Last election cycle, the Oregon secretary of state’s race was filled with a lot of political drama.
This May, the two leading candidates to fill the state’s second highest ranking job — Democratic candidates Tobias Read and James Manning — are intentionally keeping things more low key.
“I know I’m not the most exciting candidate that you and others have interviewed,” Read said. “I think the Secretary of State’s office has seen a lot of drama and we could stand a bit less of that right now.”
Both Read and Manning said their primary goal is to restore trust to an office that oversees elections, audits state agencies, sits on the state’s land use board and, in rare cases, would take over as governor.
Read, who has served two consecutive terms as state treasurer and cannot run for the role again, pointed out during those eight years, there have been four different secretaries of state.
In a shocking fall from grace, the previously elected Secretary of State Shemia Fagan announced she was stepping down before her term was over. Her announcement came after revelations, first reported by Willamette Week, that she had signed a lucrative contract with a cannabis company at the same time her office audited state regulations on cannabis business. The owners of the cannabis company were also high-profile Democratic donors.
Dennis Richardson, who was the first Republican to hold statewide office in nearly four decades, died while still serving his term in 2019 after battling brain cancer. Bev Clarno served the remainder of Richardson’s term. After Fagan stepped down, Gov. Tina Kotek tapped LaVonne Griffin-Valade to fill the remainder of Fagan’s term. Griffin-Valade is not running for the seat.
“I think that level of turnover and instability has really hampered the ability and the capacity of the office to do the work that Oregonians depend on and I can help with that,” Read said.
Manning was initially appointed to the state Senate in 2016 and reelected twice. He said his background serving in the U.S. Army gave him experience that would help him oversee the audit division of the secretary of state. Manning said his time in the army gave him the skills to track billions of dollars of equipment.
“Audits can do a number of things. They can point out what’s working well in an agency. They can also help us understand where there are gaps or whether there are opportunities to improve,” Manning said. “My intention is not to conduct an audit as a point your finger.”
The two Democrats consider themselves friends — both have long been fixtures in Salem and their values largely align.
But they are willing to point out distinctions.
Manning, for example, was quick to point out if he were elected and on the state’s land board, he would never sell the state’s lands.
The state land board is made up of the governor, the state treasurer and the secretary of state and they oversee the Department of State Lands. Since the 1800s, when the federal government gave Oregon nearly 3.4 million acres to manage for the use of schools, the money generated from managing these lands goes to the Common School Fund. The three executives are in charge of Oregon school lands and waterways and have oversight over the fund.
The fund is currently valued at $2.3 billion.
“I’m committed to Oregon preserving our waterways, our public lands, and our public forests for generations to come,” Manning said. “I will not sell our state lands.”
As state treasurer, Read served on the state land use board and in early 2017 he voted to sell the Elliott State Forest. It was a move that he said at the time had to do with the state’s fiduciary responsibilities. It led to conservation groups and public lands advocates protesting outside his office and urging him to rethink his position. Read ultimately did vote to keep the Southwest Oregon forest in the public’s domain.
The secretary of state’s office is also often considered a launching pad for the state’s top job.
While Fagan was running for the seat, she was constantly peppered with questions about whether she really wanted to just so she could be governor. In 2015, Kate Brown was serving in the role when former governor John Kitzhaber resigned. Brown then became governor.
That theme hasn’t dominated this current election cycle as much even though it’s no secret Read would like to be governor. He lost the Democratic primary in 2022 to Kotek.
“It would be disingenuous to say anything other than yeah, I ran for governor,” Read said. “But the world changes in unexpected ways and I’m running for secretary of state because I think there is a real need there and I think it’s one I can help with.”
Manning for his part has no interest in being governor. The current Senate pro tem from Eugene said “I’m not running to be governor. I am a public servant, I am not a politician.”
Manning spent 24 years in the Army and served as an inspector general. He was appointed to the Senate in late 2016 and has since been reelected twice. His role of Senate president pro tem means he oversees the Senate chamber when President Rob Wagner is absent.
Manning said he has a track record looking out for Oregon voters and election workers, noting he pushed for paid postage on ballot envelopes and called for protecting election workers from harassment.
Read spent a decade in the state House of Representatives before winning the treasurer job in 2016. He pointed to creating the nation’s first opt-out retirement plan that will help thousands of Oregonians have a retirement fund, a plan called OregonSaves. Read said his work to streamline the state’s unclaimed property program has made it easier for Oregonians to recapture lost assets, such as forgotten bank accounts or old checks. Read noted the treasury department also conducts audits, so he has experience in the arena. He was reluctant to say specific areas where he would audit if he were elected.
“I’ve joked that when you are the state treasurer, everyone has a stock tip. When you’re running for secretary of state, everyone has an idea of something that should be audited,” Read said. “I think it requires prioritization and for me, that needs to be based on …One, where we’re spending a lot of money and where the well being of Oregonians is at stake.”
The next secretary of state will have a role in ensuring the state’s new campaign finance limits take effect successfully in 2027. The office will be charged with improving Orestar, the landing page for tracking campaign finance reporting, which can often be slow and is a cumbersome search tool.
“I’ll put in a search term, then go feed the dog, check on how dinner’s doing, come back and maybe it’s still spinning,” Read said of trying to find information in Orestar.
Both candidates supported the undertaking to put limits on campaign cash and said they will push to make the system more transparent.
So far, Read’s ability to raise money for his campaign bid has surpassed Manning’s. Read has brought in upwards of $500,000 to Manning’s little more than $140,000. Other Democratic candidates include James Crary, Dave Stauffer and Paul Wells.
On the Republican side, Sen. Dennis Linthicum, who can no longer seek reelection in the state Senate after participating in the Senate Republican walkout of 2023, is running. Brent Barker and Tim McCloud will also be on the ticket.
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