Go Greg!! Greg has been a superb legislator with deep roots in Oregon and he will make an excellent Attorney General. I hear rumors that Linda Brown, the LO School Board Chair, is a likely candidate for his house seat. If so, I am confident that the Democrats can hold on to the district.

I sure hope Kroger or some other Dem runs because I get nauseated thinking about the prospect of MacPherson as AG.

If Macpherson doesn't win the primary against Kroger, can he keep his seat?

Lestatdelc,

Thanks for the response. As I read it, I agree but for slightly different reasons, in that if he runs for the AG with his name on that primary ballot, he couldn't win the primary for his seat and be the nominee in case he loses the AG race. When you mention Merkley, you seem to be talking about the general ballot, but I don't think Merkley could even make it that far because he would have to commit on the primary ballot to either the Senate race or his House seat (just like Macpherson).

One way around this, of course, would be to run unopposed as an incumbent but write-in in the primary for either candidate, but that would be really risky because any kook could declare at the last minute and be the only one on the ballot.

Andrew,

LO residents are certainly affluent, and likely better educated than average. That does mean they are smarter than folks from elsewhere.

I assure you that Chris Garrett meets any definition of smart. The people in that district are fortunate: Chris is a worthy successor to Macpherson (who is a worthy successor to Hardy).

Andrew,

Which meaning of "smart" did you intend?

lestatdelc,

Yep. should be "does not mean"

mrfearless, "nauseated" seems like a strong reaction. Could you say why, please?

I'm a PERS retiree. Greg Macpherson was the Democratic co-chair of the House PERS Committee during the 2003 Legislature. He carried Kulongoski's water and managed to convince a few Dems to vote for this piece of crap legislation that passed, robbed PERS retirees of benefits to which they were legally entitled, and has managed to generate about 16 different lawsuits, one at the Supreme Court levels. The SC invalidated two of the key provisions of the bill. Those provisions would, if PERS were willing, make PERS retirees whole again. No one, including Macpherson or the Governor has lifted a finger to tell PERS that they MUST comply with the SC's ruling. Instead PERS goes on its merry way raping PERS retirees on a regular basis. Letters to Macpherson and the Governor go unanswered. Phone calls to Macpherson's office yield some of the most impressive doublespeak I've heard in my many years as a public employee.

I hope like hell that Macpherson loses in the primary because that means his seat in the Legislature is lost too. That will mean he goes back to Stoel, Rives at least for two years while he plots his next run. In the meantime, it will further derail the Goldschmidt plot to run the world. Mac's godfather is Ted; Ted's godfather is Neil. Break the circle.

No, nauseated is actually tame for my opinion of Macpherson. And you can bet that the 50,000 retirees screwed over by Macpherson's bill and PERS' refusal to comply with SC orders will work very hard to defeat Mac in the primary. That would be a double-win for us.

I think Andrew meant that Chris Garrett was a "smart dresser" -- as are many people in Lake Oswego. Among the smartest dressers in the Metro area. Although their tastes tend to differ from mine. In that I don't have much.

Beyond that, my sense is that Chris'd be a heckuva legislator.

I seriously doubt that a hip fellow like like Andrew would call Chris Garrett a "smart dresser." It seems that Jefferson Smith, who looked normal enough in the Willamette Week, has questionable sartorial standards.

Sense of fashion aside, I hope more talented people such as Chris Garrett and Jefferson Smith run for the legislature.

This email exchange seems to contradict the rumor that Chris Garrett is running for Dingfelder's seat. Is he district shopping these days?

mrfearless - My wife left a faculty/research position (PERS Tier I) at OHSU about 10 years ago to go into the private sector. She/we feel your pain on the PERS issue, or at least we will when she decides to retire and draw her PERS.

However, as an attorney and a progressive Dem, I respectfully suggest that using PERS as a single issue to oppose Greg Macpherson may be short sited and not in the best interest of Oregon. Particularly if Maniac Mannix runs for AG, the Dem candidate is going to need every political connection and every political donation that he/she can get. Greg Macpherson is a knowledgeable (and as you note, well connected) guy who I think would make a great AG for Oregon. He will be supported by a lot of attorneys on both sides of the political spectrum who recognize Mannix for the Menace that he is. I am much less certain that "corporate law" (people like me) will financially support the other Dem candidate, notwithstanding his grassroots and law student appeal.

I know all about single issue voting - see my many anti-war, anti-Hillary rants on this site. However, and as my friends and family are slowly convincing me, perhaps we need to evaluate our votes based upon the overall good to be done by Dems, and not by a single issue. That statement is painful to make, but such is life.

BlueNote:

Unfortunately, PERS is a big deal. In my case, the PERS meter keeps running. So far my benefit has been cut by $700 per month and PERS owes me nearly $20,000 in benefits owed by virtue of the Supreme Court's ruling. I don't want Macpherson as the PERS attorney. Sorry, no support of those of us raped by the Legislature under Macpherson's leadership. I'll take John Kroger over Mac, and as far as I'm concerned Kevin Mannix doesn't worry me a bit. He won't win against a strong opponent. Neither Macpherson or Kroger have name familiarity and so Kroger starts out in the same basic boat as Macpherson, but without the baggage. If you look at my own blog, click on my name, you'll see that I'm not a supporter of Macpherson in a big way. He's "represented" me for 5.5 years. I've had him in my house arguing over the PERS reform. He didn't know squat about PERS and he still doesn't, but he's cost us retirees benefits AFTER WE RETIRED that the Oregon SC says we're entitled to. But nothing from Mac or Ted to get this thing on track again even when PERS is now 104% funded and has salted away more than $2.5 billion in reserves. F**k Macpherson. I hope he loses in the primary and loses his house seat to boot. Go back to Stoly Boly and the wideboys for awhile.

Sorry, Greg Macpherson does not compute for me and don't think I'm alone.

mrfearless... what's kroger's position on pers reform?

I'm so tired of hearing about "district shopping." Who cares? There are so many seats available and a lot of folks rumored to run in 45, so I hope Chris Garrett runs in LO. The more good candidates the better. I say the more Ds the better.

I won't vote for any one in The Valley We have too many of them already. Maybe The DA from Clatsop county. He is a Dem and at least I know who he is. Not what the Machine says about who he is.