NARAL endorses Brown for SOS, Macpherson for AG
NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon has released its endorsements for state offices. For Secretary of State, the organization endorsed Senator Kate Brown. For Attorney General, they endorsed Greg Macpherson.
In a statement, executive director Michele Stranger-Hunter said this about Kate Brown:
"Senator Brown has been involved in the choice movement for two decades. Her hard work on this issue dates back to her experiences in law school as an escort at the Portland Feminist Health Center. Since then she has continued to be a champion for reproductive rights as a advocate and a legislator, even volunteering her legal services to fight Ballot Measures 8 and 10 in the court system. We look forward to working with Kate as the next Secretary of State for Oregon."
Regarding Macpherson, Stranger-Hunter said:
"Greg has represented the choice movement in the legislature for years," said Michele Stranger Hunter, Executive Director of NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon. "Because anti-choice bills typically have moved through the House Judiciary Committee, Greg has done a great deal to defeat attempts to place restrictions on choice and has championed increased access to emergency contraception and birth control."
NARAL also released its endorsements in state House races. In the contested races, their endorsements:
In HD 17 (Molalla), Dan Thackaberry. In HD 38 (Lake Oswego), they dual-endorsed Linda Brown and Chris Garrett. In HD 42 (SE Portland), Regan Gray. In HD 49 (Gresham), Nick Kahl. In HD 52, Suzanne VanOrman. In SD 23 (NE Portland), Jackie Dingfelder.
The full list of state endorsements is here. Endorsements in federal races will be issued separately by NARAL Pro-Choice America, the national organization.
March 10, 2008
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Mar 10, '08
I am not terribly sophisticated in these matters, but I think there is a trend in the AG endorsements. Groups that tend to have issues before the legislature are endorsing Macpherson, while those that as a group do not (DA's for instance) are endorsing Kroger.
If G-mac Attac (trademarked) loses for AG, those groups that lobby will still have a friend who will probably return to the legislature (or even the governor) in the future.
Again, this may be obvious or way off the mark; I can't be sure.
4:36 p.m.
Mar 10, '08
Actually, Macpherson won't be in the Legislature either way. You can only appear on the ballot for one race, and hence he has to vacate his house district.
Note, however, many of the Senate candidates (for Secretary of State) can stay in the Senate, as they are mid-way through their four-year terms, whereas House members are elected each two years.
Of course, either he or Kroger might run for something else in the future, but neither will in the 2009 Legislature
Mar 10, '08
Evan,
Do you think G-mac will end his political career if he loses the AG primary? He has accomplished too much to throw it in in the event of a loss.
Mar 10, '08
He won't lose. No one in recent history has won statewide office in Oregon without being elected to at least SOMETHING beforehand. Kroger doesn't meet that test.
Mar 10, '08
That is not a "test," it is simply a trivia fact. The reason few people start at the statewide level is twofold: very few serious candidates start at the state level and candidates who are not already established face certain institutional disadvantages. Kroger already has overcome the first problem; nobody doubts that he is a series candidate for Attorney General. In May, we will find out if Kroger can overcome Macpherson's institutional advantages.
You should not confuse correlation (few statewide officials start at the statewide level), with causation (because they have not held office, they cannot hold an office). Certain circumstances are rare, but that does not make them a "test." For example, in the 20th Century only two people have gone directly from the US Senate to the Presidency. However, barring a historic upset, this year will see a sitting Senator elected President.
Mar 10, '08
To Jason, in my experience in the legislature, I can tell you that the DA's certainly have issues before the legislature. They employ a lobbyist every session. They advocate hard for increasing their budget. They often advocate for increasing prison sentences and jail sentences.
Some DA's don't like Macpherson because he has been open to discussing improvements to Measure 11, like a second look for juvenile offenders. Also, Greg has been a strong voice on the protection of due process, civil liberties and judicial discretion, and those views do not always jibe with the views of prosecuting attorneys.
