[October 15th, 2008]

Greg Matthews

Greg Matthews is a political greenhorn, but he’s got potential.

A Dudley Do-right type, Matthews has headed the firefighters’ union in Gresham since 2005. Before that, he was a motorcycle cop, DARE officer, and Army paratrooper. He’s a lock-up-the-meth-dealers Democrat who says he was encouraged to run by a Republican, Albany Rep. Andy Olson. Matthews even voted for George W. Bush in 2004, because it was wartime and Bush was commander-in-chief. OK. Not exactly in lockstep with us, but here’s a dirty little secret: The House’s left-of-Obama Democratic caucus could use more fiscal hawks like Matthews, who promises more waste-hunting audits of state agencies and insurance providers.

The incumbent, Republican John Lim, has a long record of public service but a much shorter list of legislative accomplishments in his 10 years in the Senate and the House (he was term-limited out of the upper chamber). We like his economic focus, but not his lame answers. “More international tourism”? Oregon should be more than a bargain-shopping destination.

Why is Lim hanging around? The job he really seems to want is one that he’s tried for years, in vain, to create—lieutenant governor. But if Oregon ever adds that position, Lim is unlikely to get his résumé past HR. He’s one of the lowest-ranking legislators in our regular “Good, Bad and Awful” survey.

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