[October 15th, 2008]

John Kroger

John Kroger managed fine in the May Democratic primary without our endorsement.

Our decision then to endorse Rep. Greg Macpherson (D-Lake Oswego) stemmed from Kroger’s uncharacteristic waffling on 2003 public pension reforms written by his opponent.

Kroger, a law prof at Lewis & Clark and a newcomer to Oregon politics, also gave us misgivings about how heavily he leaned on massive labor contributions ($282,000 from SEIU and $50,000 from OEA, more than a third of the money he raised).

Kroger won that primary easily and has no serious competition in the general election. The Oregon Republican Party is so lame that Kroger picked up the GOP nomination as a write-in. The Republicans didn’t even field a candidate for this office (we don’t say this gleefully; does anybody think Oregon is better off with an AWOL Republican Party?). And Kroger’s opponents—Walt Brown of the Pacific Green Party, James Leuenberger of the Constitution Party, and Ashlee Albies of the Working Families Party—lack firepower.

Which leaves us with Kroger. Fortunately, he’ll bring energy, brains and keen political instincts to what has been recently a low-wattage office. A former high-profile federal prosecutor in Brooklyn and before that a Clinton campaign aide an d assistant to Sen. (then Rep.) Charles Schumer (D-New York), Kroger brings an intriguing mix of political and courtroom experience. He’s also a former Marine and the author of an exceptional book, Convictions, about the ethical dilemmas inherent in prosecution. We are comfortable making two predictions: Kroger will be our next attorney general. And he will make headlines.

Video of WW endorsement interview (thanks to Portland Community Media)