Editorial

Be careful, Mr. Westlund

Representative Ben Westlund has accepted the job of campaign manager for governor candidate Kevin Mannix.

To improve the chances of his right wing candidate (the most conservative of three Republicans who ran for the job, Mannix was not even the first choice of most Republicans), Westlund said Mannix would reduce government regulation by 50 percent.

And just which 50 percent would that be, Mr. Westlund? It is dishonest to make such a statement without providing details.

Regulations that protect our drinking water from pollution by those who give big money to Mannix? The rules that keep developers from planting a big box store in the middle of a field of strawberries? After all, the public can pay for the roads, and the developer has given Mannix a big box of cash. Health insurance? Mannix thinks the working poor don't deserve health care they can't pay for.

And of course, for Mannix, deregulation translates into more cops and fewer teachers.

We were very disappointed that Westlund, an increasingly rare voice of reason in the Republican Party, took the job of managing the Mannix campaign. He had enough to do trying to fix the budget crisis that is disrupting Oregon schools.

It is even more disappointing that Westlund offers half-truths as he repackages the message from the Republican right wing. In doing so, Westlund may lose the credibilility he has earned over the years.

E.D.