Mar 10, '08
Rep. Shields,
Thank you for your take, but unfortunately, your theory does not correspond to the candidates’ positions. On Measure 11 Kroger and Macpherson have the same position. Both candidates support Measure 11 but both candidates are not very happy with how it treats juvenile offenders. Furthermore, Kroger has made defending civil liberties and due process one of the five cornerstones of his campaign and made keeping people from falling into the criminal justice system the centerpiece of his anti-meth platform. In contrast, Macpherson, by focusing exclusively on drug courts, has made sure that the criminal justice system will have to be the centerpiece of Oregon’s drug policy.
Mar 10, '08
I would add that I don't think the distinction of having legislative needs is an elegant explanation for what candidate was endorsed by what group. Any group or official that has the clout to give a meaningful endorsement is going to have needs and priorities for the legislature. Kroger has been endorsed by the SEIU, OEA, the Carpenters Union, e Quality Giving (a prominent GLBT rights group), and the Sierra Club (among others), and all of those groups have legislative priorities and needs.
Mar 10, '08
Insider, prepare to see Kroger smoke Macpherson. ...Which is disappointing, because G-Mac Attack™ is an awesome nickname for an AG... but not so disappointing on any other level.
Jason, if G-Mac Attack™ loses this primary by a wide margin, he will find it severely difficult to raise funds for any other race. If he wants a political career after this, he'd better campaign like crazy between now and the primary and at least make it a squeaker.
On a side note, how cool would it be if every time the AG won a case in court he just yelled, "Aw yeah, G-Mac Attack!™ Boo yah!" Especially if the case was against another state or something, with a decidedly un-cool AG. Also, Jason gets a royalty check each time he says it.
Mar 10, '08
Also, I just have to say that Stranger-Hunter is an awesome name. It sounds like a job title in a particularly militant colony of Amish people...
Jakob: I saw some English tourists pokin' about the barn. Zedidiah: Well, now, we can't have outsiders privy to our world, can we? Jakob: You reckon they've seen too much already? Zedidiah: Aye... I'll go fetch the Stranger Hunter.
(With all due respect to Ms. Stranger-Hunter, who I'm sure is a very nice person and proably not a militant Amish person.)
Mar 11, '08
JHL: Hilarious stuff.
10:16 a.m.
Mar 11, '08
A. Rab - Nothing is more amusing than anonymous bloggers telling legislators what's going on in the legislature.
I can assure you that Rep. Shields has a fact-based knowledge of DAs and their political views with regards to the legislature and specific legislators.
Mar 11, '08
Evan,
What are you talking about? I respect Rep. Shield’s opinion, but what he wrote is not backed by evidence, and is actually contradicted by the position of the candidates. He specifically cites the juvenile offender parts of Measure 11 as the reason “some DA”* do not like Macpherson. However, on Measure 11 generally, and the juvenile offender part specifically, Kroger and Macpherson have identical positions. Kroger’s criticism of the juvenile offender section pre-dates his run for Attorney General. For the mandatory minimum part of Measure 11, Macpherson and Kroger are both of preserving mandatory minimums for violent offenders.
Like Greg Kafoury, Rep. Shield implies that Macperson wants to do a major change to Measure 11. However, there is literally no evidence for this in public. Macpherson has put out no policy paper on changing Measure 11, he defended it at the debate, and as Chair of the Judiciary Committee he made no move to change the law. When Macpherson spoke in front of the DAs, he defended Measure 11 as working because of the way prosecutors apply the law. It is possible that Macpherson is saying something else behind closed doors, but that is fairly irrelevant to those of us who are regular voters and not connected insiders.
There is a more elegant explanation for why the DAs prefer Kroger. They probably think he would be a better Attorney General and as prosecutors themselves, they respect Kroger’s experience with the US Attorney’s Office.
*Note, he does not claim that they are the DAs that endorsed Kroger.
P.S. I am not actually anonymous.
Mar 11, '08
JHL: Aye and blessed be. The Stranger Hunter is pleased.
2:06 p.m.
Mar 11, '08
A. Rab: Evan was wrong. Anonymous commenters declaring they're not anonymous is more amusing.
2:03 p.m.
Mar 13, '08