Based on the comments here, you'd think Kari would rate above 39. Perhaps old structures (see #3, 8, 10 etc) still have more juice than the netroots?

People they left out, that clearly should be ranked higher than me:

Barry Pack, political consultant (D) Bill McCormick, restaurateur, Ambassador to NZ Bob Caldwell, Oregonian opinion editor Bob Stacey, 1000 Friends exec dir Charles Swindells, banker, Ambassador to NZ Cheryl Perrin, political consultant (D) Chuck Sheketoff, OCPP exec dir Duke Shepard, AFL-CIO political dir Duncan Wyse, Oregon Business Council Dylan Amo, former Oregon Club for Growth guy Hiram Sachs, political consultant (D) Homer Williams, developer Jefferson Smith, Oregon Bus Project Joan Mooney Evans, Hooley chief of staff John Fregonese, land-use consultant Jonathan Poisner, OLCV exec dir Judy Peppler, Qwest Julia Brim-Edwards, Nike Michele Rossolo, FuturePAC exec dir Pat Egan, Pacificorp Patricia McCaig, pollster & strategist Rob Wagner, AFT-OR political dir Stephen Kafoury, lobbyist, former elected Steve Janik, attorney Terry Bean, donor Tim Hibbits, pollster Wayne Kinney, DPO Natl Committeeman, Wyden staffer Win McCormack, donor

And that's just in five minutes of thinking about it. I'm sure there are plenty more....

Good list, but the descriptions seem to need a proofreader.

Yeah, those are my descriptions - not Politicker's.

Based on the comments here, you'd think Kari would rate above 39.

No kidding. Some of the folks hanging out at BlueOregon that seem to think I'm sort of Grand Puppetmaster of Oregon politics. Which couldn't possibly be further from the truth.

Paul Romain does seem a wee bit low, though. Wonder what the more connected hacky types think of the list and people's relative place on it?

Yes, Jen Yocom!

And his mayoral run didn't go so well, but you gotta include Sho Dozono.

Where are the congressional staff?

Not to mention Portland City Hall staff...

Yeah, eleven women.... that's both a failing of the list and a failing of reality.

I'd also include Elaine Franklin, GOP consultant and the latest Mrs. Bob Packwood.

Much as I hate to admit it but Sizemore needs to be in the top 10. Not that he contributes in any way constructively, but we spend an awful lot of time and money defeating him and the legislature must constantly think about the implications of a ballot measure on any controversial legistlation. And how can we forget Mr. Mannix. In spite of his ability to snatch defeat from victory, he is also a perpetual political pain with a big impact on the political discussion and spending in Oregon.

OMG, you're right, John.

How does Kevin Mannix get left off this list?

The fact that I'm not on this list renders the entire thing useless.

Carla:

I feel the same way. ; )

Kari,

Totally agree with your list...nice that your remembered some of the gay folk. I cannot believe, in particular, that Terry Bean did not make the original list. And what about Dan Ryan, the former co-chair of the School Board and new CEO of the Portland Schools Foundation?

And what about Fred Miller?

and btw, number 39 on the list, work with a successful Senate candidate and three posts up on blueoregon right now...too bad parenting is slowing Kari down...:).

We could go all HuffPost and have a 50 Hottest Politicos in Oregon. Saw me some honies at the state convo.

Not much ethnic diversity in the list. Sad, but true. As a progressive I would expect more.

Well, most of that is a failure of reality - not a failure of the listmaking effort.

Suggestions?

I agree that Carla and Pat Ackley should be listed. Dan Carol should clearly be on any top 50 list for Oregon if not the country.

To make this not so Portland-centric, the off-the-top-of-my-head Lane County contributions that are not already listed above would be James Mattiace formerly OLCV board member and Lane Bus Project Chair(even though he is in Morocco he still has quite a lot of influence on the local political scene), Jana Rygas (long time environmental activist and brilliant political strategist), Juine Chada (Wyden staffer), Becky Flynn (BRO staffer), Harriet Merrick (Planned Parenthood and ACLU board member), Jared Mason-Gere (DPLC Chair and Dem. House staffer), George Grier (DPLC vice-chair, Lane Farm Bureau), Tony Corcoran, Autumn Wilburn (DNC staffer and former rodeo queen), Chuck Lindholm and Jack Roberts. CJ Mann, Pat Riggs Henson and Gary Gillespie from AFSME would be on any local list.

Not sure what is going on with the other counties but we have no shortage of women wielding political influence here in Lane County.

