The Warning

For the past 5+ years, Representative Greg Macpherson has represented my district in the Oregon House. Now he's announced that he's planning to run for statewide office, running for the position that Attorney General Hardy Myers plans to vacate at the end of this term. I don't normally use this forum to endorse or savage candidates, but I'll make an exception for Mr. Macpherson. I urge PERS retirees to remember that Mr. Macpherson was Governor Kulongoski's hand-picked water boy to carry out the PERS reforms in 2003. Macpherson voted against PERS members and retirees on EVERY measure that came before the House. He also worked together (along with Rep Tim Knopp) with Senator Tony Corcoran on the compromises needed to get HB 2001, HB 2003, HB 2004, HB 2005, HB 2020, and HB 3020 passed in the 2003 Legislature. Mr. Macpherson is no friend of mine and I hope not yours. We have the opportunity to use our influence to prevent Mr. Macpherson from having another turn in the Oregon House and preventing him from serving as Oregon's Attorney General. I'm glad John Kroger (Lewis & Clark Law School) will be announcing his candidacy in mid-September. Perhaps others will pile on soon. The bottom line is that if ALL PERS members and PERS retirees work together, we will succeed in throwing out Mr. Macpherson from a future term in the Legislature and preventing him from being the nominee for the State Attorney General's position. Frankly, I don't think we could do much worse than Mr. Macpherson. He may be a nice guy - I've met him a few times - but I don't want him as the State's chief law enforcement guy and, ironically, the lawyer to whom PERS directs its legal questions. You want to send a warning shot across the bow in a statewide election. Here's your chance. Defeat Mr. Macpherson and let him know that PERS retirees have memories like elephants. He doesn't have the safe cover of a district that has long-been a Democratic stronghold. Whatever your party, help defeat this potential scourge on the landscape. With friends like Mr. Macpherson, we don't need any enemies.