Senator close to making independent bid for governor

Monday, November 14, 2005

By BRAD CAIN
Associated Press writer

PORTLAND — State Sen. Ben Westlund is getting himself and his luncheon audience wound up with a withering attack on a partisan political system that he says has failed Oregon’s children, leaving thousands of them hungry and lacking basic health care.

Oregon, Westlund tells his audience, is rapidly becoming “the Appalachia of the Northwest” because “extremists” in both the Republican and Democratic parties are standing in the way of real solutions for the state.

“Are you satisfied that tonight over 100,000 of Oregon’s children will go to bed without health insurance, and that over 10,000 of them will be hungry, for God’s sake? I am not,” he says, drawing applause from a ballroom packed with hundreds of advocates for children’s programs.

These days, Westlund is sounding more like a candidate for statewide office than a local legislator.

And in fact, the 56-year-old Bend Republican appears to be on the brink of shedding his party label and launching an independent bid for governor — a move that could make the potentially crowded 2006 governor’s race even more unpredictable.

“I’m running all over the state giving speeches, and I’m getting closer to making a decision every day. The wind is blowing favorably” for a run for governor, Westlund said in an interview.

If Westlund does launch an independent bid, it would set up a three-way showdown in the November 2006 general election between him and the major party nominees who emerge from the May primary elections.

Only once in Oregon’s history has an independent candidate for governor prevailed. That came in 1930, when Oregon voters elected Julius Meier as the state’s chief executive.

Westlund’s candidacy raises the possibility of him playing a spoiler’s role, such as in 1990, when the independent candidacy of social conservative Al Mobley drew 13 percent of the vote. Many observers believe that prevented Republican Dave Frohnmayer from outpolling Democrat Barbara Roberts in the general election.

Westlund says he has no interest in being a spoiler of any sort, and that he’s not considering running just to make a political statement.

“That is the last thing I would do. This is a serious commitment. I will not get into this race unless there is a plausible path to victory,” he said.

Since first being elected to the Legislature in 1996, Westlund has gained a reputation as a moderate Republican. In recent years he’s become a champion for children’s health programs, schools and civil unions for same-sex couples.

Portland pollster Tim Hibbitts said Westlund, with his appeal to moderates and liberals of both parties, could be a “wild card” in the 2006 race.

“The mood and the climate in this state are not very good, and independent candidacies tend to flourish when people are not happy,” Hibbitts said. “In that sense, there is an opening for Westlund.”

It’s difficult to predict whether a Westlund candidacy would hurt the Democratic or Republican nominee more, Hibbitts said.

“He has the potential to drain votes from both sides,” he said. “He could become a serious headache for both of them.”

Amy Langdon, executive director of the Oregon Republican Party, said she doesn’t think Westlund would draw that many votes in in three-way race.

“I don’t think it will have a significant impact,” Langdon said.

Oregon Democratic Party spokesman Kelly Steele said he thinks it’s too early to say what affect an independent bid by Westlund would have.

Westlund, for his part, doesn’t aim specific criticism at Democratic Gov. Ted Kulongoski, who’s seeking re-election, or any of the other Democratic and Republican contenders in the governor’s race.

“I believe they are trying their utmost best in a system that is broken. Their hands are tied by this paralyzing partisanship that is strangling Oregon,” he said.

The Bend lawmaker also said that even though he would be reaching out past the traditional two-party set-up, he believes he could raise sufficient campaign money from people who feel as he does that the current system is broken and needs to be changed.

Westlund was confronted with a life-threatening illness when he was diagnosed with lung cancer in May 2003.

He underwent three rounds of surgery, and an advanced medical scan test that was recently conducted turned up no sign of cancer, he said.

Westlund, who’s married and has two children, said he feels great physically. And he said surviving lung cancer has given him a sense of serenity about his life and that he has no fears about jumping into the rough-and-tumble of a statewide political race.

“Getting involved at this level of politics, and being able go around the state and speak about things I believe in, is adding to my sense of purpose. It’s giving a great deal of meaning to my life,” he says.