When students run for public office outside the University, they can face the difficult task of fighting seasoned politicians with better contacts and campaign funding. This challenge does not daunt University students Maco Stewart and Greg McNeill, who are running for Eugene City Council and the Oregon House, respectively, after losing their bid for ASUO Executive in February.
McNeill and Stewart each face an uphill battle against a political system that places a priority on prior experience. But despite the odds, politically active University alumni urged them to run for office anyway.
“Students always have a chance
— but if they’re running against a popular, seasoned incumbent, it would be very difficult,” said State Rep. Al King, D-Springfield.
King knows exactly how difficult it is for a student to win a political race. King was active in student government when he attended the University in the 1970s but declined to run in an “easy race” for ASUO Executive, instead running for state representative. King lost, but he said the experience helped him later in his political career.
“Even if you lose, you have recognition in the community,” King said.
Sen. Ryan Deckert, D-Beaverton, said that students often need to pay their dues in the political system before they have a chance to get elected.
“It’s very difficult — it’s easier to run for a more entry-level position. I would have had a zero percent chance to get elected to the state Senate as a student,” said Deckert, a 1993 University graduate and the youngest member of the Senate at age 31.
While Deckert decided to wait until graduation to run for office, students Bobby Lee and Scott Austin did not. Lee, a former student and ASUO president during 1992-93, defeated three other candidates for Eugene City Councilor in 1996, including incumbent Kevin Hornbuckle.
Austin, a University junior at the time, ran for Oregon Senator Susan Castillo’s seat in 1998. Unlike Lee, Austin lost his race by a wide margin, but even at the time of his defeat he said the experience was worthwhile.
Austin is currently a graduate student at the University.
U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, D-Hood River, Class of ’81, said that age is less important than the ideas a candidate has.
“I’ve never been one to believe that age, in and of itself, is a determining factor in a race,” he said. “It can be a very difficult challenge, but it really comes down to the type of campaign you wage and the power of your ideas.”
Former Oregon governor Neil Goldschmidt agreed with Walden, and added that voters are really looking for people with varied experience, something many students might be able to bring to the table.
“Lack of experience can be overcome — it’s been done before,” he said.
But Goldschmidt said while he was active in student government at the University, he never considered running for political office at the time.
“I never thought of it as being connected to other political issues,” said Goldschmidt, who went on to secure two terms as mayor of Portland, was appointed as Secretary of Transportation for former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and eventually beat Norma Paulus in a closely-contested 1986 race for Oregon governor.
McNeill and Stewart aren’t daunted by their lack of experience so far.
“Every day, I feel that I’m doing a little bit better,” McNeill said. “There’s a lot of students in my district, and I hope they’d support a fellow student.”
McNeill will run unopposed in the May 21 primary, but faces former representative Floyd Prozanski in the Oregon House’s newly-drawn District 8. Stewart also could have difficulty winning his political race. He faces city council President David Kelly in his bid for re-election. But Stewart is keeping his hopes up and networking as best he can with his fellow students.
“I’m an underdog, but I think I have a chance,” Stewart said.