HD-50: Twenty-four hour campaign cycle

State House candidates Rep. John Lim (R-Gresham) and Greg Matthews (D-Portland) have been keeping some unusual campaign hours during this election cycle.

Matthews (D-Portland) works all night for the Gresham Fire Department before taking advantage of the daylight hours to campaign.

Meanwhile, Lim is up at dawn to greet Gresham residents at the MAX line and talk about the community’s issues before they head off to work during the day.

“He’s also been to every door in Gresham,” Lim’s campaign manager Ryan Dale said. “It’s important for everyone to see how hard he’s working.”

Oregon’s state legislature is a part-time job, but both candidates have spent more time on the campaign trail than most people do at their daily job. At least, that’s how Matthews operates; working all night, campaigning during the day. In the end, the Democrat may take over this moderately-Republican seat.

“You’re walking and you’re exhausted, but you do it,” Matthews said. “You think about how your aunt gave you money, and you know you can’t let her down.”

Rep. John Lim is a fighter as well. And at 72-years-old, he is in the political fight of his life.

The HD-50 race is a showdown between one of the state’s most experienced legislators and one of the newest faces on the Oregon political scene. Lim has been serving Gresham from Salem since 1992, first serving in the State Senate until 2000, and then serving again in the State House in 2004.

“Representative Lim has always been very independent minded,” Dale said. “He’s always voted and spoke for what is best for the community, not along party lines.”

Matthews, who is running for his first elected office, said he did not choose to challenge Lim on the actions the two-term representative and two-term state senator took in the State Capitol. Rather, he chose to challenge Lim because of what Lim didn’t do.

“It’s time to get someone who wants to work on the issues, work with the town,” Matthews said. “If I thought John was effective, I wouldn’t be running. If he was so instrumental, why did the mayor endorsed me?”

Matthews said the campaigns have had skirmishes on issues ranging from campaign sign placement to Matthews appearing in campaign literature in his firefighter uniform. A city attorney ruled in favor of Matthews saying that since the picture was taken before August, it could be used in the literature.

Dale said that Lim has had to defend against Matthews’ attacks as well, especially regarding his public safety record. Matthews and FuturePAC have been sending constituents mailers that Dale said misrepresented Lim’s accomplishments. The campaign has started going on offense, recently releasing a campaign ad accusing Matthews of wanting to raise gas taxes.

“You can only take so much before you defend yourself,” Dale said.

Dale has also questioned Matthews’ experience and legislative beliefs

“Matthews voted for Bush in 2004,” Dale said. “It’s opportunistic to vote for Bush in 2004 and then be running as a liberal Democrat in 2008. That’s hypocritical. The last thing Gresham needs is an inexperienced leader, and an undecided one as well.”

Newspapers have been split in their support. The Oregonian backed Lim, saying he was a voice of moderation and experience. But the Gresham Outlook chose to back the firefighter, saying that he was a moderate voice that would be a good voice for the moderate district.

That leaves money. Matthews has been getting individual donors, as well as support from FuturePAC. But he is still running against an incumbent that has done a very good job at creating a large war chest.

“I can’t match John’s money,” Matthews said. “He has the ability to call today and have a commercial tomorrow.”

Surging Democratic voter registration in Multnomah County will help Matthews if he wants to takeover Lim’s seat. And in the end it may not be the election atmosphere, not Matthews or Lim, that can control the outcome of this race.

“This is a tough political climate because the Democrats and Republicans are so divided,” Dale said. “It’s very difficult when all people are looking for is a capital ‘D’ next to your name.”

The District: Consists of East Multnomah county including Gresham and the very eastern edge of Portland.

The Demographics: Lim is certainly not used to such a challenge. He is the longest-serving legislator in Salem, and in 2006 he won reelection with almost 63 percent of the vote. But the Democratic tide is rising in East County, and HD-26 has 14,348 registered Democrats compared to 10,963 registered Republicans.

The Issues: According to his legislative website, Lim has prided himself on working for minority rights, as well as developing international trade and working on the public welfare system. Matthews seeks to be a representative more involved in community issues. Matthews, who is a former soldier as well as a former police officer, is also looking to secure more public safety funding for Gresham and on TRI-MET for Gresham residents.