AG-wannabe Kroger Nabs Sierra Club Endorse

The Oregon Chapter of the Sierra Club today announced it is endorsing Lewis & Clark College law professor John Kroger in the 2008 Democratic primary for Attorney General.

"We need an Attorney General that will protect our land, air and water by enforcing the laws we already have," said the Sierra Club's Bill Parker in a statement. "John Kroger will do that, and that’s why we’re endorsing him to be Oregon’s next Attorney General.”

In most cases, endorsements are a dime a dozen. But this one is a little more interesting. Kroger's opponent, Rep. Greg Macpherson (D-Lake Oswego) was one of the leaders in the legislative effort that produced Measure 49, a land-use measure that state voters approved in November.

To the delight of the environmental community, that measure rolled back 2004's Measure 37, which enviros had blamed for gutting Oregon's vaunted land-use system.

(Macpherson's father, Hector, also served in the Legislature and is considered one of the pioneers of Oregon's land-use planning system).

In addition to his work on Measure 49, Macpherson — a benefits lawyer at Stoel Rives, Oregon's largest law firm — was one of only eight state representatives to earn a 100 percent rating from the Oregon League of Conservation Voters in 2007.

So maybe Kroger, who worked as a federal prosecutor in New York before peddling his bike west, is gaining traction with his claim that if elected he will be an activist AG who promises to "aggressively and fully enforce the environmental laws we have."