Several folks have asked me what I plan to do if elected SOS.
- Keep Government Honest. As a journalist for more than 20 years, my job was to investigate the facts and bring people the truth. As Secretary of State, I’ll be doing very much the same thing, primarily overseeing elections and auditing programs to keep government honest.
- Make Secretary of State Nonpartisan Position. It is hard for the public to be confident that the Secretary of State’s office will fairly and impartially oversee elections, whether for candidates or ballot measures, when the SOS is selected in a partisan election. There is no Democrat or Republican way to be fair. Fairness starts by leaving partisanship outside the door of the Secretary of State’s office.
- Keep Elections Fair and Open. Only people legally entitled to vote should vote, but everyone who has the right to vote should be encouraged to vote and every vote should count. That goes for signature on initiatives and citizens referrals as well. No one should have to ever wonder whether their vote or their signature might be disallowed because of the personal or political views of the Secretary of State.
- Audit Government Programs for efficiency and effectiveness. The Secretary of State should be responsible not only for financial audits that make sure every dollar is accounted for but should also conduct performance audits to make sure government programs are accomplishing their objectives as efficiently and effectively as possible.
- The Secretary of State works for the people, not the political parties. As Secretary of State, I will never forget that I work for you, not the political parties or any special interest group. My goal is to maximize citizen participation in government by building their trust and confidence in the public process.
Making the office non-partisan is huge, in my opinion. I think it will lead to another objective; increasing voter participation. It should lead to voter’s having more faith in the system.
People need to be able to respect the office of Secretary, and its not been like that recently. Its probably partially due to the partisianship.
And can I just say, I respect you for having only five goals on the site? So many people promise the moon to voters, and you, Rick, are being at least mildly realistic in setting only a handful of things (and limiting them to things the Secretary of State actually does).
One of the main things for me is this: I don’t want to be your voice in Salem. I want to be “A” Voice that opens doors so that yours can be heard.
I want to insure that the initiative system is easily accessible for all Oregonians. It’s the one voice we have when we don’t think the legislature is listening or at least responding to our needs.
As I talk with folks, and I’m talking with lots of people, I’m finding they are very frustrated.
The more you do this, the more the problems begin to arise. I’ll have more to tell you about in the future.
I thank you for your support but just a reminder, this is not about me. This is about you and what you want for Oregon.