BY SARAH ROSS

PORTLAND- The newest ad from the Dudley campaign continues with its trend of playing off Kitzhaber’s comment about Oregon being ungovernable.

The thirty second television spot ends with Dudley saying, “Oregon isn’t ungovernable, we just need new ideas.”

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BY SARAH ROSS

PORTLAND- The John Kitzhaber campaign announced Thursday that Washington state Governor Christine Gregoire will be hosting a fundraiser next Thursday for the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.

The campaign is calling the event a “unique opportunity to meet two western governors that share the same core Democratic values, whose states face similar obstacles and opportunities.”

Taking place on August 11 at NW 11^th and Glisan in Portland’s Pearl District, the campaign is asking for a $100 donation from each guest in attendance.

“Like John, Governor Gregoire is a champion of middle class job creation, healthcare accessibility and environmental stewardship,” wrote Kitzhaber’s Finance Director, Leah Barbaree, in the event invitation. “Both share a lifelong commitment to their home state and recognize the need to build consensus as a community in order to meet the challenges that lay ahead.”

BY SARAH ROSS

PORTLAND- A recent attack by the Chris Dudley campaign against rival candidate John Kitzhaber’s newest campaign ad brings into question how each candidate hopes to spur job growth in Oregon and their positions on reducing the capital gains tax.

The ad pictured John Kitzhaber saying that his number-one job as governor will be to create jobs.

“John Kitzhaber had his chance to sign legislation to help businesses create jobs and show Oregon is open for business, but instead he vetoed it,” said Dudley’s Communications Director, LeRoy Coleman.

This legislation to reduce Oregon’s capital gains tax passed the state legislature in 2001 before being vetoed by then Governor Kitzhaber.

In his veto letter to the legislature, Kitzhaber said, “This tax cut would primarily benefit Oregon’s higher income households without a demonstrated benefit to Oregon’s economy. At the same time it would further constrain a future legislature’s ability to address the demand for public services.”

He added that the legislation was coming at a time when the “existing tax system may soon be tested by a recession.”

Dudley’s campaign, however, has argued that this legislation would have encouraged businesses to come to Oregon and that reducing the state’s capital gains tax is part of Dudley’s Jobs First Plan.

“Oregon’s failing economy of today is a direct result of John Kitzhaber’s failure to prepare Oregon for our economic future when he had the chance – and the responsibility,” said Coleman.

In an e-mail to the Oregon Politico, Jillian Schoene, spokeswoman for the Kitzhaber campaign, said that Kitzhaber “is open to adjustments in capital gains taxes if tied to job creation.”

“John Kitzhaber is the only candidate with experience creating jobs and working with the private sector to grow Oregon’s economy,” said Schoene. “During his time as Governor, compensation of employees rose by 49%, Oregon GDP rose by 48% and 128,000 new jobs were created.”

The Dudley campaign was quick to point out the problems during Kitzhaber’s time as governor, saying “unemployment rose 65% and was above the national average for 80 consecutive months, Oregon ranked 40^th in job growth, and per capita incomes have been falling since 1997.”

“John Kitzhaber had his chance to lead and he failed,” said Coleman.

BY SARAH ROSS

PORTLAND- More than 2,000 Oregonians registered with Oregon’s Independent Party participated in the party’s primary race which finalized its results on Friday evening.

The primary, which was the first binding statewide online primary election in the country, picked a unique mesh of candidates including John Kitzhaber, Democratic candidate running for Governor, as well as Republican candidates Scott Bruun, candidate for the 5^th Congressional district and Art Robinson of the 4th Congressional district.

“If you look at the candidates who put the most effort into winning the party’s nomination, pretty consistently those were the candidates who won,” said Sal Peralta, Secretary for the Independent Party of Oregon. “The folks who actually listened to what our members were telling us they were interested in tended to do well, also.”

The 2,300 primary participants made up about 4 percent of the Independent Party’s 57,000 members. The group was able to push through state legislation in 2009 which allowed them to include candidates running under another party’s name on their primary ballots. The legislation allows a candidate to have up to three nominating parties on the general election ballot, as well.

Peralta added that one of his party’s main goals with their 2009 legislation was to encourage candidates to reach out to its members, and he was happy to see this happen.

“This is clearly the most open and inclusive primary election in state history,” said Peralta. “It’s the first time ever that candidates from every political party or none at all had the opportunity to participate in a partisan primary nominating process.”

