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State race drawing candidates
Wednesday, August 01, 2007 | No comments posted.
SALEM - The field of Democrats vying to be the next secretary of state is getting crowded.
State Sen. Brad Avakian, D-Portland/Beaverton, announced Tuesday that he'll be a candidate for the nomination. He joins fellow state senators Kate Brown of Portland and Vicki Walker of Eugene in the first seriously contested Democratic primary since 2002.
Things are quieter on the Republican side. State Sen. Jason Atkinson, R-Central Point, who pulled in 22 percent of the vote in the GOP gubernatorial primary in 2006, has announced he will not run. State Sen. Bruce Starr, R-Hillsboro, said Tuesday he is considering a run. He expects to have made up his mind in about a month.
“If I get in, it's not just to be a Republican placeholder on the ballot, I want to be certain I can raise a significant amount of money to run a credible campaign,” Starr said.
Avakian, a lawyer, was elected to the state Senate in 2006, after serving two terms in the Oregon House. He chaired the Environment and Natural Resources committee during the just-concluded 2007 session, working on renewable energy initiatives and the expansion of the bottle bill. He has also served on the state's chief budget-writing committee.
The secretary of state position is not traditionally that high-profile, unless the legislature reaches an impasse over redistricting, and the job is handed over to the secretary's office. But it has served as a springboard for generations of Oregon politicians - former Secretary of State Barbara Roberts, for example, became the state's first female governor. The current secretary of state, Democrat Bill Bradbury, is finishing his second term. He is barred by law from running again.
State Sen. Brad Avakian, D-Portland/Beaverton, announced Tuesday that he'll be a candidate for the nomination. He joins fellow state senators Kate Brown of Portland and Vicki Walker of Eugene in the first seriously contested Democratic primary since 2002.
Things are quieter on the Republican side. State Sen. Jason Atkinson, R-Central Point, who pulled in 22 percent of the vote in the GOP gubernatorial primary in 2006, has announced he will not run. State Sen. Bruce Starr, R-Hillsboro, said Tuesday he is considering a run. He expects to have made up his mind in about a month.
“If I get in, it's not just to be a Republican placeholder on the ballot, I want to be certain I can raise a significant amount of money to run a credible campaign,” Starr said.
Avakian, a lawyer, was elected to the state Senate in 2006, after serving two terms in the Oregon House. He chaired the Environment and Natural Resources committee during the just-concluded 2007 session, working on renewable energy initiatives and the expansion of the bottle bill. He has also served on the state's chief budget-writing committee.
The secretary of state position is not traditionally that high-profile, unless the legislature reaches an impasse over redistricting, and the job is handed over to the secretary's office. But it has served as a springboard for generations of Oregon politicians - former Secretary of State Barbara Roberts, for example, became the state's first female governor. The current secretary of state, Democrat Bill Bradbury, is finishing his second term. He is barred by law from running again.
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