Opinion

Did Chris Dudley try to evade Oregon income taxes? Did John Kitzhaber's girlfriend get a sweetheart deal on a state contract? Such have been the “issues” in what has turned out to be, by Oregon standards, an unusually rough-and-tumble battle for the governorship.
We don't know the answers to those questions, and frankly we don't give a damn. For us, the one overriding question is whether Kitzhaber or Dudley is better equipped to guide the state through what is likely to be a tough four years.

Former President Richard Nixon once famously announced that “you won't have Dick Nixon to kick around anymore” after losing the California governor's race. Well Gene Whisnant could easily have uttered almost those same words about his relationship with this paper. Whisnant has served four terms in the state Legislature and has yet to earn the Source's endorsement. But to his credit, Gene shows up every two years and makes his case. Well this year, we're breaking tradition and offering our endorsement of Mr. Whisnant for state representative.

The race for Bend's House Seat has been a bruising one, to say the least. Incumbent Judy Stiegler faces a serious threat from her Republican challenger, Jason Conger, a real estate attorney and investor, who has marshaled an impressive campaign to unseat Stiegler, at least from a cash perspective. The bulk of Conger's media campaign has focused on tearing down Stiegler's record on taxes and the state budget.

The state treasurer's office is like your liver: When it's working well you don't even notice it. But the state treasurer has an important – even vital – job, overseeing more than $65 billion worth of state investments and $120 billion a year in state banking transactions, among other things.
Ted Wheeler was appointed by the governor to fill the treasurer's post in March after the death of Ben Westlund. He's now asking the voters to elect him to finish the rest of Westlund's term, which ends in January 2003. We think he's earned the job.