Political Desk

Published: March 13, 2008

Jim Bunn (left) will seek the Republican nomination in House District 24; Democrat Kevin Nortness files to run in Senate District 12.

By DAVID BATES
Of the News-Register

Jim Bunn spiced up the Republican primary in Yamhill County’s House District 24 with an eleventh-hour filing Tuesday in Salem. The former congressman thus became the third candidate trying to persuade fellow Republicans he’s the one who would make the strongest candidate in the November general election.

His surprise filing marks a return to politics by a family that has produced politicians at all levels of government, from city council all the way up to the U.S. Congress, where Bunn served in the 1990s. He is one of three brothers claiming past service in the Oregon Legislature.

Meanwhile, it appears Polk County Republican Brian Boquist won’t get a free pass after all for Gary George’s seat in Senate District 12, which encompasses Yamhill and Polk counties.

Literally minutes before the filing deadline of 5 p.m. Tuesday, Willamina Democrat Kevin Nortness, an attorney who serves on his local city council, filed his candidacy. They will run unopposed in the May primary, then face off in the November general election.

Bunn, 51, will appear on the ballot along with two men mounting their first campaigns.

Jim Weidner, 38, a software developer and restaurant owner, filed in September. Ed Glad, a 51-year-old carpenter with a trade union background and lobbying experience in Salem, filed in December. Both live in Yamhill.

The winner of the three-way Republican primary will face McMinnville attorney Al Hansen in November. The veteran of two countywide district attorney races, he’s the lone Democrat on the May ballot.

The winner will succeed Donna Nelson, who has held the seat since 2000. She’s giving it up to seek a seat on the Yamhill County Board of Commissioners.

Bunn, one-time head of Oregon’s Republican Party, was appointed to the Oregon Senate in 1987 and elected in his own right twice. In 1994, he won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon’s 5th District.

He was defeated two years later by Darlene Hooley, who has served ever since but is giving the seat up this year. Having already acquired status as a reserve corrections officer, he went to work in the Yamhill County Jail, where he handles the training of new employees.

Bunn said he waited to see if someone with legislative experience might file, but lacking a last-minute filing by Nelson or some other veteran politician, he went for it at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

“Yamhill County is losing two politicians who have been in the Legislature for a lot of years,” he said. “I think the experience I’ve had in the Legislature gives me a real advantage in being able to start serving in January.”

Bunn said he likely shares many views with Weidner and Glad, but that for him, “experience is one of the keys.”

“It’s going to be important to have a voice to say, ‘We can’t go out and raise taxes,’ but to also have some alternatives,” he said. “It’s not just about saying ‘no’ to everything.”

Over on the Senate side, it seemed for a while that Boquist, who wants to jump from the House to the Senate, might find himself with no challenger from either party. He enjoys strong name familiarity from two strong but ultimately losing congressional runs against Hooley.

Nortness said Democrats didn’t put much effort into recruiting someone to challenge Boquist, as he’s considered an able campaigner in a conservative district that trends Republican.

“The party’s got its practical concerns,” he said. “Tactically, you want to hang on to your majority and not put too much energy into picking up another seat.”

But Nortness, who has done political consulting for several prominent Northwest Democrats, including Bob Straub, Frank Church and Phil Keisling, couldn’t resist. Citing concerns about a recession, he says bread-and-butter issues will be crucial in the race.

“It’s going to be about the bottom line,” he said. “I think the economy is going to be huge.”