A Hit Piece Boomerangs
Summary: Republican Keith Parker should strongly disavow and denounce a grotesque attack on Democrat Jeff Barker
Two things we know about negative campaigning: 1. People despise it. 2. Sometimes it works.
Amid the political mailers flying through the mail right now at a furious pace comes one that goes beyond the rhetorical excess of the season. It’s not just annoying or misleading. It’s disgusting.
The attack piece is aimed at Democrat Jeff Barker, a retired police lieutenant who is running for state representative of Oregon House District 28, which covers parts of Beaverton and Aloha.
The attack piece, sent out by a Keizer-based group calling itself Citizens for PERS Reform, an affiliate of Citizens for a Sound Economy, shows a solemn-looking little girl, a school bus and an older man. “Should convicted sex offenders be paid money while in prison?” it says.
Inside it shows multiple photos of Barker. It alleges that, as “a director” of the Portland pension fund, Barker “paid retirement benefits to a convicted sex offender serving an 18-year prison sentence. It’s shocking but true . . . Barker’s judgement (sic) was flawed, misguided and downright horrific.”
If anything is “downright horrific,” it’s this smear on Barker. It’s true that, for 12 years, Barker served as one of 11 trustees on the Portland Fire and Police Disability and Retirement Fund. That’s nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, it would give him special expertise if he is elected to the Legislature.
It’s also true that a former Portland police officer was awarded disability benefits and later convicted of sex offenses. He has continued to receive benefits because the pension board has had to hold its nose and continue paying him. Members were advised that they had no authority under the law to cut them off, once they were awarded.
Barker, however, had nothing to do with that quandary. In fact, Barker helped to champion a change the Portland city charter to make it impossible for such a thing ever to happen again.
Barker’s opponent, Republican Keith Parker, says he had nothing to do with this mailer, and neither did anyone in his campaign organization. Parker also says this flier may hurt him more than it helps him, and he’s right. One other thing we know about low-blow campaigning is that it hurts the democratic process. Some voters are so turned off that they respond by not voting at all.
“My view is that it’s unfortunate these third parties are sending things out,” Parker said Monday. “I had not seen it, I had not authorized it. I don’t know anyone from that group (Citizens for PERS Reform).”
Parker seems to be suggesting that this flier is just one of many run-of-the-mill political distortions. We disagree. To accuse a police officer of authorizing payments to an imprisoned sex offender is to aim a nozzle of mud squarely at the officer’s integrity.
As it happens, we believe both Parker and Barker are highly qualified and would do a good job of representing the voters in House District 28. In what was admittedly a close call, we previously endorsed Parker.
Parker should go further than he has done so far in distancing himself from this attack, however. He should condemn, in no uncertain terms, this vicious smear on his opponent.
