OR-5: Lots of talk, nobody new in yet.
Kari Chisholm
You know that Congresswoman Darlene Hooley's departure was a shock to the political system when you realize that no candidate has jumped in over the twelve days since her retirement announcement.
So, where do we stand? The same place we were almost two weeks ago.
REPUBLICANS
Mike Erickson is still the only candidate in the race - and he's been running forever. The day Hooley announced her retirement, he dropped $340,000 of his own money in the race, presumably to forestall other GOPers.
Publicly reported as considering the race: Clackamas County Commissioner Bill Kennemer, four-time statewide loser Kevin Mannix, Kulongoski aide Allen Alley, and Rep. Brian Boquist (R-Dallas).
Rep. Vicki Berger (R-Salem) and Rep. Scott Bruun (R-West Linn) have said they're not running.
DEMOCRATS
So far, no Democrats have jumped in. There's a healthy list of candidates considering the race, however: Former Monmouth Mayor and Kulongoski aide Paul Evans, Oregon National Guard General Mike Caldwell, Labor Commissioner Dan Gardner, former Rep. Bryan Johnston (D-Salem), Sen. Kurt Schrader (D-Canby), and Clackamas County Commissioner Martha Schrader.
Rep. Brian Clem (D-Salem), Rep. Greg Macpherson (D-Lake Oswego), and Dave Hunt (D-Milwaukie) are not running - as are candidates Steve Novick and John Kroger.
Lots of these candidates told the media that they'd be deciding by the end of last week - and still, no word from anyone.
Stay tuned. It could be a fun week ahead. And filing day is in just three weeks...
UPDATE: Dan Gardner is out.
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Feb 19, '08
Brian Clem is a Democrat. Just sayin'...
Feb 19, '08
Clem, Macpherson and Hunt are all Democrats Kari.
8:01 a.m.
Feb 19, '08
Ah, for morning levity.
It's an understandable mistake. At least on a keyboard, Ds and Rs are so close together...
8:03 a.m.
Feb 19, '08
Ha... Yikes! That's fixed! That's what I get for posting at 2 a.m.
8:25 a.m.
Feb 19, '08
Has Jeff Merkley said whether he wants to move and run for it?
9:26 a.m.
Feb 19, '08
Merkley is out. Other than some annoyed Novick fans, his name never came up.
9:53 a.m.
Feb 19, '08
From Potlickeror.com's story on Dan Gardner's decision not to run:
"The Labor Commissioner spent several days meeting with advisors and in discussion with his family, ultimately determining that life in DC would prevent him from spending enough time with his children."
Thank God someone told Gardner that Congress meets in D.C. just in time to save him from making a terrible mistake!
Feb 19, '08
Jack, that is overly sarcastic! Lots of people (Kitzhaber comes to mind) don't want federal office because of disruption of family life. They should be given credit for common sense.
11:38 a.m.
Feb 19, '08
Jack Roberts for Congress!!!
1:14 p.m.
Feb 19, '08
"Merkley is out. Other than some annoyed Novick fans, his name never came up."
And other than some worried Merkley fans, Novick's likely never came up, either.
1:52 p.m.
Feb 19, '08
LT, you're right, it was overly sarcastic. I don't blame anyone from Oregon for not wanting a 3,000 mile commute to Congress, particularly representing a swing district that you'd constantly have to be defending.
Still, I thought it read kind of funny to make it sound like it took several days of meetings with advisors and family to conclude that being in Congress would seriously impinge on your time with your kids.
Feb 19, '08
How about Ryan Deckert?
7:26 p.m.
Feb 19, '08
I can understand what the story meant. It would have been discussions on exactly how much time is spent in DC, talking with your spouse and kids about the commitment, etc.
I had to do the same thing in regards to running for the city council here in Gresham - it might be local, but it's an unpaid position that really needs a lot of time.
Feb 19, '08
Through the late 80s, it was common for members of congress to live in the D.C. area. The trend in the last 15 years has been to commute. Why is that? I'm guessing the ban on honorarium in 1989 had something to with it. I once read an article from the late 70s that showed Hatfield and Packwood had each received something like $200,000 for making speeches in a year. Indexed for inflation, that is around $600,000, which, along with their salary would have made it much easier to own or rent a home in both DC and their home state. (Members are actually allowed to receive payment for speeches if they give it to charity, but, surprise, surprise, most decided to give up the practice altogether!!)
Al Ullman's defeat in 1980 was attributed largely to his not owning a home in the 2nd district and spending too much time in D.C. Hatfield's and Packwood's near defeats in the early '90s were likely for similar reasons.
Also, the do nothing Republican congresses in '95- '06 had made it a custom to work two or three days a week and then jet home. I was happy to see the Democrats require congress to put in a full five days, although I think they might have whittled down to four. I'm sure that change was tough for some.
We have holiday recesses for these folks to return home and that's fine. As far as I'm concerned, though, unless we find a way to let them vote by proxy, we elect them to go to work in D.C. I also realize that for anyone in a swing district like Hooley, they feel compelled to be in the district as much as possible, lest they end up like Ullman.
8:51 p.m.
Feb 19, '08
When I worked for Congressman Lampson he had a policy to never stay in D.C. over the weekend unless he absolutely had to. As such, he was in the district almost every weekend (I think while I worked there he missed something like 2 weekends home) holding meetings, town halls, and more. It was a big reason why he was popular with voters - they felt they could actually talk to their Congressman.
It also meant that he was able to look through the case files for constituents and personally sign letters going out - often times adding a post script note.
<h2>It's difficult to do, and means a lot of flight time, but he felt it was important to be in the district as much as possible.</h2>