Oregon Treasury employees wined and dined by investment firms they oversee
The Oregonian
April 11, 2010
by Les Zaitz and Ted Sickinger
The Pebble Beach Golf Links, with Carmel beach in the background, is one of many luxury locations private investment companies use when they host investment officers from the Oregon Treasury.A limousine was waiting for John Hershey, an Oregon state investment officer, when he flew into New York for a meeting just before Thanksgiving.

So was a $495-a-night room at The Pierre Hotel, which purrs online that "even in a city where exclusive luxuries are the norm, there is one hotel that is far more rare and special."

Following an afternoon meeting, Hershey was offered cocktails and dinner at Guastavino's, which boasts "the highest staff-to-guest ratio in the city."

Hershey was in town to monitor an investment firm, and it picked up his tab for the flight, the limo, two nights at The Pierre and dinner.

That wasn't a rare occurrence among the 13 employees at the Oregon State Treasurer's office responsible for watching over $67 billion in state investments.

When you're filling out your Oregon income tax Form 40 (pdf), you can donate $3 per person to the political party of your choice. Enter "506" for the Progressive Party in the box at line 68a for you and 68b for your spouse. Then fill in either $3 or $6 on line 68.

Note:  The line numbers seem to change just about every year.  So just look for the "Political party $3 checkoff and enter 506 as the party code.

The Oregon Department of Revenue says:

You may contribute $3 of your refund to an Oregon political party.  If you or your spouse/RDP want to donate, enter $3 on line 68. If you and your spouse/RDP want to donate, enter $6 on line 68.

Oregon's expensive legislative campaigns
By Jeff Mapes, The Oregonian
April 06, 2010

The National Institute on Money in State Politics has a new report confirming what I've heard several times before: Oregon has among the most expensive legislative races in the country.

The non-partisan group issued a new report on the 2008 elections around the country, where fundraising for the first time topped $1 billion for legislative races. Oregon legislative candidates raised an average of nearly $250,000 - almost three times the national average of about $87,000.

Even that figure is deceptively low. Oregon didn't have any real competitive Senate races in 2008, so races in that chamber were unusually inexpensive that year.

If you just look at the House races, candidates in Oregon overall raised more than their counterparts in all but six much larger states: California, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas and Virginia.

When you figure the cost of a House campaign per resident, Oregon is second in the nation. Here's my back-of-the-envelope calculations based on the report:

1. New Jersey.....$4.41 per resident
2. Oregon...........$4.16 per resident
3. Virginia...........$4.00 per resident
4. Illinois.............$3.06 per resident
5. Nevada...........$2.97 per resident
6. Ohio...............$2.88 per resident

It's no mystery why Oregon legislative campaigns are so much more expensive than most states. Oregon is one of just six states with no limits on contributions - and no limits on direct corporate and union giving to campaigns.

© 2010 OregonLive.com. All rights reserved.

A Tea Party Without Nuts
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
March 24, 2010

President Obama’s winning passage of national health care is both exhilarating and sobering. Covering so many uninsured Americans is a historic achievement. But the president had to postpone trips, buy off companies and cut every conceivable side deal to just barely make it happen, without a single Republican vote. If the Democrats now lose seats in the midterm elections, we’re headed for even worse gridlock, even though we still have so much more nation-building for America to do — from education to energy to environment to innovation to tax policy. That is why I want my own Tea Party. I want a Tea Party of the radical center.