Ah well, Kari, so long as they THINK you have the power, wield it like a meathook. Make someone tremble. Make others feed you peeled grapes. Offer to be godfather to their children. And demand a raise from your skinflint employer.

;-)

In addition to Carla, I would add Jeff. And maybe Barbara Roberts and John Kitzhaber. Tom Walsh? The CEOs of Mentor Graphics or Intel? Doesn't anyone wield power for Big Timber anymore, like Allyn Ford, Rob Freres and Aaron Jones?

Downstaters like Dave Frohnmayer. Jack Roberts. Gayle Atteberry.

The list just seems terribly short and weighing the most influential? I'd say, follow the money first.

I keep thinking of names that should have been on the list:

Margi Hoffman, coordinated campaign Maura Roche, lobbyist Michelle Stranger-Hunter, NARAL Tom Novick, M&R Pat McCormick, lobbyist Paul Phillips, lobbyist/consultant

And maybe Barbara Roberts and John Kitzhaber.

They explicitly said they were excluding elected officials and former Governors and Senators. I think they also excluded former statewides too, judging from the lack of Jim Hill, Dan Gardner, Dave Frohnmayer, Norma Paulus, Phil Keisling, etc.

I agree that the lack of diversity is not a list issue as much as it is a matter of a lack of outreach. Politics is an insider game by nature and we need to do a better job of building our bench with people that don't look like the usual suspects whether that be in rural areas, the communities of color, religious groups, etc. Keeping the status quo is like fielding a baseball team and expecting the pitcher to cover center field, it just won't work in the long term. If we don't start building a deeper bench with some players from different communities, the other side will and we will lose our political advantage.

Val

I'd add Jonah Edelman somewhere in the mix.

Actually they had many former elected officals on their. I don't know why Barbara Roberts and John Kitzhaber being former governors matters at all.

Carla,

Keep plugging away, your doing a great job! I would have voted for you.

Kari,

Your so cute when you brag!

D

Uhh..I was joking.

I have no business being on a list like this. And if someone was going to slap my name on it, it would have to be the 1,357,459 most influential people in Oregon politics. I'd be down in the 1,000,000 area.

I'm just a blogger and writer. People like Jenni Simonis actually do real stuff.

This list is pretty interesting and for the most part, pretty thorough. Kari, you should be on the list and I'm glad you are. Many have tried but none have succeeded building this "water cooler" format on the interwebs.

To Val's point, politics is an insiders' game. There isn't going to be a ton of room for the folks who check "other." Even if you play the game, you aren't invited to the table that often. But I think that's part of the downside of living in a pretty homogeneous state.

I'm convinced times will change as will the faces of the players. I look forward to watching things unfold.

I'm just a blogger and writer.

None of us has any real influence, but if you devoted a slot to the entire blogosphere, it might make us the fiftieth most influential. Might. Kari's there almost in spite of his association with us rabble.

I agree Kari should be on this list. OK, folks on my side can slap me now. However in all fairness his idea (OK and his other fellow travlers, but I am just thinking as a figurehead.) with BO did break some new ground. And he is involved in other campaigns.

The fact that he is one of the "go-to guys" with the mainstream press with news stories periodically I think speaks to that.

Actually Hunnicutt (again more as a figure head) should be in that group. Oh sure ya'll can call up M49 all you want but what about M7? M47? He (and his organization) has shaped the debate on land use in Oregon over the last ten years.

Would you have even HAD a M49 if not for Hunnicutt's group?

And further the list speaks a lot of folks behind the scenes. Whenever there are discussions of Republican candidates and if they are going to be viable, there is always a question "what does OIA think?"

Whether you like it or not Hunnicutt is always part of the discussion.

Kremer? Well he does have a radio show. He is part of the group that Tim Phillips put together and he made the list.

He is the father of the charter school movement.

He plays a role when discussing Republican candidates. Maybe not so much as Hunnicutt.

Although his recent comments about Sen. Smith might have had him removed from some Christmas card lists.

Other than all that it is probably a prett good list and one of those fun things to bounce around. I am not surprised that there are more Democrats on that list. It is Oregon after all.

Just think however of some of the folks who, ten years ago, would have been on it but now would not get close.

Neil Goldschmidt Craig Berkman

Ouch that would have to hurt.

Are my eyes decieving me or do I not see Earl Blumenour on that list? Shouldn't he be there somewhere?

Oh Bill, your candidate won. Can't you let it go?