February 28, 2004
(Updated) Representative Kafoury Resigns House Seat, Kruse To Follow
Legislators Have Been Under Fire For Defying Constitution
Note: This post has been updated. Any and all updates appear at the end of the original post.
As previously reported (having been nudged), both Deborah Kafoury (D-Portland) and Jeff Kruse (R-Roseburg) recently moved from their districts, but were determined to remain in office despite a clear constitutional prohibition on doing so.
Today's Oregonian reports that Kafoury stepped down on Friday, and Kruse is expected to do so on Wednesday.
In a press release announcing her resignation, Kafoury cited "the state constitutional requirement that legislators must live in the districts they represent." But that statement, if taken out of content, does not quite paint an accurate picture of her decision.
"I had planned to resign my House seat immediately after the May 18 primary election, because I wanted to let voters express their wishes before the appointment of a successor," Kafoury said. "I have decided to resign immediately, however, since some have questioned whether it's appropriate to wait until after the primary election.
Despite the soft touch Kafoury applies to the issue, those some who have so questioned are not just an easily-dismissed "some," but in fact includes the Legislature's chief legal adviser.
Apparent in Kafoury's release is the cynical subtext that as long as nobody discovers what you're up to, it's acceptable to defy the state's constitution. Of course, Kafoury might have believed that her own party's cynicism, which rivals her own, would be enough to protect her.
Several days ago, The Oregonian reported Jim Edmunson, the state Democratic Party chairman, as saying, "Obviously the rule of law applies to all, and so it really wouldn't be fair to complain about a Republican violating the constitution if we didn't hold ourselves to the same standard."
Meanwhile, from the other side of the aisle The Oregonian quotes Kruse as saying that "if meetings had been scheduled before next week or so, I would have resigned earlier. It's not a matter of staying in office. It's a matter of a body of work." Kruse also says he was "negotiating" a date for his resignation with the Secretary of State, whose elections office apparently told Kruse it was "reconsidering our prior approval of your eligibility."
The state's elections director only asked Kruse to defend his plans and their defiance of the state constitution, the paper says, after the media began to focus on the issue. Sounds more than a little like Kafoury's position, doen't it?
Not that only Kafoury's party was in collusion with the obstruction. In an earlier story, Dawn Phillips, communications director for the state Republican Party was quoted as saying of Kruse, "The party has not been involved in his situation. ... He needs to address this in his own time, in his own terms."
So while the voices of rationality and adherence to the state constitution may have trumped the political maneuverings of two legislators who thought they could put one over on us all, left unaddressed is the obvious ethical bankruptcy of the state's Democratic and Republican parties.
It's one thing if two lone-wolf legislators act in defiance not only of the state's constitution but of the overwhelming majority of Oregon voters who voted for the provision in question. It's another thing altogether when their respective parties give them cover to do so.
Update
We meant to link to the Register-Guard editorial from yesterday, which echoes our own position regarding the respective political parties:
It is disappointing that legislators would show such cavalier disregard for a document they are sworn to uphold. Equally disappointing is the response of party leaders. Democratic and Republican officials alike told The Oregonian that they don't intend to challenge either violation. Jim Edmunson of Eugene, himself a former legislator and now chairman of the state Democratic Party, said it wouldn't be fair to complain about Kruse's violation unless Democrats held themselves to the same standard.
It should be noted, although we can't link to it because the Register-Guard archives vanish into a for-fee archives after awhile, that the paper was on Kruse's case about this at least as far back as December of last year.
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Update on 28 Feb 2004
The Oregonian reports today that Deborah Kafoury of Portland resigned her state House seat yesterday, and that Jeff Kruse of Roseburg has promised to do the same by Wednesday. As reported here the other day, both had moved outside their...