Union Leader Considers Running for Attorney General

The Oregonian reports that John Kroger and Greg Macpherson may soon face Oregon union leader Alice Dale in the upcoming race for Oregon Attorney General:

While Republicans search for an attorney general candidate, the Democratic field might get more crowded.

Alice Dale, president of SEIU Local 49, said she would decide by mid-October whether to join the race.

"I'm actively considering it," Dale said.

Dale would join state Rep. Greg Macpherson, D-Lake Oswego, and John Kroger, a former federal prosecutor who teaches at Lewis & Clark Law School.

Dale is the former head of the Oregon Public Employees Union -- the state's largest. She led the union on a strike in 1995 over a pay raise.

Beaver Boundary has some background on Dale, and analyzes her potential candidacy:

Dale has a range of experience in Oregon policymaking. She sits on the Oregon Health Policy Commission, which recommends evidence-based policy changes to the Governor’s office. She also lobbied the Legislature this last year for passage of a bill that would have capped hospital profit margins and applied fairer billing rates to uninsured patients.

In addition to these policy-based roles, Dale has also worked to weed out ballot fraud. In 2004, she called out the Nader campaign’s widespread use of forgery in their attempt to gain access to the Oregon ballot.

If she runs, does Dale have a good shot at the nomination? What effect would her campaign have on Greg Macpherson’s campaign? Macpherson was key in the 2003 effort to revise PERS–the state’s public employee retirement system (literally)–by trimming benefits and payouts, a move that angered many public employees. Will Dale’s candidacy give these public employees a voice and presence in the race, or will it siphon votes that might have otherwise gone to John Kroger?

While the Democratic field grows, there's been no word yet on any potential Republican candidates for Attorney General.

Comment over at Beaver Boundary.

Sept. 25, 2007 Posted in elsewhere.