OR-4: Sid Leiken's campaign circles the drain

Kari Chisholm

October 15 was the deadline for congressional campaigns to report their fundraising totals for the three-month period from July 1 to September 30. And, as usual, the incumbents raked it in. (Here's a roundup by the O's Jeff Mapes.)

And given all the tribulations that GOPer Sid Leiken has faced, you might expect that his fundraising would be a little short of the total raised by Congressman Peter DeFazio.

But if you thought the former-rising-star mayor of Springfield was still a viable contender - potentially even "vigorous competition" - you'd be wrong.

Sid Leiken's campaign is functionally over. All that's left is for someone at the NRCC to fly in and administer the last rites.

Peter DeFazio has $582,000 cash-on-hand. But Politico's Josh Kraushaar reports that over the last three months, Sid Leiken raised just $18,000 -- and has only $21,000 cash-on-hand. Kraushaar calls him the "most disappointing of all" of the highly-touted candidate recruits in the nation. From Politico:

Every two years, there’s a group of highly-touted recruits who never manage to get their campaigns off the ground. This quarter’s reports give an idea of who might be part of the next crop of flops. ...

Most disappointing of all was Springfield, Oregon, Mayor Sid Leiken, running against Democratic Rep. Peter DeFazio. A Republican whose candidacy generated early buzz, he’s all but disappeared from the national radar. Over the past three months, he raised just $18,000 and has only $21,000 left in his account. Pencil DeFazio in for a 13th term.

Meanwhile, the latest twist in the state investigation into the $2000 cash transaction that Leiken claims paid for a poll conducted by his mother's unregistered polling firm is truly bizarre.

In an October 2 response to a mid-September request for more information to prove the poll was actually conducted, Glenda Leiken offered the following explanation (pdf):

I used a disposable/single use phone to retain my privacy, as my cell phone is my only personal phone line. The cell phone account was closed over 5 months ago and the phone company does not retain phone records for closed accounts, therefore phone records are not available.

Seriously. A disposable phone.

Who uses disposable phones except drug dealers, terrorists, and criminals? If Leiken's P&G Marketing really was a legit business, wouldn't she at least have had a regular cell phone - if not a landline?

And, as you might imagine, the Elections Division wants more information (pdf):

1. In your response you state that you used a disposable/single use phone. What wireless provider/company did you use? What phone number was issued to that phone?

2. When and where did you purchase the phone? What date did you cancel the service?

3. Was this a pre-paid or pay-as-you-go plan? How was the phone and service paid for, i.e. check, credit card? Please provide a copy of the receipt.

At every turn, it seems that the Leikens are trying to claim that the lack of evidence of the existence of this poll is just a funny coincidence, that's all a misunderstanding of a legitimate and above-board situation.

But with a misreported campaign expenditure, a cash transaction, an unsigned and undated receipt, an unregistered company, a missing "tally sheet", a disposable phone - well, what are we supposed to think happened here?

Previously on BlueOregon:

• June 19 - Sid Leiken already having money trouble...
• June 22 - More on that Sid Leiken funny money business
• July 8 - Sid Leiken's funny money business, part 3.
• July 14 - Leiken's statements don't match his C&E documents
• July 24 - Sid Leiken's implausible and baffling explanations continue
• July 27 - As state investigation continues, doubts about Sid Leiken's candidacy percolate
• August 22 - Sid Leiken tearfully admits to bogus transaction report
• August 24 - Politico calls Sid Leiken's tearful apology a "Muskie moment"
• August 27 - Pollsters call Sid Leiken's alleged poll "suspicious" and "impossible"
• September 15 - OR-4: State investigators demand details of alleged poll for Sid Leiken

By Kari Chisholm Oct. 17, 2009