SD23: Sean Cruz

By Sean Cruz of Portland, Oregon. Sean is a candidate for Senate District 23. Learn more at www.SeanCruz.com. Tomorrow, we'll hear from Jackie Dingfelder.

My name is Sean Cruz. I have served the constituents of Senate District 23 for more than five years as Senator Avel Gordly’s Chief of Staff.

I am in this race to succeed Senator Gordly with her encouragement, support and endorsement.

I am bringing a message of change, that there will be change in state government!

Across the nation, across the state and across the city of Portland, voters in this primary are demanding change, are becoming change agents themselves as they register in record numbers to make a difference

Voters want to see change in political processes, in the way campaigns are funded, in political policy, in outcomes and in leadership.

The Oregon legislature has an approval rating of only 30%, is ripe for change, for fresh voices, for refocused priorities.

Yet, with three key Portland-area legislative contested primaries looming on the May 20 ballot, opportunities for the candidates to appear in public forums and debates have been strangely absent.

Residents of House District 45, the northern half of Senate District 23, ought to be particularly concerned, as they are about to have both a new state Senator and a new state Representative.

It is easy to explain the lack of interest regarding the many uncontested legislative races, as those “contests” were decided back at the filing deadline in March.

But House District 42, House District 45 and Senate District 23 feature well-qualified contenders for these three open seats, and how all three races have slipped below the radar is hard to understand.

The several candidates offer competing views on the state’s policies and priorities, and yet no real opportunity has emerged for a public discussion of the relative qualities of the candidates and how they will address the major issues to come before the 2009 session, which is much the entire point of the election.

The Urban League and its partners will be the first to offer a platform featuring the race to succeed Senator Avel Gordly in Senate District 23, on May 2 at Highland Christian Center, an event that will also feature the contest for Oregon Attorney General.

It is the lone scheduled event for this key race that will determine the policy direction for Oregon’s underserved populations for years to come.

Recently, the Oregonian ran an editorial stating that the most important races on the May 20 ballot might be the legislative contests, and they are correct.

Each of these races are worth far more than the superficial look they have received to date, simple measures of money raised, special-interest and insider endorsements gained, lawn signs staked and paper promises printed.

Behind the scenes, political payback, petty jealousies and kneecapping are in full Spring bloom, the role of endorsement nepotism and incest lies unexamined.

I applaud Blue Oregon for offering this new media forum for Senate District 23, the only Portland-area state Senate race that offers voters any kind of choice at all. I look forward to discussing the issues that matter through this series of Blue Oregon posts.

The constituents of Senate District 23 can vote to move a House chair 500 feet to the east and call that change, or they can elect a superbly qualified fresh voice and send Sean Cruz to make a difference in the state Senate.

I ask for your support and your vote.

Campaign website.

Blog.

Senate District 23 website.

Elect Sean Cruz! There will be change!