To The Editor,
I read the recent article regarding Mr. Springston and his decision to end his campaign for county commissioner because of pressure from members of the Wasco County Republicans. I wanted to take this opportunity to educate our community about the nature of nonpartisan races, and also about how the Wasco County Democrats support our Democratic candidates differently from how the Republicans operate: we don't fund nonpartisan races.
In a partisan race, the party members (Democrat, Republican, Independent Party, etc.) vote in the May primary to choose the candidate who will represent their party in the November election. In Oregon, we have a closed primary which means that only members of the party can vote to choose the candidate in a partisan race. In a nonpartisan race, the party does not choose the candidate, and in fact you could have several members of one party all running against each other. Furthermore, every voter in the district votes in the May primary for whichever candidate they want – whether any of the candidates are a member of their party or not. If a candidate gets more than half the votes, then they win in the May election and that race is completed.
The Wasco County Democrats do not choose who runs for nonpartisan races. This year we had two Democrats who were considering the same race for county commissioner and we expressed our support and encouragement to both of them.
We do not make a practice of giving financial support in nonpartisan races. What we do offer to all candidates is access to a database that helps them to run their campaign. This has a financial value (not determined by us but by the state party) so it shows up as an “in-kind” donation by the Wasco County Democrats. Some candidates choose to use the database and some don't, that's up to the candidate.
Mr Springston is wrong about the Wasco County Democrats when he stated "It doesn’t matter if you’re a Democrat or a Republican, all they want to do is protect their own interest, and they will push anybody out with new good fresh ideas.”
The Wasco County Democrats are very much interested in new faces and new voices and we make a sincere effort to educate, encourage, and support our candidates. It is incredibly hard for people to step up and put themselves out there to campaign and then to take up the job of governing, and while we may disagree with some of them, we respect anyone who takes on that responsibility.
It's unfortunate that members of the Wasco County Republican party feel the need to pre-select the candidates for nonpartisan races, and feel the need to fund those candidates with GOP party funds. It creates an uneven playing field in our local elections. We think it should be the voters who decide who they want in office in these nonpartisan races, not party insiders.
- Serena Smith
Chair of the Wasco County Democrats