Alley and Kremer Funnel Money to Favorite Candidates
Thursday, October 25, 2012 at 10:19AM Op-Ed by Jim Welsh
The stink over the ORGOP’s Oregon Transformation Project’s (OTP) endorsement of Democrats over Republicans is starting to spread over the whole Oregon Republican Party establishment. As many of you know I resigned my membership in the Oregon Republican Party in July. The OTP’s treasurer, Rob Kremer, was a primary reason I did so.
On March 9, 2012 I was asked by Rep. Julie Parish to file for House seat 32 and run against Deborah Boone. I agreed and the paperwork was faxed to the Secretary of State’s office. A campaign committee filing was then made and I personally put in several thousand dollars to begin my campaign. About two months later, I called Rob Kremer and asked if there was any possibility of getting some financial assistance from OTP. He told me that they were still “looking things over” and that they would certainly give me consideration. I accepted his answer, thinking that something would come of my call.
It wasn’t until early July when I started wondering about the complete lack of any contact from House Caucus leaders and the OTP. So I decided to go to the ORESTAR account of the OTP PAC. And then it hit me. As I scrolled over the names of those lucky few who were favored by Rob Kremer, I knew that people like Jim Welsh and Lew Barnes and Jerome Grant who were outside the I-5 corridor weren’t going to get a penny from OTP. Kremer had, even before my call to him, already given tens and tens of thousands of dollars to a handful of candidates. The winners and the losers had been picked.
This morning I did some research on Mr. Kremer’s largesse to various candidates and causes that caught his fancy. Lets start with the Oregon House. There are 59 Republican candidates running. And how many candidates got OTP funding? Eleven. The rest of you schleps got nothing - nada - nil. Out of the almost one million dollars that has come into the OTP over the past couple of years, you weren’t even worth a nickel to Alley and Kremer and their cronies.
Here’s some recent numbers:
Jason Conger $110,000
Manuel Castaneda $72,000
Dan Mason $33,400
Kelly Lovelace $25,000
Matt Wingard $15,000
Shawn Lindsay $10,000
John Goodhouse $10,000
Mike McLane $7,500
Julie Parrish $5,000
Pat Sheehan $5,000
Matt Wand $5,000
There you have it. Almost $300,000 smackeroos to ten candidates. The rest of you weren’t even worth a few bucks to pay for the leather you’ve worn off your shoes walking your districts.
Lets look at the Senate. Thirty races and only four were worth the OTP’s indulgence.
Scott Roberts $25,000
Scott Hansen $ 25,000
Tim Knopp $10,000
Maryl Featherstone $5,000
$65,000 for four out of 30 Senate Candidates. But the next group is the shocker (maybe not for those of you who have been watching Kremer).
The “Project” has been ladling out money in wheel barrels to Clackamas County candidates and issues. How about $85,000 to Clackamas County Commissioner candidate John Ludlow? Or $15,000 to Tootie Smith, another Clackamas Commissioner candidate? And $5,000 to Jim Knapp, another Clakamas Commissioner candidate.
And let’s not forget the $7,500 sent to the Wilsonville City Council candidates by Kremer.
And last but not least $13,500 to Damascus and Gladstone issues.
It must be nice to live in Clackamas County near the Kremers.
Well actually there is one more beneficiary of Allen and Rob’s “spreading the wealth”. Payments totaling $10,000 to Rob’s wife for “management” services. Whatever happened to the idea of making sure that even the appearance of impropriety was to be avoided?
So there you have it. The sum total of contributions by the OTP in this election cycle. A half a million dollars paid out by Alley and Kremer to a handful of Republican candidates and some non-partisan candidates and causes. I think you get the picture. As to the rest of you folks who stepped up and filed for the Legislature, you’re on your own. Don’t you think that maybe, just maybe, these two people could have let go of just a few of these dollars to give
Alley and Kremer Funnel Money to Favorite Candidates
Reprinted with permission from the Roseburg Beacon News, Vol.5- Issue 43 October 24, 2012
each of you filers a little seed money for your campaign?
Apparently, if you are not over there in the Kremer’s neighborhood, you don’t even exist. You live in Baker or Klamath or Tillamook or Curry counties? Fahgettaboutit.
This whole system is rotten to the core.
Jim Welsh was born and raised in San Francisco. Jim has been married to his wife Nellie for 43 years. During his high school years Jim worked in his family’s grocery store which eventually provided him with the experience to later own and manage several grocery stores. After high school, Jim enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served over eight years as a Chinese and Arabic translator with a Top Secret clearance from the National Security Agency. Jim was honorably discharged in 1974 and returned to California. In 1996 Jim and Nellie moved to Oregon and in 1997 purchased Manzanita Fresh Foods which is now operated by two of their sons. Jim is currently a City Councilor for the City of Nehalem and is a past director of the North County Recreation District.
Jim is a candidate for State Representative in House District 32 in Tillamook County. He believes that his many years of managing his own businesses will allow him to bring a fiscally responsible viewpoint to the Oregon legislature.
To Contact his campaign visit his website: www.jimwelshforstaterep32.com
Published originally at: MooCountyNews.com