John Kroger 's Campaign Cash

Attorney General John Kroger continues to bring in major money, assumedly for his re-election in 2012 although no campaign web site could be found, www.johnkroger.com links directly to the Department of Justice now so the domain can’t be put back into campaign use. Contributions from Microsoft ($5,000) and WalMart ($5,000), combined with $25,000 from two New York law firms this week and $150,000 earlier this year from the Democratic Attorneys General Association, bumped his balance up to nearly $320,000 with no opponent in sight.

It’s obvious that this year’s bad press around the investigation of the Cylvia Hayes/ Department of Energy contracts that resulted in the resignation of Sean Riddell, his chief counsel of the Criminal Division, is not hurting him financially. Another dust-up out in Pendleton where another DOJ investigation resulted in murderer walking free also put him in a bad light. Oregonian columnist Jack Roberts wrote in April that the “lack of professionalism exhibited by Kroger’s Justice Department becomes both more apparent and egregious.” Word is a Bend fundraising event is in the works for the near future – is he trying to scare off potential opponents or is he building a war chest in case Governor Kitzhaber doesn’t run for re-election in 2014?

This article appears in Aug 18-24, 2011.