Treasurer’s Race Is On

Republican Allen Alley of Lake Oswego last week entered the Oregon treasurer’s race against state Sen. Ben Westlund, D-Bend.

Alley resigned his position as deputy chief of staff to Democratic Gov. Ted Kulongoski to enter the race for the state’s top financial position. Before joining the Kulongoski administration, Alley co-founded and was chief executive officer of technology startup Pixelworks Inc. He was previously a general partner at Battery Ventures LLP.

Alley faces an uphill battle against Westlund, who has already secured endorsements from Kulongski, current Treasurer Randall Edwards, and major unions such as the AFL-CIO, Service Employees International Union, and American Federation of Teachers. Westlund has been a state lawmaker for a decade, serving in both houses of the Legislature for both parties — originally a Republican, he became an independent in early 2006 and a Democrat later that year.

Both Westlund and Alley are unopposed in the May 20 primary. They will face off in the general election Nov. 4.

The Oregon treasurer manages the state’s bond issuance, relations with Wall Street, and nearly $81 billion of investments. Edwards, a Democrat, cannot seek reelection because of term limits. During his two terms, he helped Oregon rebuild its credit ratings after a severe downturn in tax revenue that followed the last recession, and sponsored legislation creating a state rainy-day fund.

Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s both upgraded Oregon’s $4.3 billion of general obligation bonds last August. Moody’s raised its rating to Aa2 from Aa3, and Standard & Poor’s raised its rating to AA from AA-minus. Fitch Ratings revised the outlook on its AA-minus rating to positive from stable in October.

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