On a state government level, winners of the Independent nomination include Democrat Representatives Arnie Roblan of Coos Bay, Nancy Nathanson of Eugene, Carolyn Tomei of Portland and Speaker Dave Hunt of Clackamas. The truly independent nature of members showed through in the additional nominations of Republican representatives Matt Wingard of Wilsonville, John Huffman of The Dalles, and Vicki Berger of Salem.

The State Senate had similar results with Betsy Johnson, D-Scappose, Richard Devlin, D-Tualatin, Chris Edwards, D-North Eugene, Larry George, R-Newberg, Jackie Winters, R-Salem, and Frank Morse, R-Albany.

Peralta concluded by saying he is hopeful that this process will lead to greater collaboration between Democrats and Republicans when the Legislature returns in 2011.

BY SARAH ROSS

PORTLAND- In a move expected by most local political experts, the Service Employee International Union made public their endorsement of former Democratic Governor John Kitzhaber on Thursday.

SEIU represents over 50,000 employees, primarily in state and local government but also in some private sector industries like nursing homes, hospitals, and property services.

According to a press release sent out by the organization, the decision was recommended by the SEIU political action committee and then affirmed by the SEIU Oregon State Council.

“We were impressed by Governor Kitzhaber’s grasp of the issues, sincerity and candor,” stated Barbara Casey in the same press release.

Casey, chair of the SEUI Local 503 political action committee, continued by saying, “more than anything else we believe he shares the values of our members and Oregon’s working families.”

The state council put willing participants through the task of filling out a questionnaire, appearing before members, and spending a day shadowing one member in the work place.

Republican candidate Chris Dudley declined to participate in the process.

BY THE OREGON POLITICO

PORTLAND- Democrat veteran John Kitzhaber released his latest campaign ad featuring himself saying this year’s gubernatorial race “isn’t about being a Democrat, or being a Republican, or being an Independent. It’s about being an Oregonian.”

He goes on to say that his main job as governor is to create jobs.

“If we can’t put Oregon back to work we can’t make investment in our kids for the future,” says Kitzhaber.

He finishes by saying that he’s not just asking for a vote but also asking for help.

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BY SARAH ROSS

PORTLAND- A new poll released on Tuesday continues to show this year’s gubernatorial race to be a close one, despite fundraising efforts telling a different story.

Rasmussen Reports, the firm conducting the poll, stated, “Little has changed in the race to be Oregon’s next governor, with Republican Chris Dudley and Democrat John Kitzhaber still running neck-and-neck.”

The poll puts Dudley just three points ahead of Kitzhaber with 47 percent to 44 percent. Five percent of respondents preferred another candidate, and 4 percent are undecided.

With only a three percent difference, the results fall well within the poll’s +/- 4 percent margin of error. The campaign fundraising, however, is not as close as polling on the race has been.

Kitzhaber, the former statesman and Oregon governor, has raised $1,334,001 so far in 2010, while former professional basketball player Dudley has raised a whopping $2,210,664 in this election cycle.

As of July 28, The Cook Political Report still classified the race as leaning Democratic, meaning it is in the category of races considered competitive but where one party has an advantage.

Senior Editor at the Cook Report Jennifer Duffy said the race is a good example of an outsider attempting to take on an established politician.

“It’s one of five in the country where you have a former governor seeking his old job back, which is kind of interesting considering how tough it is to be governor these days,” said Duffy, adding that it should be a “good race.”

Duffy noted that while it is currently listed as a lean-Democrat state, implying that party has a small advantage, it could be moving into the more competitive section.

“It would not surprise me if sometime over the next couple of months I move it into toss-up,” she said.

She also mentioned that this kind of movement happens all the time and that this race alone is a good example, since it started as a likely Democratic state and has since moved to leaning Democratic.

When asked what factors go into determining how a race is moved from one category to another, she said that fundraising and good polling are the biggest things to consider.

“I got sort of a first answer when I saw their fundraising numbers. So obviously Dudley is proving he can raise money,” she said. “I’d like to see some good polling because the polling that I have seen has left something to be desired. They do show a single digit race, but I’d like to see a live interview poll. And so that will be the other factor.”

BY SARAH ROSS

PORTLAND- A long, hard primary season, which for some of the candidates began over a year ago, came to an end last night with wins for John Kitzhaber and Chris Dudley.

The election results were released soon after the polls closed at 8 pm Tuesday showing Kitzhaber winning the Democratic nomination with 65% of the vote and Dudley winning the Republican nomination with 39% of the vote.

Emotions were running high at the election night parties for the losing candidates Bill Bradbury and Allen Alley, who conceded their races early in the evening.

