Jim Nicita, a land-use and environmental attorney, was elected to the City Commission of Oregon City. Nicita was endorsed by the Independent Party of Oregon.

Read about it here: Nicita beats incumbent Mabee in Oregon City

Independent Party caps off historic gains in voter rolls with historic election night.

The Independent Party of Oregon capped off 2 years of unprecedented growth -- registering more than 41,000 new members in 22 months -- with the most successful election in state history for a minor political party.

The Independent Party became the first minor political party in Oregon since 1887 to have its cross-nominated candidates win statewide office. The party's statewide cross-nominees were Jeff Merkley for U.S. Senate and Ben Westlund for State Treasurer, both of whom vigorously sought the Independent Party's nomination (in addition to their Democratic Party nominations). The last statewide officeholder to win the cross-nomination of a minor political party was Sylvester Pennoyer, who was elected Governor after receiving the nominations of the Democratic Party and the People's Party.

Kate Brown, the new Secretary of State, also sought and received the endorsement of the Independent Party of Oregon.

Joel Haugen, the Independent Party's nominee for U.S. House of Representatives in Oregon's 1st Congressional District, received 18% of the vote, one of the strongest showings for a minor party candidate seeking congressional office in Oregon history.

State Representative Vicki Berger (House District 20), a Republican who was cross-nominated by the Independent Party, was one of the few Republicans in a targeted race to retain her seat.

IPO candidates also fared amazingly well when facing major party candidates one-on-one. Pete Belcastro (I) collected 39% of the vote against Peter Buckley (D) in House District 5 (Jacksonville-Ashland). Terry Rilling (I) received 39% of the vote against Chuck Riley (D) in House District 29 (Hillsboro-Forest Grove). Keith Wangle (I) earned 29% of the vote against Dennis Richardson (R) in House District 4 (Grants Pass-Central Point). Both Buckley and Richardson are in prominent party leadership positions in the Legislature.

Voters Pamphlet Error Costs State $48,000

by Chris Lehman
October 17, 2008

Some mistakes are easier to correct than others. In Oregon, one Congressional candidate did a double take when he saw state officials listed the wrong party affiliation for him in the voters’ pamphlet. Salem correspondent Chris Lehman explains.

Joel Haugen won the Republican primary in the 1st Congressional District last May. But he switched to the Independent Party after a falling-out with local Republicans.

They were upset at his endorsement of Democrat Barack Obama. But somehow state elections officials failed to change his party affiliation on the voters’ pamphlet.

Haugen says the error was discovered when the pamphlet arrived in his mailbox.

Joel Haugen: “Well actually, I didn’t even open it up. My wife opened it up and she what ‘What’s this?’ She said ‘You’re listed as a Republican.’ And I said ‘Oh, that’s interesting.’ I was actually quite astounded that was the case. But you know, it was a clerical error I suppose.”

It’s an expensive clerical error. The state is spending $48,000 to mail postcards to 1st District voters informing them of the mistake.

Haugen and three other minor party candidates are trying to unseat incumbent Democrat David Wu.

Kate Brown picks up Independent Party endorsement

by Janie Har
October 07, 2008

The Independent Party has endorsed Democratic Sen. Kate Brown for secretary of state.

The party, Oregon's third largest with 33,000 registered voters, applauded her willingness to put a referral on the ballot asking voters to limit campaign contributions. Such a change would have to be in the state Constitution, and Brown, a former Senate majority leader, has never voiced such clear support for limits.

In her response to the Independent Party's questionnaire, Brown wrote: "I generally have reservations about making changes to the constitution, but in this case I see no other options."

The Republican in the race, former television news anchorman Rick Dancer, wrote: "If Oregonians want campaign limits they have the ability to place them on the ballot through the initiative process. Any limits in the future need to apply to both individuals and groups."

The Pacific Green Party candidate, Seth Woolley, also supports a limit on contributions.

Kate Brown states her support for an Oregon constitutional amendment to allow limits on political contributions in state and local races.

With 33,000 registered members, Independent Party of Oregon supports candidates who take action to increase government accountability, including campaign finance reform. The IPO endorsement hinged on the fact that Kate Brown agrees that the Oregon Legislature should refer to voters an amendment to the Oregon Constitution to allow limits on political campaign contributions in state and local races.

OR-1: Haugen applauds DeFazio for voting against bailout bill

By Britten Chase
October 4, 2008

Congressional candidate Joel Haugen (I-Scappoose) expressed disappointment in the passage of the Wall Street bailout bill Friday, but he did applaud U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Springfield) for voting against the package.

"If the old adage 'haste makes waste' holds true, we are in for the mother of all taxpayer waste," Haugen said in response to the bailout bill that allocated close to $850 billion of taxpayer dollars toward bailing out financial institutions.

Haugen campaign manager Sarah Tiedemann refused to comment when asked what the campaign thought about Rep. David Wu (D-Portland), whom Haugen is challenging, switching his vote to support the issue. Tiedemann said Haugen did not want his campaign to go negative and simply wanted to express support for DeFazio, who had worked to come up with an alternative to the plan.

Here is a press release issues by the Ben Westlund campaign:

Independent Party Cross-Nominates Westlund for State Treasurer
Focus on Fair Elections, Campaign Finance, and Restoring the Initiative

SALEM, Ore. (August 11, 2008) --- State Senator and Democratic nominee for Oregon State Treasurer Ben Westlund (D-Tumalo) has now also received the nomination of the Independent Party of Oregon in his race to be Oregon's next State Treasurer. With more than 23,000 members, the Independent Party of Oregon is the third largest political party in the state and supports candidates who fight for good government and for the rights of citizens.

GOP maverick has own approach: I Like Ike

by David Sarasohn
August 07, 2008

Joel Haugen supports Barack Obama for president and Jeff Merkley for the U.S. Senate, backs gay marriage and strongly opposes the Iraq war.

He's also the Republican nominee for the House of Representatives in the 1st District, against Rep. David Wu.

As you might expect, this involves a certain awkwardness.