Westlund picks up endorsements from Kitzhaber, Register-Guard, Eugene Weekly

State Treasurer candidate Ben Westlund (D-Tumalo) picked up an endorsement from former Gov. John Kitzhaber Friday, who said that he backed the state senator because of his long-term views on reducing Oregon’s energy dependence.

"Ben Westlund can help us do more to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and reduce energy costs,” Kitzhaber said. “That’s why he has supported investments in new energy sources, like wind, wave and solar, and in conservation.”

Westlund also received the nod from the Eugene Register-Guard, which wrote that both candidates were so qualified that the editors wished they could somehow combine both Westlund and his Republican rival, Allen Alley (R-Lake Oswego). But in the end, they gave the nod to Westlund.

“We believe Westlund’s public policy experience and more ambitious vision of the role the treasurer can play in advising the governor and Legislature make him the better choice,” the Register-Guard editorial board wrote. “Oregonians should send Westlund to Salem as the next state treasurer.”

The Eugene Weekly also came out in favor of Westlund, whom the editors believed held a broader vision for the state treasurer’s office.

“Westlund understands that the office of state treasurer is more than being a glorified bean counter,” Eugene Weekly’s editors wrote.

“The treasurer has a role in affecting legislation and economic policy, and we like Westlund’s ideas about investing in renewable energy resources as away to ensure the state’s economic future.”