Westlund's candidacy

February 15, 2005

As a politician, Ben Westlund is anything but conventional. So it's no surprise that, with Valentine's Day as a backdrop, he announced his divorce from the Republican Party and his intention to run for governor as a (politically speaking) single guy. The question now is whether voters will fall for him.

Westlund believes many voters are as tired of escalating partisanship in Salem as he is. He could be right. Between 1994 and 2004, the percentage of Oregon voters registered with the two major parties slipped. Republican registration dipped from 36.3 percent to 35.6 percent, and Democratic registration slid from 42.9 percent to 38.7 percent. During that same period, the percentage of unaffiliated (or independent) registrations rose from 19.2 percent to 22.3 percent. With strong support among independents and some assistance from disgruntled Democrats and Republicans willing to cheat on their parties, Westlund could make a reasonable showing in November.

Then again, he could get crushed.

Westlund could be vulnerable for some of the same reasons his candidacy is interesting and worthwhile: his ideas. Westlund has long argued - correctly - that Oregon's system of taxation needs an overhaul. Because Oregon has no broad-based sales tax, the state's general fund, more than half of which pays for education, is heavily reliant upon the volatile personal income tax. One way to steady the state's income stream is create a sales tax and lower the income tax, and perhaps other taxes as well.

This wouldn't necessarily cost the average person more. Nevertheless, Oregonians have never warmed to the idea. A 1993 ballot measure that would have created a 5 percent sales tax for public schools fell, oh, about 500,000 votes short. Westlund's longtime support of tax reform might gain the support of thousands of moderate voters. Then again, it might send everyone fleeing.

Ditto for his positions on health care reform (he's pushing a constitutional amendment that would make access to health care a "fundamental right", renewable energy (he's sponsoring an initiative that would require a certain percentage of fuel sold in Oregon to be derived from renewable sources), and gay rights (he sponsored civil unions legislation last session). These are important issues, and his positions help explain why he and the Republican Party had such a rocky relationship. But whether his views will compel voters to fill in the "Ben Westlund" circle on their ballots is another matter entirely.

Regardless of what voters do in November, though, Westlund's decision to run will be good for Oregonians. It'll keep the election from becoming a soporific reprise of 2002, of course. But more importantly, it'll force voters and major-party candidates to think about some complicated and important issues that might otherwise go virtually unmentioned. Ron Saxton, Kevin Mannix and Ted Kulongoski probably aren't itching to say "sales tax" ... at least without saying "no" first.

In the end, Westlund might do quite well - or get pounded into jelly. If it's the latter, he should remember there are worse things than sacrificing yourself for a good cause. Just ask St. Valentine.