Senator Starr sues Secretary of State

(Hillsboro, Oregon) Bruce Starr, candidate for Labor Commissioner, has filed suit against Oregon’s Secretary of State, Kate Brown, for tampering with the election process to benefit her political allies.

The Secretary of State is attempting to move the actual election of the Labor Commissioner from the May Primary ballot to the November General ballot. The legislature in 2009 made a one-time change to the term of office in order to put the Labor Commissioner’s election on the same election cycle as the Governor. The Secretary of State is attempting to twist the intent of the law to suit partisan politics. As a former legislator the Secretary of State should recognize legislative intent when interpreting state law.

The Secretary made the formal decision to leave the election off the ballot without notifying the Starr campaign. The Secretary has since said she will not reverse her decision, forcing legal action.

Precedent was set most recently in 2010 when the election between Ron Maurer and Susan Castillo for State Superintendant of Public Instruction was decided on the May Primary ballot with just two candidates in the race, which followed the election process defined in Oregon law.

“It’s outrageous that the Democrat Secretary of State cheated to create an advantage for a political friend,” said Starr. “This is just another example of a political machine attempting to control politics in Oregon.”

Ballots will begin printing on March 31st – the courts have a short time to make a fair decision.

For more information on Bruce’s campaign, visit www.brucestarr.org.

UPDATE: Listen to Sen. Bruce Starr earlier this afternoon discussing his lawsuit against Secretary of State Kate Brown on The Bill Post Radio Show on KYKN, 1430 AM in Salem/Keizer