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Bill Currier, the new chairman of the Oregon Republican Party, poses after his election Saturday with Donna Walker, vice chair of the Klamath County Republican Party, and Klamath County GOP Chairman Robert Moore.
(Jeff Mapes|The Oregonian)
The Oregon Republican Party, continuing its long struggle to build a successful political organization, on Saturday elected its fourth chairman in the last four years.
Bill Currier, the mayor of the Benton County town of Adair Village and the current vice chair of the state GOP, defeated former state Rep. Wally Hicks of Grants Pass to win the party's top spot.
Currier, an information technology consultant, and Hicks both agreed that Republicans faced a unique opportunity next year to argue that Democrats have presided over a culture of corruption in Oregon, highlighted by Gov. John Kitzhaber's resignation last week in an influence-buying scandal.
"We have a responsibility as a party to point out how the state got in this situation -- the ethics violations, the cronyism, the nepotism," said Currier in an interview before he was elected by a 78-39 vote of the State central committee.
"Clearly we need an opposing party that is powerful enough to make sure these issues are addressed," Currier added.
While the scandal that led to Kitzhaber's resignation gives Republicans an opportunity, Currier acknowledged that the big question is whether the state party can build a strong political organization in Oregon. "It's a big if, given our recent history," he said.
Currier said he would work full-time as party chairman and he told delegates after the vote, "We're going to create a new future for the Oregon Republican Party."
While Democrats have won every statewide election in the state for the last 12 years, the state Republican Party has been hampered by factional fighting, chronic fundraising woes and a general lack of organization.
Some of that disarray was on display at the state central committee Saturday at the Monarch Hotel in Clackamas. The 118 delegates and alternates argued at length over just who would be allowed to vote in the election -- and the motions and other parliamentary twists were so confusing that the party secretary acknowledged at one point she couldn't keep them all straight.
"This is the thing that is losing elections," said outgoing chairman Art Robinson in exasperation as delegates argued over the rules.
Robinson, the Cave Junction scientist who has run three losing races against Democratic Congressman Peter DeFazio, decided not to run for a second term as chairman, but he did put together the slate headed by Hicks. Robinson had come under fire from party critics because the GOP's fundraising had fallen precipitously under his leadership.
The strong vote for Currier was seen in large part as a repudiation of Robinson's leadership. Robinson left the meeting immediately after Hicks lost and did not stay for the traditional passing of the chairmanship to Currier.
Solomon Yue, an Oregon member of the Republican National Committee, told party delegates that the national chairman, Reince Priebus, in January turned down Yue's request for $30,000 in emergency funding for the state party.
But Yue said that Priebus didn't rule out later giving help to the party. And he said that Priebus agreed to meet with him in Washington, D.C. next week to talk about Republican opportunities in the 2016 election to fill the remaining two years of Kitzhaber's term.
Gov. Kate Brown, who ascended to the governorship from the secretary of state's position after Kitzhaber's resignation, is widely expected to seek the office in her own right.
Greg Leo, a political consultant who has worked closely with the state GOP, said it may be difficult for Brown to separate herself from corruption charges that felled Kitzhaber.
"There's a general sense that the scandals have just started...The more you look at it, the more there is," said Leo, referring to the federal investigations into whether Kitzhaber and his fiancee, Cylvia Hayes, took official actions that benefited her consulting business.
Brown has said she will seek to restore public faith in government by putting new restrictions on what she and her family and staff can accept in outside income and by seeking tighter ethics laws.
Hicks said he was skeptical Brown could separate herself from the former Democratic governor. "It was far too big a scam for the government as a whole," he said. "It is time for fresh blood.
Tyler Smith was elected vice chairman of the party, Chris Barreto was re-elected as secretary and Ken Taylor was re-elected as treasurer.
--Jeff Mapes
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@Jeffmapes