Oregonian: Shields for Senate, Collymore for House
From this morning's Oregonian:
Fortunately, all three finalists selected by county Democrats are qualified for the job. Better yet, one of them -- Rep. Chip Shields -- stands out as the clear choice, all things being equal.
Shields, 42, has already been elected twice by wide margins in his portion of the Senate district. That heavy support was built on countless hours of walking neighborhoods, knocking on doors and raising money. He has subsequently earned that strong backing by becoming an effective, well-respected legislator who serves on the House Judiciary and Joint Ways and Means committees.
The Oregonian weighs the issues of diversity and race in the choice:
Should county commissioners therefore pick one of the two women over Shields to preserve some measure of diversity in the Portland delegation? That's the wrong question. A better one: Isn't there a way to get one of these capable women into the Legislature to serve with Shields?
And yes, of course, there is. If Shields gets the nod today, a new appointment process will quickly begin to fill his seat in House District 43. Collymore says she would apply, and she would be terrific for the job.
On paper, social worker-activist Bowman has the edge in experience, having served three terms in the House from 1997 to 2002. However, she became an uncompromising, polarizing force, ultimately losing political capital within her own party.Collymore, by contrast, has never held elective office but is an engaging, polished communicator oozing with potential to be an effective legislator. She worked for years in New Mexico politics before moving to Portland in 2003. She's now a staff assistant for County Commissioner Jeff Cogen, who lauds her as a rising "superstar."
When Shields ran for the House in the fall of 2004, we endorsed him as "a newcomer with a potential to shine in Salem." Those words can be used today to describe Collymore.
Commissioners should appoint Shields to the Senate vacancy and later name Collymore to succeed him in the House.
Meanwhile, the party that dominates Oregon politics must start recruiting and bankrolling more minority candidates. It's a sad reflection on Portland Democrats that the 90-member Legislature's only two people of color are Salem-area Republicans.
Discuss.
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Sept. 24, 2009
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8:23 a.m.
Sep 24, '09
they got it half right, but Lew Frederickson for House - his experience and wisdom make him someone who will be of great value to the district and the state. i'm pretty sure that for all the support Karol received last week as the 3rd nominee for the Senate seat, Lew will be the person PCPs want for the House seat. Karol has a great future ahead, but right now, Lew is the right one for the House seat.
obviously the Big O is not very clued into what is going on in the district, or they'd have mentioned Lew, at least in passing. i hope as much as Karol wants the Senate seat, she'll get behind Lew and make his selection to replace Chip (yes, i'm jumping the gun a big here) an easy choice for the commissioners.
8:34 a.m.
Sep 24, '09
I'm with T.A. on this. Lew has earned a chance to be considered here and it was highly inappropriate of the Oregonian editors to assume that Collymore and Bowman were the only worthwhile candidates for the House district.
Sep 24, '09
I agree. I met Lew when he ran for County Commissioner in 2006 and was VERY impressed. He has paid his dues and then some, evidenced in large part by his willingness to RUN for public office and put himself out there, long before a simple appointment became possible.
Sep 24, '09
Why not appoint Collymore now and let her see how she fares against Federickson in the next primary election?
8:39 a.m.
Sep 24, '09
John and TA, With all due respect, The O didn't interview Lew, they interviewed me. And you both are jumping the gun, no one has been appointed yet today. :)
8:57 a.m.
Sep 24, '09
I concur entirely with the O's assessment of Karol. She is engaging, polished, oozing with potential, and a rising superstar. She'd make a fantastic legislator.
But I do find it a little odd that the Oregonian would issue an endorsement for the House seat, before there's a vacancy in that House seat - and before we know who all the candidates are going to be.
It definitely seems a bit premature. For all they know, their dream candidate is waiting to announce until there's a vacancy in the House seat.
Oh, and by the way, why the endorsement in SD-22 - when the Oregonian could barely be bothered to cover the appointment process, much less issue endorsements, in SD-7, HD-14, or HD-35? All three of those seats have had vacancies and appointments in the last few weeks. And given that those are all competitive districts, they'd seem all that much more newsworthy. A little Portland-centric, methinks.
Sep 24, '09
Portland centric? Yes Kari, absolutely.
Methinks the Oregonian is trying to play the King-maker here and show what they believe a reasonable compromise in the Sd 22 appointment by endorsing Shields and then Collymore as his replacement.
I'm not a smart man, and this is just a guess ;-)
Sep 24, '09
Kind of a harsh description of J. Bowman. Justified?
9:37 a.m.
Sep 24, '09
Couple of corrections: It's Lew Fredricks, not Fredrickson. Second, who knows that there will be anyone to get behind after the appointment so I'll wait to see how the morning turns out.
Sep 24, '09
d - do a search here and read some of her columns. you can then decide for yourself.
Sep 24, '09
Thanks for the reply, Kurt.
I've read most of Jo Ann's stuff here on BlueOregon, and I'd agree with the 'polarizing' description. But I think that's exactly what she is trying to do with her posts and Oregon Action activities - shake people's thinking.
The editorial description seems to suggest that Jo Ann developed (or slipped into) that style while working in Salem, and became less and less effective as a result. Just wondering if others read it that way and thought it was valid.
11:00 a.m.
Sep 24, '09
The editorial description seems to suggest that Jo Ann developed (or slipped into) that style while working in Salem, and became less and less effective as a result. Just wondering if others read it that way and thought it was valid.
I think that the deal is that a lot of legislators start out as activists. Many are able to transition to the very different job description of "legislator", and some are not.
I'd love to see Lew (Fredricks not Fredrickson?) get a shot; but Karol has been a real voice of reason and kindness here on BO, so I'm delighted that her name's out there and if she doesn't go this time, then maybe soonish.
As for Chip, gotta say that I totally admire his tonsorial instincts. Joe the Plumber is an upstart pretender in this category.....
1:39 p.m.
Sep 24, '09
The O writes:
It's a sad reflection on Portland Democrats that the 90-member Legislature's only two people of color are Salem-area Republicans.
Senator Winters, I'll give you. I'm not sure how Rep. Sal Esquivel (Medford) is Salem-area. Puh-leeze.
Sep 26, '09
Let's get someone experienced. Bowman might have real value. I hope she runs for the House seat. I don't know Ed Lincoln, AFT's candidate, but he might be good and seems to have some life experience. Lew would clearly be great too. There might be other experienced people also.
There are plenty of young people in the legislature. I hope we will consider people who are actually ready for the job. This is an appointment process, not an election, and there isn't time on the campaign trail to learn or prove yourself. For those who saw Collymore perform, they saw someone who could use some more time to learn Oregon and to learn the legislature.
[And Karol, It's not Frederickson or Fredericks. It's Lew Frederick. Most folks who have lived in town and seen Lew on T.V., or who have been involved in the Democratic Party, or have been involved in community activities, know this guy. I understand that you are newer to the State and Democratic Party acitivities, and I don't want to make too much of it, but after one free error you should get Lew Frederick's name right. While I hope Bowman runs, I hope you weren't being a little petty towards Lew. He ran against your boss for the County Commission, and I would think you would know his name.]
The Oregonian's move cleary demonstrated why they are getting less and less relevant in the political debate and in the delivery of news.
Sep 26, '09
Her enthusiasm and values are great, based on what we've seen here, but I cringe at the thought of another verbal-litmus-test-pseudo-progressive in politics!
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