Who will be Oregon’s next U.S. Attorney?

Last Tuesday’s election was only the beginning of a Democratic takeover of the federal government. With the Democrats back in the executive branch for the first time in eight years, they will appoint their own people to federal posts.

Oregon’s next U.S. Attorney will be appointed by Presidential-elect Barack Obama, and he or she will serve at his pleasure. But Obama is subject to the Senate’s “advice and consent.” Therefore, Oregon’s U.S. Attorney candidates will be subject to approval of Oregon’s Senators.

Especially senior Senator Ron Wyden (D-Portland).

That’s not the only thing they will be subject to; until Obama signs off on the appointment, potential U.S. Attorney candidates will be subject to endless speculation, gossip, and questioning within Oregon political circles as to who will get the Democratic Senators’ nod.

Top Democrats have refused to give PolitickerOR.com any hints. But every face is a familiar face in Oregon politics, and we believe one of these guys will be the next face of Oregon’s U.S. Attorney Office.

Ed Caleb: The Klamath County district attorney was a strong backer of both Gov. Ted Kulongoski during his 2006 re-election, and more recently, U.S. Senator-elect Jeff Merkley. Caleb graduated from the University of Oregon School of Law, is a former president of the Oregon District Attorney’s association, and has been serving as Klamath County D.A. since 1985.

Mike Dugan: With 21 years as the Deschutes County district attorney, Dugan certainly has the law enforcement experience to take on the position of Oregon’s highest ranking law enforcement official. Dugan, a graduate of Lewis & Clark Northwestern School of Law ran for Congress in 1996. More recently, he was one of the few district attorneys east of the Cascades to come out and endorse U.S. Senator-elect Jeff Merkley in his race against Gordon Smith.

John Foote: When the Democratic-controlled legislature met in an emergency session in February, it quickly put together a counter-initiative to try and stop Kevin Mannix’s mandatory minimum Measure 61 from being approved by voters. That measure, which became Measure 57, needed police officers and district attorneys to back it in order to not appear soft on crime. Foote went to bat for Measure 57 when he debated Mannix on public safety in front of the Portland City Club in October, and argued vehemently that its provisions, which included rehabilitation opportunities, would become a better deterrent on crime. Measure 57 ended up passing overwhelmingly, while Measure 61 failed.

Foote is a graduate of Lewis & Clark Northwestern School of Law. He has been the Clackamas County district attorney since 2001.

John Haroldson: Haroldson just won re-election last Tuesday after he was appointed to the Benton County D.A. position in January 2007. Before that, he served five years as Chief Deputy district attorney. Benton County may be an area Democrats want to tap into; the county saw a surge in Democratic registration during 2008, and Hardoldson, who graduated from the University of Oregon School of Law, is listed as one of the backers of U.S. Senator-elect Jeff Merkley. Conventional political wisdom is that party elders like to put young party members into the U.S. Attorney position to groom them for future office runs. Haroldson would fit that bill.

Josh Marquis: The Clatsop County district attorney, and Oregon delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1996, has been unafraid to voice his politics and opinion since he became the county’s D.A. in 1994. He strongly backed Measure 57, and has a reputation of being a strong seeker of media attention. Marquis, a former newspaper reporter in Los Angeles, graduated from the University of Oregon School of Law. According to his profile on the National District Attorney Association’s website, Marquis was on a shortlist to become U.S. Attorney in 2000, but he was derailed by the election of President Bush. Now may be his shot at redemption.

Roy Pulvers: Pulvers has been the lawyer for the Democratic Party of Oregon since 2003, and he is the founder and co-chair of the Democratic Lawyers Council. He’s also an appellate lawyer and partner for the Portland law firm Hinshaw and Culbertson, where his main clientele, apart from the Dems, tends to be lawyers and law firms on issues related to legal ethics. Pulvers was also the former staff attorney for the Oregon Supreme Court. He graduated from the Columbia School of Law.

Michael Simon: Simon is the head litigator at the Portland law firm Perkins Cole, an election law specialist, and one of two non-district attorneys on the list. But he also has his own share of criminal prosecutorial experience. Simon served as a former trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice anti-trust division, and is also a former special assistant U.S. attorney in the eastern district of Virginia. Simon also successfully represented the Dems in the 2000 redistricting case Perrin vs. Kitzhaber. Bonus: he’s been a strong donor for top Democratic Party candidates. Simons graduated from Harvard Law School.