OR-GOV: Notes on Dudley & Kitzhaber from the folks who've kicked the tires

Kari Chisholm FacebookTwitterWebsite

"[Health care] is not a simple issue. Nor are the Oregon budget, preservation of strong public education, environmental sanity, job creation and more." -Eugene Weekly

I'm not typically a fan of newspaper endorsements. But in an election where one candidate - Chris Dudley - has generally avoided public appearances where he'd be required to answer questions from the press and the public (just the one debate), the editorial boards have had unusual access to the candidates.

The editorial boards of the newspapers around the state have had a chance to look the candidates in the eye, ask tough questions, pose follow-ups, and challenge their assumptions.

And what's most suprising to me is just how overwhelming the support has been for John Kitzhaber. They haven't been sanguine about John, certainly he's got a long record, but the reaction to Chris Dudley's readiness for office has been nearly universal.

By my latest count, 19 of 23 newspapers in this state have endorsed John Kitzhaber. From the East Oregonian to Willamette Week, from the Skanner to to the Lake Oswego Review. Here's a few choice cuts (wish I could share more, but too many papers are now behind stupid paywalls):

Oregonian on Kitzhaber:

There's only one way to reduce public anger, and it is not by electing a fresh face or outsider as governor. The answer is to begin to fix the state's deep problems. And there is only one candidate in this race prepared, on Day One, to do what the times demand of Oregon's next governor. That's John Kitzhaber.

Willamette Week on Dudley:

[Dudley] is simply the wrong man for the job. We’ve come to like Republican Chris Dudley over the past several months. ... But there is absolutely nothing in his record that qualifies him to be the chief executive of a state of more than 3.7 million people and a budget of $15 billion.

Medford Mail Tribune on Kitzhaber:

With a minute left on the clock and your basketball team trailing, do you send in an untested rookie, or do you turn to a seasoned veteran who's been in this situation before? We know what we would do, and that's why we recommend Democrat John Kitzhaber for Oregon governor.

Oregonian on Dudley:

Dudley has no public service record. Voters could overlook that if he had experience as a business executive or led a major nonprofit organization. But Dudley's leadership experience amounts to serving as an NBA players union representative and raising money for diabetes care and research. That is not enough. Not when Dudley continues to struggle in interviews and in the one televised debate with Kitzhaber to explain fully how he would address Oregon's difficult problems.

Eugene Weekly on Dudley:

[Health care] is not a simple issue. Nor are the Oregon budget, preservation of strong public education, environmental sanity, job creation and more. That’s why it’s an insult to Oregon voters to suggest that Chris Dudley, a former pro basketball player with absolutely no public policy experience, is equipped to be an effective governor in a tough time.

  • (Show?)

    The obvious consensus is in. Dudley is a nothing, a second string sports celebrity whose inanity and lack of experience is being fronted as "newness" of direction. In reality there is nothing new at all about giving tax breaks to rich people and defunding essential public services. It's the standard GOP ploy of trickle down economics which just doesn't flat work as an economic stimulus or a public policy.

  • (Show?)

    Full disclosure: My firm built John Kitzhaber's campaign website. I speak only for myself.

  • (Show?)

    Statesman Journal ENDORSEMENT of Dudley

    http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20101010/OPINION/10100334/1048

    I don't know how you could have missed it ;)

  • (Show?)

    "The obvious consensus is in."

    Then why is the polling so close?

    • (Show?)

      In major races with plenty of TV ads, newspaper endorsements mean very little. People make up their mind long before the editorial boards do. For minor races with little information the editorials mean more.

  • (Show?)

    Just got off the phone with my father who is my personal non-scientific independent voter barometer and, he likes Kitz too. :-)

  • (Show?)

    It depends on what poll you look at. But, really, we all know the only poll that really counts is ballots on election day.

  • (Show?)

    Just completed 4th interview on camera for Kitz in the past 3 weeks. Thanks Kari for the great line "19 out of 23 Oregon newspapers have endorsed John Kitzhaber for governor".

  • (Show?)

    What I find entertaining is the screech of right wingers on Twitter and elsewhere who say "All media is liberal". It's all liberal if no one endorses your meager candidate.

  • (Show?)

    I don't know where Dudley gets that waiters or other tipped employees make to much money and that the tip credit should be put into this state. Workers never know how much they are going to come home with. They don't always make the 15% or 20% that is suggested the customer leave. Most customers that sign a contract with hotels to pay 22% of the bill for service charges thinking it goes to the serve is totally wrong most non union hotels and restaurants pay the workers a straight wage and pocket the 22% into their business. We need a bill passed at state level just like Washington state that is has to be disclose on contract where this money goes too, Tip credit has been before the state at least 6 times that I know have and been defeated except for the last year of Kizhaber was in office and he vetoed it.Give it a rest.

    • (Show?)

      If you are a restaurant owner looking to maximize profits, then waitresses (and waiters - he's sexist too) "make too much". Dudley has been the recipient of nearly $100K from the Oregon Restaurant Association so they feel that has earned them a tool in the Governor's office. Dudley is their Tool.

connect with blueoregon