Forty years of GOP rule in Marion County, brought to you by...Oregon Right To Life?
Republicans have maintained a well-funded, tight grip on Marion County's future for more than 4 decades. And most residents have no idea County Commissioners even exist.
(Correction: The original version of this post stated that Marion County Commissioner seats are non-partisan - meaning folks run for these seats without party affiliation. That’s not the case. Marion County Commissioners ARE partisan positions and are listed on ballots with party affiliation. Apologies to readers for the mistake, and it has been corrected as of 12/9)
Marion County voters cast more than 130k votes in the Oregon U.S. Senate election in the 2022 cycle.
Nearly 135k in Marion County filled in at least one of the boxes in the Governor’s race section on the ballot.
Each statewide ballot measure in Marion County earned right around 130k total votes, yes and no, with Measure 114 (the gun safety measure) seeing a bit of a bump at around 133k.
The only other 2 races that appeared on all ballots in Marion County earned about 4% fewer total votes (or about 5,000 votes less) than the above, higher-profile races. Each of these 2 “undercard” (like, deepdeep undercard) races attracted almost exactly 128,000 votes from across all of Marion County.
Can you guess what the offices are?
Bonus points if you know who won each seat.
Go ahead, think on it. I’ll wait here.
..
…
….
OK. Maybe you guessed correctly. Maybe not. We’re all friends either way.
Maybe you’re some type of political nerd who would have said something like “two staunch conservatives demolished their County Commissioner opponents by margins wider than the friggin’ gun safety measure and continue a 4-decade-plus reign of Republican control of Marion County….”
Or something like that.
But, folks, there are three Marion County Commissioners. All Republican. The two just handily re-elected are named Colm Willis and Kevin Cameron. The third is Danielle Bethell.
These three wield an incredible amount of power & control a massive amount of money.
Wouldn’t you like to know more about them? I would.
So here’s what we’re going to do.
We’re going to quickly understand what the eff county commissioners actually do.
We’re going to dig into some interesting campaign information about these three.
But we’re also going to learn how to stay informed about the decisions these three commissioners are making on a regular basis.
WTF is a Marion County Commissioner?
State law governs the creation and structure of county-level administration. It’s pretty boring, but for insight into the mechanism that allows for Marion County’s 3-commissioner structure, nerd yourself right this way.
That’s most of the “how” and a little of the “why.” The “what” is….
It’s honestly difficult to quantify what the Marion County Board of Commissioners does.
The board’s decisions and influence reach into everything from management of vital public services to distributing and administering millions in state and federal funds.
More recently, Marion County Commissioners have been key figures in responding to wildfire damage; COVID public health crises; and the persistent housing crisis that leaves far too many folks without homes and the security that comes with safe shelter.
Pro-tip on better understanding what our three Marion County Commissioners do!
The journalists with Salem Reporter do a great job of regularly covering commissioner meetings.
If you have a subscription*, this search query should lead you to an endless list of articles reporting on Marion County Commissioner meetings.
Even just scanning the headlines gives you a sense of what power Willis, Cameron and Bethell wield in their positions.
*If you don't subscribe to Salem Reporter already, you f'in should. They are what journalism is supposed to be. With so much at stake, why do fewer people care about Marion County Commissioner races?
If total votes are an indicator of voter interest, Marion County Commissioner races seem about 4% less interesting other races where all of Marion County votes (U.S. Senate, Governor, and state measures in 2022…the stuff from the beginning of this article).
Not only did incumbent Republicans Willis and Cameron’s at-large races draw about 5,000 fewer voters each, but they each demolished their Democrat opponent.
Republican Kevin Cameron beat challenger Andrew Dennis by 21 points in the race for Marion County Commissioner, Position 1
Republican Colm Willis beat challenger Mark Wigg by 15 points in the race for Marion County Commissioner, Position 2
Those margins are wider than Marion County Drazan voters in the governor’s race. Shit, man - those margins are wider than the difference between “yes” and “no” on Measure 114.
That means of the fewer folks that voted in the Commissioner races, support was far more concentrated for the Republican candidates.
Absent a detailed analysis of vote tallies for County Commissioner positions, I think it’s reasonably safe to draw two conclusions (maybe more) from this:
Few people outside the Republican Party care about this board. Voter apathy for Commissioner positions on the ballot is palpable. Few people know the Board of Commissioners exists. And the Oregon GOP is deeply & quietly entrenched in these three seats…and they have been for 40+ years.
