Westlund may soon draw an opponent...or not

The Oregonian ^ | 12-04-2007 | JMapes

[Danae]

State Sen. Ben Westlund, D-Bend, is coming close to shutting the door on any serious Democrat jumping in to challenge him for the state Treasurer's job. But he may soon have a Republican competitor in the wings.

Salem lobbyist Craig Campbell, who has important political ties in both parties, told me he is seriously considering running for state treasurer.

"It's really a fascinating job," said Campbell. "It has a tremendous amount of responsibility." But he said he first has to decide what kind of impact a statewide campaign would have on his family - he has two young children - and on his lobbying business. And if the answer is positive to that, he said he then has to figure out if it is politically doable.

Campbell is the son of former Republican House Speaker Larry Campbell, a prodigious fund-raiser who led the GOP takeover of the House in 1991. Campbell then built a successful lobbying business along with two of his sons, Craig and Kevin. Craig Campbell also has strong ties to Gov. Ted Kulongoski. He was a policy advisor on public safety issues for the governor for three years and also worked for Kulongoski when he was attorney general.

As a result, Campbell said he would bring some bipartisan credentials into the race if he got in.

Of course, Kulongoski has already endorsed Westlund, who has followed his own unusual political path into a race that has so far been as lonely as the Maytag repairman's job.

Westlund entered the state House in 1997 as a Republican but ran for governor in 2006 as an independent. Westlund dropped out of that race in August, endorsed Kulongoski in October and became a Democrat in December.

The other two statewide races have attracted strong fields. But potential D rivals to Westlund seemed to melt away. A fellow senator, Ryan Deckert, looked at the seat but instead took a higher-paying job as president of the Oregon Business Association. So did Sen. Richard Devlin, D-Tualatin, before he got the chance to be Senate majority leader.

Westlund quickly picked up Kulongoski's endorsement. That was not a quid pro quo for dropping out of the governor's race, Westlund said. But I hear people close to the governor did say at the time that Westlund should let them know if he ever needed any help.

Westlund also began methodically picking up labor endorsements, which are always important on the Democratic side. So far he has the fire fighters, nurses, AFSCME and the American Federation of Teachers - and he's poised to win the Oregon AFL-CIO endorsement next Tuesday. Your average sophomore English major may have been a Democrat longer than Westlund, but it's getting harder by the minute for another Democrat to get in the race.

Of course, the Republicans have had their own problems recruiting any candidate for a statewide position. After seeing their 2006 candidate for governor, Ron Saxton, buried in a wave of anti-George Bush sentiment, it's easy to see why Republicans are nervous about running statewide in Oregon next year.

State Rep. Vicki Berger of Salem, one Republican who did look at running for treasurer, decided she didn't want to leave the Legislature. She said it was also clear to her that it would be hard to take on a candidate who had acquired so much name recognition when he ran for governor.

"That's a huge factor," she said. "I know others are thinking the same thing."

Westlund said he is surprised by his lack of competition so far. "I think it's one of the most influential positions" in state government, he said, and one that can be enough of a bully pulpit to sound off on a wide range of issues. Maybe, I asked, even a stepping stone to the governor's office? He shrugged that off, saying he'd like to serve two terms as treasurer and then assess running for governor "six or seven years out."

[Danae]

A Spot of Red in a Sea of Blue is a phrase I saw in an Oregon Ping earlier, certainly Campbell is that! Here's to building a potential future in Oregon with a LOT more Red in it! Treasurer is a great place to start!

This is a man that deserves our support! Craig Campbell; I have been waiting for years to see his name in the running!

[Clintonfatigued]

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[Danae]

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