Secretary of state candidates talk fair elections in first debate

SALEM -- Secretary of state candidates focused on creating a fair election process during their first debate hosted by the Salem City Club at Chemteka Community College Thursday night.

Candidates Rick Dancer (R-Springfield) and Kate Brown (D-Portland), as well as Pacific Green Party candidate Seth Woolley, stressed that the main job of Oregon's secretary of state was to ensure that the voices of every Oregonian were heard in a fair election process. Each candidate also stressed why they would be the best one to uphold that process.

Brown believed her 16 years of serving in the Oregon legislature was the right kind of experience the job needed. Brown said that when she was first elected to the House of Representatives, she won her seat by seven votes. She used that to show she understood the importance of an open election process and having every vote count. She also touted her work as chair of the elections committee and the work she had done from a legislative position to improve Oregon's election process.

"I worked across the aisle to bring transparency in campaign finance reporting so Oregonians can follow money in politics," Brown said, referring to her work to create the ORESTAR system, which is an online database where voters can look up a candidate's campaign contributions.

Dancer, the TV anchor turned political candidate, urged Salem voters that the secretary of state was not a political position, and it required someone who would be able to walk a fine line between partisan politics and reside over an electoral process that was fair to the voters.

"I want to make this position nonpartisan. Oregonians don't care if you have a ‘D' or an ‘R' or a ‘G' or an ‘L' in front of your name. All they care is that you make it fair," Dancer said. "For 22 years I've been independent minded. I've kept politics out of my job. I've investigated and made conclusions based on the facts."

Brown pointed out that in order to keep partisan bickering out of the position, one had to have experience of rising above the politics to work with both sides to create a solution.

"Only one of us has a record of actually doing this; of going into heated environment in capitol and getting things done," Brown said, referring to her time in the Oregon Senate where she was both a minority leader and a majority leader for the Democratic Party. "When I became the senate Democratic leader, I could have either been a barn burner, like a minority leader can be, or I could have been a bridge builder. I chose to build bridges. And instead of attacking Republicans, I worked with them. I put aside politics and put Oregonians first."

The format was a candidate forum, and did not allow Dancer and Brown to go head to head on many issues. It did allow for both candidates to tell voters about the issues that mattered most to them, and to address any weaknesses voters thought they might have.

Because in Oregon, where the secretary of state is also the lieutenant governor, Dancer took the opportunity to assure the crowd of about 40 gathered that, if he had to, he would have the ability and the judgment to take on the roles of Oregon's governor, should something happen to the state's current executive.

"You need someone in this position that can listen to the people, that can research an issue, and do what's needed to be done," Dancer said. "If something were to happen to Governor Kulongoski while he was in office, I would finish out his term with his legislative agenda, whether I agreed to all of it or not. Then, if I were re-elected, I would maybe make changes once I was approved by the people."

Brown and Dancer will meet for their second debate October 24 at the Eugene City Club.