These seats aren’t unassailable, however. Media organizations like Salem Reporter do their best to keep readers informed about county commissioner actions. And the more light shed on this board & their financial supporters, the more folks will appreciate future alternatives.
Speaking of shedding a little light, how did our current crop of Marion County Commissioners fund their campaigns?
Oregon Right To Life.
That’s it.
I mean, not really. But it’s arguable that two of three of our current commissioners would be unable to fund a campaign if not for Oregon Right to Life - the firehose of campaign cash that raises all GOP boats, including the really disgusting ones full of fascists & bigots (sometimes both in the same boat!).
See for yourself.
I downloaded and reformatted Campaign Contribution data for each of our Marion County Commissioners.
Bethell here - Of the $335k she’s raised, nearly $109k is from Oregon Right to Life (directly or through other political committees fueled directly by OR RTL). That represents nearly a third of all her campaign funding.
Cameron here - Of the $189k he’s raised,** $16.6k is from Oregon Right To Life (about 9% of total contributions)
Willis here - Of the $525k he’s raised over the years, $163k is from Oregon Right to Life. That represents nearly a third of all his campaign funding.
**Cameron’s funding machine was warm prior to his tenure as Marion County Commissioner. He was a state lawmaker for several years prior. Consider this number an estimate for what he’s raised for Commissioner races.
There are other funding trends for Marion’s three Commissioners
It’s not just Right to Life cash. All three draw enormous campaign donations from local businesses & various networks of political action committees representing the “owner class” across different local industries.
Take, for example, Freres Lumber Company (and family). A business entity (and family) with a sprawling Republican footprint and very deep pockets. How deep? The lumber company and various family members gave independent candidate for Governor Betsy Johnson $400k…IN THE LAST WEEK OF SEPTEMBER ALONE!!! The Freres’ political cash machine has pumped thousands of dollars into the campaign warchests of each Commissioner (Bethell ranked highest with $15k).
Take a look for yourself. You can see how deeply this one company & family impacts politics in the Marion County area (and across the state).
Cameron earns the designation as the only County Commissioner to have taken Koch Brother money. He scooped up $3,000 from Koch Industries about 10 years ago. Gross.
So what does campaign finance information tell us about Willis, Cameron and Bethell?
Very simply, it tells us about the ideologies of each Commissioner.
When the backbone of your candidacy is built on cash from far, far right wing groups like Oregon Right To Life - you are signaling clearly that you are conservative, and you will advance conservative values & ideologies.
Say, for example, the values Bethell expressed during her last campaign for County Commissioner in 2020 in an interview with the Salem Reporter.
Guys…a white lady doesn’t see racism, so it must not exist. Honestly, this is so embarrassing that this person can say this IN A NEWSPAPER and still get elected not just as County Commissioner, but to the Salem-Keizer School Board.
Just…embarrassing.
And when you start to see what types of decisions our County Commissioners are making on our behalf, you can see more clearly how the ideologies of their financial backers are expressed from their seat of power.
Take, for example, the decision in 2020 to reject funding that would have made it easier for Marion County residents to vote.
Or relentlessly resisting public health decisions being made at the state level during a deadly public health crisis, and fighting for “local control” over a pandemic that doesn’t give a shit about local boundaries.
Or, during that same public health crisis, creating confusion and fear among county employees for failing to lead by example (or failing to lead at all).
That’s just a small sample - a snapshot of ineptitude - of how our Marion County Commissioners earn their six-figure annual salary. Not every situation our Commissioners handle is done poorly, of course. But you have to ask the question….
Don’t you think 40+ years of complete Republican rule for Marion County is enough?
You know it is - especially considering how far to the right Republicans have been pulled, and how fast the pace of their extremism is increasing.
So let’s start paying attention. Read the Salem Reporter. Subscribe so they can continue covering County Commissioner meetings.
The more we learn and teach others about what our Commissioners actually do, the fewer folks will skip over the County Commissioner positions on their ballot.
Gotta start somewhere, right?
Have other ideas for creating accountability for Marion County Commissioners? I’d love to hear them - salemkeizerproletariat@gmail.com