Alley urged his supporters to unite with the party nomination to bring about change.

“That’s what Oregon needs more than anything else is to look forward and step boldly where we deserve to be at the top of all the lists we want to be on and not at the top of the lists we don’t want to be on,” he said after conceding the Republican race to Dudley.

Meanwhile, excitement was certainly alive at the election parties for Dudley and Kitzhaber.

A large group of Kitzhaber supporters gathered at Southeast Portland’s Melody Ballroom to congratulate the former Democratic governor on his victory. Kitzhaber took time to thank his supporters and to lay out his agenda for green jobs and economic diversity.

“We’re going to give Oregon a campaign about honestly confronting the problems we face and the hard choices we must make in order to solve them. That is the kind of campaign that Oregonians deserve and that’s the kind of campaign Oregonians want,” stated Kitzhaber. “That is how we are going to build a new Oregon majority, and that is why we are going to win in November.”

A similar scene was found for Dudley at the Rose Garden’s Rose Room where the former Trail Blazer had his election night party. Dudley stressed the need for change and unity in Oregon while throwing some attacks at Kitzhaber’s record and his calling Oregon “ungovernable” after leaving office 8 years ago.

“As your Governor, I will never throw in the towel. I will never give up on Oregon because I know you won’t either,” said Dudley. “Together, Oregon won’t be ungovernable. We’ll be unstoppable.”

Dudley and Kitzhaber are wasting no time after their wins, each having events scheduled for Wednesday morning.

BY SARAH ROSS

PORTLAND- The latest poll conducted by the SurveyUSA polling firm shows that if the gubernatorial election were held today, John Kitzhaber and Chris Dudley would have large wins in their respective primary races.

The poll, which was released on Monday, shows Chris Dudley winning the Republican primary with 42% of the vote and Allen Alley coming in second at 24%. Similarly, John Kitzhaber is shown to win the Democratic primary with 59%, while Bill Bradbury gains 25% of support from respondents. The other candidates in each race each gained less than 10% support. The number of undecided voters in each race came in at 12% in the Democrat primary and 14% in the GOP primary.

While Dudley’s and Kitzhaber’s campaigns were both encouraged by the numbers in this poll, Bradbury’s and Alley’s campaigns were skeptical of the results.

“Any poll that has Bradbury leading among conservative Democrats is a poll to be highly skeptical of,” says Jeremy Wright, spokesman for the Bradbury campaign. “The Bradbury campaign has talked with over 50,000 likely Democratic voters with live calls and the race is far closer than this poll indicates and the number of undecided voters is a lot higher.”

The spokesmen for both Alley and Bradbury questioned the methodology of the poll, considering the polling is done by an automated polling system.

“The Republican sample in this poll is random, not scientific,” added Tim Maloney, Campaign Manager for Alley. “SurveyUSA’s methodology of randomly dialing households with an automated system fails to control for trends in Republican primaries.”

This skepticism is not stopping Kitzhaber’s and Dudley‘s campaigns from feeling confident. Derek Humphrey, campaign manager for John Kitzhaber, said he was encouraged by the numbers but that his campaign would take nothing for granted in the coming days.

Dudley’s campaign shared a similar sentiment. “The poll is a reflection that Chris’s message is resonating with Oregonians,” said LeRoy Coleman, Communications Director for the campaign. He added a note of caution, saying, “We still have a ways to go before the primary and he will continue to fight for each and every vote.”

SurveyUSA conducted the poll on behalf of KATU-TV. To reflect Oregon’s population, just over 2,000 adults were interviewed, with 1,850 of those respondents registered to vote. Each of the primary polls for the Governor’s race had under a 5% margin of error. The Democratic primary poll had a 3.9% margin of error, while the Republican primary had a 4.7% margin of error.

While election ballots already have been mailed to voters, the date for ballots to be returned for the 2010 Primary is May 18.

Maloney added that surveys can only say so much about an election: “This race is closer than this poll would have you believe. Elections are decided by the people who vote, not answer surveys.”

BY SARAH ROSS

PORTLAND- The campaign for Democratic gubernatorial candidate, John Kitzhaber, released its second ad Wednesday.

The advertisement, which focuses on jobs and education, pictures a number a children playing along with taglines about their future careers.

“Some of the people John Kitzhaber is working hardest for don’t even have a vote,” says the advertisement’s announcer.

The plan mentions Kitzhaber’s devotion to job growth through his “innovative plan to diversify our economy” and his pledge to ensure that every student can afford 2 years of college.

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