Hat tip to Carla Axtman at BlueOregon, for fact checking Republican Senator Gordon Smith’s latest press release, touting the Democrats across Oregon who’ve lined up behind him, in the race against Jeff Merkley.
Axtman, who worked for Merkley during the primary campaign, notes that several of the Democrats on Smith’s list don’t actually support him.
Like Vernonia Mayor Sally Harrison. Axtman writes:
Back in early September, I rode along with the Merkley campaign when they were road-tripping around Columbia and Clatsop County. Vernonia happened to be one of our stops that day. Here is what I wrote about the Vernonia stop:
We arrive in Vernonia–pull up to City Hall. The mayor is here. She’s all smiles. “Have you got more of those Merkley yard signs? I can distribute every one that you brought.” Wow. There’s a small group in front, waiting with the mayor. This is billed as a “main street walk” to give the candidates a chance to check out the town. Vernonia is tiny–3 blocks in the whole downtown, tops. Its lovely here–the trees are incredible. We begin the walk as the mayor and the rest of the group talk about their burg. We stop in front of a shop that has photos in the window of the devastating flooding in Vernonia last winter. The feds haven’t been especially helpful in the recovery, they tell us. FEMA isn’t so snappy.
This doesn’t seem to me like someone who’s on the Smith bandwagon.
I dialed up the Merkley campaign this afternoon, reminding them about that stop. They’ve called Mayor Harrison. The campaign just told me that Mayor Harrison said she is DEFINITELY NOT supporting Smith. Hopefully we’ll be hearing something directly from the Mayor/Merkley campaign in the next day or two.