July 16th, 2008
John McCain | Give the money back, senator.5 comments
July 9th, 2008
Bill Bradbury | A signature embarrassment.9 comments
July 2nd, 2008
Legacy Good Samaritan | Please, go by streetcar27 comments
June 25th, 2008
Bill O’Reilly | Pledge allegiance to the gasbag.35 comments
June 18th, 2008
Paul Schuberg and Mike Reiner | Safety inspection? Get a warrant.11 comments
June 11th, 2008
Ed Kame’enui | Read this and weep.16 comments
June 4th, 2008
Harlem Globetrotters | Who’s swatting an Obama artist.18 comments
May 28th, 2008
Employee Freedom Action Committee | The calculus of desperation3 comments
May 21st, 2008
Hillary Clinton | The calculus of desperation8 comments
May 14th, 2008
Women’s Voices, Women’s Vote | An Orwellian approach to universal suffrage.1 comment
![]() SEN. KATE BROWN: Left, with opponent Sen. Vicki Walker. |
[April 16th, 2008]
State Sen. Kate Brown, running in the Democratic primary for secretary of state, has won our endorsement in every election since 1992.
But Brown wins our Rogue this week for showing two faces in the heated rhetoric around ethics reform in the Legislature.
In an endorsement interview with WW (watch the excerpt below), Brown claimed 2007’s Senate Bill 10 as one of her major achievements as Senate Majority Leader. That bill created the illusion of ethics reform without addressing two fundamental legislative abuses (“Ethics Bomb,” WW, Dec. 16, 2007).
One remaining abuse is “pass-throughs” (“Shakedown Dues,” WW, Feb. 28, 2007). That lets pols effectively launder money for contributors. The other is candidates’ freedom to use donations for virtually anything—including routine personal expenses. And while posing as a reformer, Brown—a lawyer—admitted she used campaign contributions to pay her annual Oregon State Bar dues. (Records show that on Jan, 15, 2004, Brown used $477 of campaign funds to pay her bar dues.)
“I was not practicing law at the time, and I was…working very closely with the bar on a number of issues,” Brown said in the endorsement interview. “I thought it was important for both the bar and the Legislature that I remain a member of the Oregon State Bar.”
Asked if her use of campaign money was appropriate, Brown responded, “It was legal.”
Legal? Maybe. Elections rules prohibit using campaign funds to pay “dues to professional or civic organizations in which the membership is not integrally related to the candidate’s election or duties as a public office-holder.” Rogue-worthy? When it turns out one of your major legislative achievements lets you still cover personal expenses out of campaign funds—definitely yes.
Orygun is going to lose with all of these candidates for SOS. The most corrupt office in Orygun will not change. Sad!!!
Oregon has the chance to elect Rick Dancer who I know is a guy with massive amounts of integrity .Then we can begin to clean up the stinking Salem swamp. He has had years of investigating government failures and citizen solutions. He has had years of having to tolerate big-wigs leaving the most important stories on the editing room floor. We need to send this brilliant and extremely likable guy to the capitol. If you take the time to interview him you will be very impressed.











zzzzzzzzzz