Wow, what a weird election that was.
In Deschutes County, voters tossed out a district attorney who’d been in office for two decades (Mike Dugan), rejected a bond to expand the jail, gave the boot to one county commissioner (Dennis Luke) and kept another (Tammy Baney). In the gubernatorial primaries, Democrats chose a former two-term governor and Republicans chose a former NBA basketball player.
That last outcome – the victory of Chris Dudley, a former journeyman center for the Portland Trail Blazers and other teams – is the weirdest aspect of Tuesday’s results for me. Two years ago, hardly anybody in Oregon except veteran Blazers fans knew who Dudley was. Now he’s a major-party nominee for governor.
It happened in spite of Dudley’s meager resumé (he’s never held a public office, not even so much as a school board seat, and never before showed much interest in seeking one) and the fact that — as anybody who’s attended his events or watched his TV spots can testify — he is not exactly Mr. Charisma.
One thing Dudley did have going for him, in a big way, was money – about $1.3 million of it, which is roughly $300,000 more than John Kitzhaber collected.
How did Dudley the political unknown manage to amass more campaign cash than a two-term former governor who’s been around Oregon politics for decades? Well, it didn’t hurt that he knows people with deep pockets – very, very deep.
The list of big ($10,000 and up) contributors to the Dudley campaign, as reported by ORESTAR, the secretary of state’s office’s on-line campaign finance database, reads like a Who’s Who of Oregon business and industry. A few of the heavy hitters:
- Phil Knight, a total of $100,000 in two $50,000 chunks (plus another $15,000 from Nike Inc.)
- Peter Stott, CEO of Crown Pacific Corp, $10,000
- Harry Merlo, controversial former CEO of Louisiana-Pacific, $10,000
- Dan Harmon, chairman of Associated Oregon Industries, $10,000
- Chris and Edward Maletis, owners of Maletis Beverage, a total of $25,000
- Timothy Boyle, CEO of Columbia Sportswear, $10,000
- Stimson Lumber Co., $40,000
- Larry Wilson of Alpha Broadcasting, which owns five radio stations in Portland, $50,000
- Kent Craford, CEO of Seaport Airlines (and also policy director of the Dudley campaign), $10,000
- Broughton Bishop, chairman and CEO of Pendleton Woolen Mills, $10,000
- Harold Schnitzer, developer, $10,000
- And from out of state: Jeffrey Loria, art dealer and controversial owner of the Florida Marlins baseball team (named one of the “Greediest Owners in Sports” by ESPN), $50,000
Although Dudley has a lot to learn about giving stump speeches and presenting himself on TV, the Democrats would be stupid to underestimate him. In a year when anti-incumbent fever is running high, his political inexperience could be turned into an asset. He’s a fiscal conservative, but doesn’t carry a lot of social-conservative baggage that would alienate moderates. (For example, he’s pro-choice.)
And having a bench stacked with multi-millionaires and billionaires who are willing to keep writing five- and six-figure checks won’t hurt him a bit.
UPDATE: Looks like the Democrats aren’t taking Dudley for granted — they’ve already put up a website called Dudley Dolittle that makes fun of his lack of credentials and his vague, platitudinous positions on the issues. It features choice bits from Dudley’s radio and TV appearances.
This article appears in May 20-26, 2010.
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Dudley sounds like a meat puppet.
Jack: That’s one of my fears — that he’ll be a puppet for the special interests that put him in office, much as George W. Bush was. Although to be fair, I think Dudley is far more intelligent than Dubya.
HBM, then you should be scared positively ****less by our “Lambchop”-in-chief . (Although my reference to Shari Lewis, et al, probably ages me somewhat).
Let’s see now, cardcheck/the unions; healthcare reform/tort lawyers; Gitmo/George Soros; Cap and trade/the environmental wackos; SEIU, ACORN. The list goes on and on.