Candidates Forum: Candidates for the Office of Oregon Secretary of State. Plan to attend this Friday.

 

OFIR recommends Knute Buehler for Secretary of State.

 

This year five candidates are vying to become the next Oregon Secretary of State. The Secretary of State is a constitutional officer and statewide elected official whose duties include serving as:

The Secretary is responsible for five divisions:

The Secretary of State also serves on the State Lands Board and chairs the Oregon Sustainability Board. In Oregon, the Secretary of State is first in line of succession to the Governor. Please join us Friday, October 19, to meet the candidates:

KATE BROWN (Democrat) Secretary of State Kate Brown holds an under-graduate degree from the University of Colorado and attended Lewis and Clark College where she earned a law degree and a certificate in Environmental Law. She practiced family and juvenile law, taught at Portland State University and worked with the Juvenile Rights Project. She was appointed to the Oregon House of Representatives in 1991 and twice reelected. In 1996 she won a seat in the State Senate. In 2004, Kate Brown was chosen to serve as the Senate Majority Leader. In 2008, She was elected to serve as Oregon’s Secretary of State. Brown has received awards from the Oregon Commission for Women, the Military Voter Protection Project, and the Oregon State Firefighters Council, among others.

KNUTE BUEHLER(Republican, Independent)
Knute Buehler is the Republican and Independent Party Nominee for Oregon Secretary of State. This is his first run for public office. He is a physician and business owner, and attended Oregon State University where he became OSU’s first Rhodes Scholar. He earned a master’s degree in politics and economics from Oxford University, and attended Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. In Bend, Dr. Buehler helped build and manage a medical clinic that employs 170 staff members. He developed innovative computer assisted surgery techniques, and received patents for products widely distributed. Buehler serves on the boards of the Ford Family Foundation and St. Charles Medical Center. He has worked on initiatives to reform state election laws.

Bruce A. Knight (Libertarian)
Bruce A. Knight, of Portland, represents the Libertarian Party as its Secretary of State candidate. In 1996, he ran as a Libertarian for the District 3 Congressional position. Knight has an Associate’s Degree from the University of New York and has studied computer science and business data processing in various institutions. Knight is currently a team leader at the Portland State University Bookstore.

Robert Wolfe(Progressive)
Robert Wolfe is the Progressive Party’s candidate for the Secretary of State. He lives in Portland where he is the owner of The Oregon Pinot Noir Club, described by Wolfe as “the nation's most significant national retailer of Oregon Pinot Noir and other high-end Northwest wines.” Wolfe is a former, award-winning journalist and a prominent wine writer. Wolfe wants to “reclaim the initiative process, get big money out of Oregon politics, stop government incompetence and save the state forests from clear-cutting.”

Seth Woolley (Pacific Green)
The Pacific Green nominee for Secretary of State, Seth Woolley, lives in Portland after attending Willamette University in Salem. He is a software engineer with an extensive background in computer security auditing. Woolley describes himself as the only candidate with a strong, progressive platform based on healthier native forests, real election reform, and better, transparent auditing.

Please join us Friday, October 19, 2012, as we host the five candidates for Secretary of State at Willamette Heritage Center at the Mill in the Dye House. For lunch reservations email rsvp@salemcityclub.com before noon Wednesday, October 17, 2012. Parking is free. Doors open at 11:30 AM. For more information on this program please go to www.salemcityclub.com.