While Beaverton Rep. Tobias Read currently sits alone in the race for the Democratic nomination for treasurer, three strong candidates are vying for the Secretary of State, with the first debate scheduled for this weekend in Sunriver, and key healthcare players opening their checkbooks for their favored politician.
The executive position oversees elections, business registrations and conducts audits of state business.
Since Oregon has no lieutenant governor, the secretary of state office is also the first in line to replace the governor, which explains Gov. Kate Brown’s ascendancy from her elected office after the resignation of Gov. John Kitzhaber last winter.
Because of the competitive race, the Democratic nomination has been a target of campaign money from the well-heeled healthcare industry.
Sen. Richard Devlin, D-Tualatin, appears to be the healthcare industry’s preferred candidate, followed by Rep. Val Hoyle, D-Eugene and Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian.
Devlin has raised just under $37,000 from the end of the legislative session through Sept. 26, the last date that his campaign filed reports. His biggest recent backer, at $10,000, is the Oregon Health Care Association, one of the traditional biggest spenders from the healthcare sector.
"OHCA-PAC is continuing to support Sen. Devlin because in his almost 20 years of exemplary service in the state legislature he has been a stalwart champion for seniors and people with disabilities," said Phil Bentley, senior vice-president of the Oregon Health Care Association.
Devlin also received $1,000 each from the Oregon Medical Association, pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, and Deloitte Services -- an actuarial company known to Oregonians for its role trying to salvage the wreckage of Cover Oregon. The state paid the firm to analyze what might be done with the flawed technology infrastructure programmed by Oracle, but ultimately none of that software was used.
The Alliance for Oregon Elders, the Oregon Aging & Disability Services PAC, Foresight Ophthalmology and the Oregon Nurses Association each gave him $500. As the Senate Budget Chairman, Devlin has been instrumental in allocating more money for senior services, particularly through new funding that comes from a retooling of the tax break for senior medical expenses.
Rep. Val Hoyle, D-Eugene, has raised $113,000 in the same time period -- her leading healthcare supporters have been the Oregon Optometric Association, at $3,000; Willamette Dental Management Corp. at $2,500 and the pharmaceutical company Allergan, which gave $1,000. Like Devlin, she also received $500 from the Oregon Nurses Association.
In the 2015 session, Hoyle partnered with Rep. Knute Buehler, R-Bend, to expand access to birth control and brokered a compromise with Disability Rights Oregon that will simplify the civil commitment process for mentally ill people at risk of imminent harm.
Additionally, she has received campaign money from several of her fellow House members, including Rep. Brian Clem, D-Salem, and Rep. John Lively, D-Springfield -- who sit on the Health Committee, as well as House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, and four others.
Avakian has raised $77,000 since the end of the session, gaining the support of FamilyCare, which has backed Brad Avakian with $5,000, along with Dr. Paul Stromberg, a Happy Valley ophthalmologist, who gave Avakian $1,000.
One of the Democrats will likely face Republican Sid Leiken, a Lane County Commissioner, who has raised $88,000 since this summer, led by $24,000 of in-kind contributions from the Bud Pierce GOP campaign for governor.
Despite a lack of opposition in the primary, Read has raked in a whopping $145,000 for his campaign since sine die, led by $5,000 donations from a host of out-of-state interests, including Facebook executives David Fischer and Sheryl Sandberg, Samson oil company CEO Stacy Schusterman, software tycoon Neal Dempsey, the New York law firm Pomerantz LLP, and San Francisco law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.
From the Oregon healthcare sector, the Oregon Medical Association and Dentists of Oregon Political Action Committee each gave him $1,000.
Read faces Chris Telfer, a former Bend Republican senator who’s now running as an independent but has not yet reported any contributions, and Jeff Gudman, a Lake Oswego Republican who’s raised about $12,000.
Correction: The original article confused the Campaign for Seniors and People with Disabilities with the Oregon Aging & Disabilities PAC, the latter of which donated money to Sen. Devlin's campaign. We regret the error.
