There are six so-called “major” candidates running for governor in the May 21 primary election, but hiding in the pages of the voter’s guide are four candidates many people have never heard of and one other contender who isn’t in the voter’s guide but is included on the ballot.
William Peter Allen blames the federal income tax for Oregon’s problems. Consider Caleb Burns, who wants to abolish current Oregon high school reforms, including the state’s Certificate of Initial Mastery and Certificate of Advanced Mastery programs. W. Ames Curtright, who calls himself the “flying governor,” plans to fly his bush plane around the state to stay in touch with his constituents if elected. Lee Shindler wants to take his previous city council experience and use it to stay in touch with people statewide. Another contender is Roger Weidner, a man with an ax to grind against the court system.
These candidates may not win the election. But they all paid the $100 fee to register as a candidate in Oregon’s primary and aim to raise awareness of their pet projects, or at least provide an alternative to the six mainstream candidates on the ballot.
Most importantly, all of them have something to say about their campaign and what they’d do in the event Oregon voters chose one of them.

William Peter Allen
William Peter Allen believes the federal government is defrauding Oregon to the tune of $20 billion a year. He is seeking the Democratic nomination and plans to change the way Oregonians pay income tax, if elected.
A consultant and former engineer for Portland General Electric and various missile and space programs, Allen said he studied Oregon’s tax base and decided that the state was paying too much money to the federal government each year.
“The problem with Oregon is there’s nothing here,” he said. “We’re sacrificing our schools and our state so the government can spend it on other states.”
Allen acknowledged the federal government may not be happy to lower Oregon’s federal income tax burden, but he has a solution.
“We should consider seceding from the United States,” he said.
Allen knows this approach has had a poor track record during the last 150 years, but he’s willing to take the risk if voters are willing to elect him.
“We have to play hardball — we can’t go back and wait for something to happen,” he said.
Allen isn’t expecting voters to agree with him.
“I have no chance in hell of winning,” he said. “I’m doing this to communicate with the people more than anything else.”

Caleb Burns
Psychologist Caleb Burns is on the Democratic ticket and on a crusade to reform Oregon’s schools. He’s been conducting private testing on students for years and believes the state has paid too much attention to politics and given too little attention to the actual needs of students.
“Education reform is the largest waste of money in this state,” Burns said.
Burns believes the standards Oregon has adopted waste money and don’t effectively measure a student’s ability to learn.
He said that if elected, he would expect the state to prove that its school reforms have improved student performances, but he added that his odds of winning are slim, at best.
“I have no chance — zero,” Burns said. “I’m giving the public an opportunity to vote on this issue.”
But Burns has other issues on the back burner.
If elected, he wants to install weight scales in public libraries so readers know how much they weigh and smoke detectors in public school bathrooms so kids stay off nicotine. And more detailed hand washing signs in restrooms would be nice too, he said.
“I’m starting to realize how idiotic some of the state’s approaches are,” Burns said.

W. Ames Curtright
The “flying governor” is running as a Republican, a decision he made after determining that mainstream candidate and friend Kevin Mannix was not up to the task of being Oregon’s next governor.
“There were a lot of things eating at me, and the other three candidates weren’t cutting it,” Curtright said.
The candidate, a former multimillionaire, built Ames Research with $50,000 of his own money and patented a moving map technology for Global Positioning Systems. He said that, at one time, he was paid more than $16.4 million a year.
Curtright said he is no longer a multimillionaire. But he has used what funds he has left to pay for his campaign for governor, which includes half-page ads in newspapers throughout Oregon.
“I’m not taking any money from special interests,” he said.
Curtright said he’s uncertain about his chances of being elected.
“I’ve done everything I can to do it,” he said. “If God wants me to do it, I’ll be here.”
If elected, Curtright plans to focus on treating mentally ill youth offenders instead of locking them up, protecting Oregon’s environment and constructing trade schools for high school students that teach life skills.
“When voters open that voters pamphlet, they’re going to have to make a decision,” he said.

Lee R. Shindler
Lee Shindler is the only of the five alternative candidates with previous political experience. Shindler, a Republican, served from 1982 to 1986 on the Scio City Council, and said he’s wanted to run for governor for years.
“There’s a lot of things going on in state government I’d like to change,” Shindler said.
He wants to revitalize the timber industry, decrease high school dropout rates and stay more connected with voters if elected.
Shindler said his chances of winning were good until he started to be excluded from debates that other candidates were invited to.
“If I’d been included in all the debates, I’d have a chance,” Shindler said. “But for some reason I haven’t been included.”
Shindler isn’t included in the voters guide either. According to the Secretary of State’s office, candidates for governor must pay $1,000 to include their photograph and biography in the 76 page pamphlet. Out of 11 candidates, Shindler is the only one who did not pay the fee, but he maintains that voters still might choose him.
“I’ve got to be better than I’ve ever been,” he said. “I always felt like I wanted to be governor — it seems like a fascinating job.”

Roger Weidner
Former prosecuting attorney and Republican Roger Weidner is running to change Oregon’s court system.
“There’s a lot of abuse going on in the system,” he said. “If your children are taken or your property is stolen from you by corrupt attorneys, you go to court and you lose.”
Weidner, who headed Multnomah County’s Consumer Fraud Department almost 30 years ago, said he believes his experience with the court system will appeal to voters.
“I’ve got a good chance — I’m going to surprise a lot of voters,” Weidner said.
Weidner is currently the president of the Constitutional Defenders’s chapter in Oregon and vice president of Oregon Judicial Watch, two watchdog groups that pay close attention to the court system.
“Our state government has grown out of its mold,” Weidner said. “The child services division is an example of an extremely abusive agency.”
Even if he loses the primary election, Weidner said he plans to closely follow the November general election.
“I will continue to do what I’m doing now,” he said. “I’ll support the Republican nominee, whoever he is.”