Good Old Boys really don't want Holton
It's surprising to us how little media coverage is being given to the Democratic Party primary race for Oregon attorney general. In reality, it is the general election for that office, as the Republicans have given up the ghost. Part of the silence stems from the fact that one of the candidates, retired Judge Ellen Rosenblum, is married to the publisher of Willamette Week; as a result, that publication is not covering the race at all.
One of the things that reporters like to do these days is dig around campaign finance documents to see who's giving money to whom. One of Rosenblum's main knocks on her opponent, former acting U.S. attorney Dwight Holton, is that much of his money is coming from out of state. Indeed it is. A check of his campaign finance pages on the state's Orestar system -- where out-of-state contributions are outlined in pink -- is like a visit to the Susan Komen website. More than two-thirds of his contributions are from addresses outside Oregon.
But to us, Rosenblum's money sources are even more interesting than Holton's. Her list of donors is like a who's who of retired Oregon politicians and other power brokers -- including some prominent Republican names:
Richard Meeker $4,000
Al Jubitz $1,000
Jim Winkler $1,000
Uptown Developers, LLC (Goodmans) $1,000
Albert Menashe $500
Ann Fidanque (wife of ACLU director) $500
David Frohnmayer $500
Jack Roberts $500
Jeanne Newmark $500
Norma Paulus $500
Phillip Margolin $500
Arlene Schnitzer $250
Earl Blumenauer $250
Henry Hewitt $250
Kris Olson $250
Paul Bragdon $250
Rich Busse $250
Jewel Lansing $250
George Eighmey $200
Bob Stacey $101
Wow. There's some serious clout on that list. Holton may have most of the county DA's on his side, and he's slightly ahead of Rosenblum in contributions raised (each is in the $200,000 range). But he is up against what seems like the entire establishment.
Why? Granted, Judge Rosenblum is a fine candidate. But she is probably helped by the fact that a prosecutor type like Holton makes the Old Boys quite nervous. It appears that the Kroger era in Oregon politics could well be heading into its final two months.
| Posted at 9:30 PM | Permalink |
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Comments (10)
Nice work there. I've been wondering the same thing with some of the emails I get from her campaign. She seems like a nice/good enough person, and I'm not a huge fan of out-of-state money in an election like this, but that list makes a vote for Dwight look pretty appealing.
Posted by Huck | March 18, 2012 9:35 PM
Oh sigh! Looks like politics as usual.
Posted by Portland Native | March 18, 2012 10:08 PM
And Randy Leonard, Saltzman, Kroger himself, (and here's some red meat for you public union haters) the OEA, all support Holton, if you want to play that game. It didn't automatically discredit the Milwaukee Mystery Train measure when that wacko Loren Parks donated to it, did it? While it's often instructive to see who cares enough to provide financial support to a candidate or cause, let's not use it as the only yardstick by which we judge.
I don't know enough about either to distinguish them much. I do know Holter thinks marijuana is a scourge on our nation and supports using limited public resources to continue this particularly idiotic battle in the failed war on drugs. Seems to me his priorities could be a bit out of whack.
Posted by Ex-bartender | March 19, 2012 12:01 AM
Duh, sorry ... Holton.
Posted by Ex-bartender | March 19, 2012 12:03 AM
I'm with you about not damning a candidate based on the company he or she keeps, but it's fascinating to me that Dave Frohnmayer, Norma Paulus, and Jack Roberts are all into this particular Democratic primary. When was the last time that happened?
Posted by Jack Bog | March 19, 2012 12:19 AM
They're what passes for Republican only in Oregano, what's left of the old Hatfield-McCall-Myers faction.
Posted by boycat | March 19, 2012 7:52 AM
It's just a design to make the Good Old Boys spend more money. Ex-bartender's on track, too: Holton's a knuckleheaded drug war throwback, which makes him a non-starter to smart voters. Whether Rosie is the best Oregon can offer for this important position, is another matter entirely. Portland fat cats have a literal stranglehold on Oregon's Democratic Party.
Posted by Mojo | March 19, 2012 7:56 AM
I thought Rosenblum was Mrs. Meeker?
The amt of money Frohnmayer is pulling down in PERS, you'd think he coudl afford more than $500.
Posted by steve | March 19, 2012 8:10 AM
Judge Roy Bean for State Attorney General !
Posted by tankfixer | March 19, 2012 9:08 AM
"it's fascinating to me that Dave Frohnmayer, Norma Paulus, and Jack Roberts are all into this particular Democratic primary. When was the last time that happened?"
I can't necessarily speak for the others but for me the last time was when I endorsed and gave money to Greg Macpherson when he ran for AG in 2008.
I have a long and very public record of opposition to Krogerism at the Oregon DOJ. I believe Rosenblum represents a different direction and fear Holton does not.
There should be nothing surprising or suspicious about my contribution.
Posted by Jack Roberts | March 21, 2012 8:47 AM