"Lawmakers Lock Out Third Parties" says Portland Observer

Lawmakers Lock Out Third Parties
Proposal would shake up election system

by Jake Thomas
The Portland Observer
June 17, 2009

A bill that could bolster third parties and alter Oregon's politics might die a silent death in committee as the legislature wraps up its current session.

Oregon House Bill 2414 could change the way politicians build electoral coalitions and would give third parties more clout by allowing them to formally nominate candidates from the Democratic and Republican parties.

Under such a system a candidate would run in either the Democratic or Republican party primaries, and then could be endorsed by up to two of the state's six minor parties, ending the "spoiler" factor often associated with third-party efforts.
It's similar to "fusion" voting, which is practiced primarily in New York State. Under this scheme a candidate can run on the ballot lines of several parties. Since third parties can withhold or give support they can apply pressure on politicians.

Barbara Dudley, co-chair of the Oregon Working Families Party, says that the New York legislature easily raised taxes to support social services because of influence from third parties, where in Oregon the legislature narrowly eked out a tax hike after a great deal of backroom horse trading.

"You get a better idea of where the base is and you get a better dialog," said Linda Williams, the chair of the centrist Oregon Independent Party.

The bill stems from a lawsuit filed last year by the Independents against the secretary of state over the candidacy of Joel Haugen, a Republican challenger in the Oregon's first congressional district. Haugen, who endorsed Barack Obama, got the nod from Independents, but the secretary refused to put the party label on the ballot alongside the Republicans.

Although the bill overwhelmingly passed the House, proponents worry that they'll see a repeat of last session when the Democratic leadership let a similar bill languish in committee.

The bill has been co-sponsored by nearly half of the senate and not a single person spoke out against the bill during public hearings. However, Senate Majority Leader Richard Devlin, D-Tualatin, is officially neutral, which leads Dudley to suspect that key Democratic constituencies like the Oregon Education Association (which opposes the bill) are conspiring to quash it.

"You'd be viewed as such an undemocratic curmudgeon to oppose it," said Dudley.

There's no strong opposition coming from the Republican side, according to Michael Gay, communications director for the Senate Republicans.

Gay says that support from other parties might expand the appeal of the Republicans, which have drubbing in recent years.

Bill Lunch, chair of Oregon Sate University's department of political science, says that the bill would most likely hurt the Republican Party, since minor parties like the Libertarian and Constitution parties would tug at the party's fault lines.

However, it could do the same to the Dems down the road, which he suspects is the reason why it isn't moving.

"If you're the majority leader you don't want to do things that could erode the support of your party," he said.