Gordon Smith Spends $500,000 in Democratic Primary Smearing

New Radio Ads Distort Merkley's Record Fighting for Rural Oregonians

For Two Weeks Smith Has Falsely Attacked Merkley to Swing the Primary to Political Consultant Steve Novick

Gordon Smith has spent $500,000 falsely attacking Jeff Merkley in an effort to swing the Democratic U.S. Senate primary to professional political consultant Steve Novick. Smith has spent more than $430,000 on television smearing Merkley and another $35,000 on radio distorting Merkley's record delivering for rural Oregonians.

The truth about Smith's radio ads - "Water" and "Timber"

Gordon Smith is distorting Merkley's record fighting for rural communities. As House Speaker, Jeff Merkley united Oregon lawmakers - Democrats and Republicans - to deliver for rural communities. Under Merkley's leadership, the Legislature passed tax breaks for family farms, fisheries and woodlots; created the Oregon Farm-to-School Garden Program to get local produce into school lunch rooms; and established statewide water storage projects under the Agriculture and Community Water Act. [HB 3618, 2008; HB 3601, 2008; SB 1069, 2008]

In their 2007 review of the legislative session led by House Speaker Jeff Merkley, the Oregon Farm Bureau said, "Any way you slice it, Oregon's family farmers and ranchers -- and by extension every Oregonian who enjoys local ag products and rural scenery -- have a lot to celebrate from the 2007 Session of the Legislature." [Oregon Agriculture, Fall/Winter 2007]

Meanwhile, Gordon Smith failed to convince one Republican colleague in the U.S. Senate to support the county timber payments, resulting in disaster for Oregon's rural communities.

Jeff Merkley was born in rural Oregon and moved from Myrtle Creek to Roseburg when the lumber mill where his father worked closed down. Merkley understands Oregon's rural economy because he's lived it.

The truth about Smith's television ads

While Jeff Merkley refused to accept even a dime from state lobbyists and special interests during the legislative session, Gordon Smith was raising money from lobbyists and special interests in Washington D.C. Merkley went beyond the rules for federal candidates and refused to accept any funds during session from lobbyists and special interests in the state.

Jeff Merkley led historic bipartisan ethics reform to ban gifts from lobbyists, close the revolving door for legislators, and restore the independent Ethics Commission. While Merkley has led the fight for ethics reform in Oregon, Smith has opposed ethics reform in Washington D.C., including voting twice against creating an independent ethics committee similar to what Merkley championed in Oregon. [Senate vote 77, 3/28/06, Senate vote 18, 1/18/07]

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Posted May 16, 2008
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