of the contributors be revealed. That also means there is no way to find out where this money came from.

Secondly, this contribution is remarkable because of the people running the show at the OGBF. Linda Williams is the registered agent and Dan Meek was one of the incorporators and is currently listed as the Secretary. Exactly, the same duo running the show in the Independent Party. Well, isn’t that convenient. I assume it didn’t take much convincing to get that contribution.

The relationship between these two organizations is just a little too cozy. It also remains to be seen whether those who gave money to the educational grant giving nonprofit knew that it would find its way to the Independent Party coffers. And lastly, the lack of transparency. Voters have the right to know who is giving to political campaigns and which groups support which causes. These two groups hit the trifecta and that is what lands them in the Not Column.

Senator Diane Rosenbaum. Senator Diane Rosenbaum represents District 21 located in the heart of Southeast Portland. She was also the Majority Leader for the Senate Democrats until Monday when the Senate Dems voted to replace her with Senator Ginny Burdick. Well that is a fine how-do-you-do. After leading the Dems in arguably their most successful legislative session ever she gets the ax.

Why did this happen? Nobody knows for sure, but there is a lot of speculation. One theory is that Senate President Peter Courtney needed someone better to balance the urban progressive wing of the party with the rural moderate wing. Some suggest that Rosenbaum’s progressive leanings did not sit well with the Dem Senators outside of the Portland/Eugene areas and the entire caucus wanted her gone. Another rumor is that Sen. Courtney just likes Sen. Burdick more. They are closer politically and get along better with each other. One thing is certain, it wasn’t her choice.

Observers say the Senate Majority Leader is a tough position since Courtney gives the position almost no respect and is kept out of decisions. Maybe that was just because of who was in the role. If not, the best of luck to Senator Burdick.

On the bright side, this newfound freedom now affords Rosenbaum the opportunity to explore higher office. She was vocal about wanting the Secretary of State appointment that went to Jeanne Atkins, maybe that office still holds some appeal. Rosenbaum was elected Senator of District 21 in 2008 to replace a young upstart named Kate Brown who decided she would rather be Secretary of State. Maybe she is not finished following in Governor’s footsteps.

Cylvia Hayes. This last entry is not so much a Not...or a Hot, it is more of a public service. For those of you who are curious about what the former first lady is doing and what is on her mind you can check out her blog.

There you can find out about what she has been up to since she left the Governor’s mansion, her thoughts on the events that took place and the occasional poetry. She has opened herself up once again and that takes some guts, but one wonders why she doesn’t just keep a diary.

You would think she would want to keep a low profile considering she is still being investigated from the Federal level all the way down to the State Board of Ethics. But to each their own. Oh well, if I can have what is essentially a blog here in my own Portland bubble, she can have hers. Maybe I should be including some politically-themed poetry in mine. Hmmm...

---

Related Slideshow: Oregon’s 7 New Political Power Players

Related Articles

• Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in Oregon Politics: Knute Buehler, Rose City Baseball, Portland Taxis
• Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in Oregon Politics: Mark Meek, Amanda Fritz, and the P Club
• Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in Oregon Politics: Grant High School, Lazy Candidates, Chuck Riley
• Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in Oregon Politics: Kate Brown, Lars Larson, Clean Fuels
• Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in Oregon Politics: Kate Brown, Racial Profiling, Women’s Rights
• Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in Oregon Politics: Kate Brown, Allen Alley, Amanda Fritz

Enjoy this post? Share it with others.

Email to a friend Permalink