African-American candidates emerge for local, state offices

Name recognition could help former treasurer in statewide race

By Steve Law

The Portland Tribune, Mar 10, 2010

Former state Treasurer Jim Hill of Salem is a favorite to regain his old seat in the May primary election.

Tribune File Photo

Local African-American candidates got shut out in the 2008 elections, despite Barack Obama’s historic victory that year that inspired huge black voter turnout.

But with the unexpected death of Oregon Treasurer Ben Westlund Sunday from cancer, two strong African-American candidates emerged overnight: Jim Hill for Oregon treasurer and Karol Collymore for Multnomah County commissioner.

A third candidate, former state Sen. Margaret Carter, withdrew Wednesday afternoon from the Multnomah County Chair race. Carter told reporters she wanted to stay in her state Department of Human Services job to have an impact across the state.

Often black candidates in Oregon are hampered by a lack of campaign cash, and, except for some North and Northeast Portland districts, the state’s relatively low African-American population.

But with less than nine weeks to go before the May 18 primary, name recognition figures to be more decisive than campaign cash – especially since most candidates in those three races didn’t even know they’d run until news of Westlund’s death surfaced Monday.

The next day was filing deadline, and Gov. Ted Kulongoski set off a game of would-be musical chairs with a 7 a.m. announcement that Multnomah County Chair Ted Wheeler will fill Westlund’s seat the rest of the year. Voters will elect a successor for the subsequent two years of Westlund’s term in November.

Immediately Wheeler dropped his bid for re-election to county chair and filed to run for treasurer.

Then Multnomah County Commissioner Jeff Cogen dropped his re-election bid in hopes of winning Wheeler’s post as county chair.

Then Collymore, Cogen’s communications and project manager, jumped into the race to replace her boss.

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