Oregonian Editorial Board: Wingard Should Go

Evan Manvel

In the news-that-will-not-go-away department, today the editorial board of The Oregonian called for Rep. Matt Wingard to resign.

Interestingly, the editors made parallels with the successful work to oust Mike Schaufler. Of course, Schaufler did not go willingly - he had to be pushed out by a large coalition of courageous leaders.

Excerpts from the piece, "Wingard Should Go":

Last year, House Democrats bounced Rep. Mike Schaufler from his position as co-chair of the House Business and Labor Committee in response to an act of mere unacceptable boorishness, behavior well short of repeated impropriety. Last month, Democratic voters in Schaufler's district, asked their opinion in the primary, removed him from their party's ticket.

Wingard seems determined to hold out, despite any opinions of his colleagues, who have been remarkably quiet, or his constituents. Yet his conduct -- even just the parts he admits -- seems far from the standards the Legislature would claim to uphold.

[Resigning] would provide an opportunity for District 26 Republicans to find a candidate who better represents their standards, and the state's.

Presumably, that would be a candidate with standards higher than no criminal liability.

Of course, it's once again a scoop from Pulitzer-Prize winning Nigel Jaquiss of Willamette Week that first brought this to light.

Carla Axtman summed up Wingard's checkered past earlier.

By Evan Manvel June 19, 2012