Bradbury Breaks Election Pledge, Says "Family Über Alles!" As His Defense

It's been a challenging election cycle for Secretary of State Bill Bradbury. First his staff had to grapple with an enormous number of voters changing their voter registration late in the cycle. Those shifts led to many voters getting two ballots, although Bradbury took steps to minimize confusion and eliminate the possibility of people getting to vote twice.

And Oregon Voters' Pamphlets also went out with a help number that connected callers to a phone sex line rather than the Secretary Of State's office.

Now there's some unhappiness about Bradbury, the state's chief elections officer, having lent his support to a candidate in a contested Democratic primary in violation of a pledge he made two years ago to "oversee the Secretary of State's office in an independent and non-partisan manner."

Here's a post Bradbury contributed to the Oregon League of Conservation Voters website in support of House District 42 (Southeast Portland) candidate Jules Kopel-Bailey (whom WW also endorsed).

Kopel-Bailey is a strong candidate, but he faces three other credible contenders—Regan Gray, Teddy Keizer and Gordon Hillesland—in a closely contested battle for the Democratic nomination to replace Rep. Diane Rosenbaum, who is moving up to the Senate.

"I have known Jules since the day he was born in an Oregon hospital. I have worked with him on several of my campaigns. He is and will be an incredible leader on sustainable environmental projects and move us where we need to go. I look forward to his impact as an Oregon State Representative. -Bill Bradbury

Posted by: Bill Bradbury | Thursday, March 06, 2008 at 04:44 PM"

Bradbury also contributed a quote for Kopel-Bailey's statement in the Voters' Pamphlet, and used his official title to add some heft:

"I've known and worked with Jules for many years and I know first hand his committment to Oregon and our quality of life."—Bill Bradbury, Oregon Secretary of State."

In Bradbury's 2006 pledge, he promised "not take any action in my official capacity as Secretary of State for the purpose of directly benefiting or disadvantaging any candidates."

Gray, who based on endorsements and money raised, is neck-and-neck with Kopel-Bailey in the HD 42 race, says the Voters' Pamphlet statement Bradbury made for Kopel-Bailey appears to violate Bradbury's pledge. "I think the quote benefits him [Kopel-Bailey] and implies Bradbury's endorsement," Gray told WWire.

Reached by phone this afternoon as he shuttled among elections offices in Lane and Yamhill County (all is going well, he says) Bradbury acknowledged breaking his pledge.

"I was at Jules's birth and he's been like a son to me," Bradbury says. "If you read the pledge, pretty clearly I shouldn’t have made a statement like that [in the voter's pamphlet]. I knew at the time it was probably going to be a mistake but in the end, family uber-alis [above all]."