Jeff Gudman for State Treasurer
It's a Hit! ... Just not a very good one.
Yesterday, Senator Steiner released her first video ad in her race for State Treasurer. And wouldn't you know it... it's a hit ad against Jeff, and fairly dishonest at that!
Senator Steiner seems to think that the only way she can compete against Jeff Gudman's progressive platform and innovative approach to managing the State Treasury is to invent smears against Jeff Gudman, so let's take her "accusations" one at a time:
1. Jeff is a "Former Republican." So?
Jeff has been very open about his start in the Republican Party as a "Tom McCall Republican," and how the modern Republican Party no longer had a place for a fiscally-minded, but pro-choice/pro-labor/pro-environment candidate. Jeff is in good company, as two other recent Democratic State Treasurers began their careers as Republicans but left to join the Democratic Party when they felt it better suited their values: Ben Westlund and Ted Wheeler.
Ted Wheeler's very first run for office was as a Republican, before he determined that the Democratic Party better represented his values.
Ben Westlund first served in the State Legislature as a Republican, before switching parties to better align with his progressive agenda.
And of course, Senator Steiner doesn't REALLY care about candidates being former Republicans. She's currently endorsing one now for higher office! (But not who you might think.)
2. Jeff "Ran on a ticket with Trump!" FALSE.
What Senator Steiner is saying here is that when he was still a Republican, Jeff was on the SAME BALLOT as Donald Trump in 2016 and in 2020. This is true, because there's only one ballot to be on. (It's the same ballot that Hillary Clinton, Earl Blumenauer, and Jeff Merkley were on, too.)
The clear premise of Senator Steiner's statement is that Jeff somehow supported Donald Trump. That is untrue. Jeff Gudman never supported Donald Trump. Jeff Gudman never voted for Donald Trump.
This is a cheap shot made for one purpose: The opportunity to Photoshop a picture of Jeff standing next to Donald Trump, which is a very visually-effective tactic, but fairly dishonest if your opponent didn't actually ever have anything to do with Trump.
Jeff's Response
Jeff is laser-focused on the issues that matter to Oregonians, not selecting which Photoshop filter makes his opponent's photos look the skeeziest.
His message isn't just about cheap shots and stale talking points, but a substantial discussion about the financial issues facing the state and how we can re-think the State Treasury's role in addressing them.
So here's Jeff's latest video, about the growing corporatization of state policy and why we need to work at protecting Oregon families more than CEO profits:
Thanks for reading. This is an example of the kind of transparency and engagement you can expect from Jeff Gudman as State Treasurer!
Paid for by Friends of Jeff Gudman | PAC 17431