State treasurer candidates spar over executive, legislative experience in first debate

PORTLAND -- State Treasurer candidates Allen Alley (R-Lake Oswego) and State Sen. Ben Westlund (D-Tumalo) used their first debate Friday to lay out their logic as to whether business experience or legislative experience would be better for leading Oregon through troubled economic times.

Both candidates took questions from the audience and each other at the Portland City Club sponsored appearance at the Governor’s Hotel. And both candidates lobbied hard to say they were the ones with the experience to lead Oregon to financial stability.

“As co-chair of the Ways and Means Committee, I shepherded Oregon through some of her best times and worst times,” Westlund said, referring to the 2003 legislative session when Oregon slipped into one of its worst recessions in history.  “When you are in that type of leadership position, you are managing not just the dollars, but the impact on real Oregonians. When you are in charge of making those decisions and recommendations, that’s the best executive experience there is.”

According to the latest poll, Westlund is enjoying a 12-point lead in the race, 34 percent to 22 percent. Alley, the former CEO of Pixelworks, is hoping to pick up a large chunk of the 40 percent of undecided voters by touting his business experience. He talked of that experience several times during the debate.

“All the time in government is spent worrying about spending,” Alley said, drawing a distinction between Westlund’s legislative experience and his corporate experience. “It’s so much harder to create than to spend. And in business you spend time creating.”

The candidates took questions that were submitted by the audience beforehand. The questions covered a variety of topics ranging from the Land Board – on which the state treasurer sits – to Wall Street, and sales taxes.

“It takes political courage to touch that 3rd rail of Oregon politics,” Westlund said, referring to the contentious sales tax. “And I say yes, I do support fiscal reform, I do support the tax.”

Alley, the former deputy chief of staff to Gov. Ted Kulongoski, had to fend off a question as to why his former boss endorsed his opponent. Alley charged that the decision was more a political calculation than a personal one.

“I had a great relationship with the Governor and everyone in the office,” Alley said. “I consider everyone in that office my friends. People probably saw that we had a great working relationship.”

But Westlund argued that he had spent hours with the Governor talking about state finances, and that the state’s chief executive endorsed the Tumalo State Senator based on his merits.

“Prior to the Governor endorsing me, we had long talks on preserving those dollars,” Westlund said, referring to the public employee retirement fund. “I can assure you that while partisan politics is part of our lives, the governor’s endorsement is part of his belief that I am best candidate in the race.”

The candidates were also given an opportunity to question each other on issues important to the treasury. Westlund, who earlier urged the importance of the state treasuerer’s position on the Land Board, quizzed Alley on Rogue River navigability. But Alley turned the question more toward a waterfront Coos Bay museum.

Alley then had the opportunity to question Westlund. He quizzed the State Senator on issues ranging from legislative experience to return on investments, and he also asked a question that Westlund probably has not had since his campaign began: if the state senator from Tumalo could be any kind of animal, what would he be? Westlund had to think long and hard.

“In the technical sense of the word, we are mammals; a species of mammal. I kind of like where I am,” he said, before invoking Thursday’s Oregon State victory over the University of Southern California. “If I could be an animal for a day, yesterday I would have been a beaver.”