Busy Day at Elections Offices As Filing Deadline Hits

Carter, Markgraf and Sizemore are in, Novick is out.
Hundreds of candidates for state electoral offices tossed their hats into the ring by the filing deadline Tuesday at 5 p.m., and dozens more filed for county office at the last minute – spurred by unforeseen circumstances.
Secretary of State spokesman Don Hamilton reported nearly two dozen state office candidates filed at the end of the six-month filing period March 9, bringing the total to 310 candidates who will appear on the May 18 primary election ballot.
In Multnomah County, a flurry of filings was sparked by the death of Oregon State Treasurer Ben Westlund this past weekend.
"I think it's interesting in that if he had died two days later, after the 5 o'clock deadline for filing, the parties would simply have used their internal procedures to appoint a replacement," Hamilton said. "Instead, his passing caused a real domino effect."
Monday, Gov. Ted Kulongoski appointed Multnomah County Chair Ted Wheeler as interim treasurer. Tuesday Wheeler filed for election to the post, creating an opening at the county.
That opportunity sparked more than a dozen last-minute filings Tuesday for two separate seats on the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners that would not have been up for grabs except for Westlund's unfortunate death from cancer.
On the ballot for Multnomah County Chair are former state Sen. Margaret Carter, Multnomah County Commissioner Jeff Cogen, insurance agent Mike Darger and retired merchant marine Wes Soderback.
Political consultant Steve Novick built a Facebook page with hundreds of fans and conducted media interviews about his campaign for county chair, but decided against filing.
For Cogen's seat, contenders include Cogen staffer Karol Collymore; Rev. Chuck Currie; former county commissioner and state Rep. Gary Hansen; city noise control officer Paul Van Orden; Loretta Smith, field representative for Sen. Ron Wyden; film producer Enrique Arias; Tom Markgraf, former staffer to Rep. Earl Blumenauer; county policy advisor Roberta Phillip; county mental health consultant Irma Linda Castillo; and Maria Caballero Rubio, former policy director for ex-Mayor Tom Potter.
Across state and local races, a quick count turned up a total of just five African American candidates, including Carter, Collymore, Rep. Lew Frederick (D-Portland) running for a full term in District 43, former state treasurer Jim Hill running again for that office, and Muhammad Ra'oof running for Multnomah County Sheriff.
Currently Frederick and Portland Community College board member Harold Williams are the only African Americans statewide who hold elected offices, although Frederick was not actually elected.
Rather he was appointed to his seat last year to replace Chip Shields, who in turn was appointed to Margaret Carter's state senate seat when she stepped down to take a position with the Department of Human Services.
In City of Portland races, incumbent Commissioner Nick Fish faces off against community activist Jason Barbour, bookkeeper Walt Nichols, and Timothy O. Youker, "AKA Timothy Turtle," as his filings say.
Commissioner Dan Saltzman's field of challengers is eight deep, and includes stonemason Spencer Burton; former Blumenauer staffer Jesse Cornett; Gunderson equipment designer Michael J. Courtney; community activists Ed Garren and Martha Perez; mental health advocate Jason Renaud; Oregon National Guardsman Rudy Soto; and longtime city bureau spokeswoman Mary Volm.
City Auditor LaVonne Griffin-Valade is running for re-election unopposed.
On the state level, races are kicking off for: one U.S. Senate seat (with 10 candidates), five U.S. House seats, governor (13 candidates), treasurer (four candidates), superintendent of public instruction, 15 Oregon Senate seats, 60 Oregon House seats, two Supreme Court seats, three seats on the Oregon Court of Appeals, a dozen district attorney seats, and many county judgeships.
Controversial conservative activist Bill Sizemore, who was arrested in November for tax evasion, is again in the running for governor. The Republican primary has nine contenders, including Pixelworks Board Chairman Allen Alley; corporate restructuring executive Clark Colvin; Ames Research Laboratories owner William Ames Curtright; former NBA player and Trail Blazer Chris Dudley; perennial candidate and Jefferson High School graduate Rob Forthan; small business owner Darren Karr; longtime state lawmaker John Lim; and real estate management executive Rex O. Watkins.
The Democratic primary for governor includes former Secretary of State Bill Bradbury, former Gov. John Kitzhaber and retiree Roger Obrist.