Wed 13 Jun 2007
Lane County District Attorney Doug Harcleroad won’t run for re-election, according to Tuesday’s (6/12) Register Guard , leaving the post open perhaps for his heir-apparent Alex Gardner.
But some whisper that State Senator Floyd Prozanski, who currently represents East Lane and Douglas Counties, including the U of O campus, might consider a go at the post. A major issue the new DA will face is prioritizing public safety objectives in a time of short budgets. How will these gentlemen handle this sticky issue? Harcleroad strongly endorsed the public safety income tax, lending his name to the pro tax campaign (I admit, a difficult issue to decide).
Hmmm… what do we know about Gardner? Course, I can’t help but love Floyd, who always gives me a big grin when I show up at his town hall forms wearing my I’m on the Bus button. Comments?
June 14th, 2007 at 12:42 am
I have worked with Gardner and have been impressed by his management skills. He was charged with leading the county’s managment team in the development of the Fund Priortization lists, and, despite some controversy on the final ordering of the priorities, every one of the 17 department heads supported the final product. A monumental feat in itself.
That being said, I am encouraged and excited about the possibility of a worthy progressive candidate pushing the envelope in a traditionally conservative election. While Floyd represents some rural areas, his district is largely South Eugene. In the 2006 General, he crushed Bill Eddie (who’s Bill Eddie?) in the Liberal Eugene precincts, but the race was much closer in the rural areas. In all fairness, he only lost one precinct, and it was only by 5 votes (http://lanecounty.org/Elections/SOV/20061107s.txt).
Floyd, with his Texan drawl, should prove to be able to pull the rural vote. At absolute worst, he pushes the race into the media, shedding more light onto the pitiful state of public safety in Lane County. The media attention would prove valuable for any future ballot inititave for county funding. In all likelyhood, he wins.
He also has nothing to lose, he doesn’t run for Senate reelection until 2008, he retains his senate seat even if he loses.
Run Floyd, Run!!!
October 6th, 2007 at 4:53 pm
Those interested in who Gardner is can search the RG for his OpEds and other remarks. He’s definitely NOT a Harcleroad clone. Gardner is a democrat and his views are more progressive. He advocates for a balanced public safety approach, with improved funding for mental health and treatment. He’s also well respected by the law enforcement community because he’s actually “been there” and he’s an accomplished trial lawyer. His website. www.gardnerforda.com, reflects broad-based support from police AND defense attorneys. Seems like a good man.