Oregon News by Doug Daniels

The race for Attorney General seems to be growing increasingly contentious, as the two Democratic candidates - John Kroger and Greg Macpherson – continued to spar Tuesday over the issue of out-of-state campaign contributions.

In an interview with the Oregonian, Oregon Democratic Party Chair, Meredith Wood Smith, said that she welcomes an extended presidential campaign that may not be resolved until the convention.

In an interesting move, State Sen. Rick Metsger announced Wednesday that former NBA star Bill Walton has signed on to chair his Secretary of State campaign. Walton is a sports broadcaster, and former Trailblazer, and also travels around the country as a motivational speaker.

Metsger’s hope is to encourage broader participation in politics, and said in a statement that Walton is a figure who can generate interest among people who typically are not politically active.

Democratic Senate candidate Steve Novick called for the repeal of No Child Left Behind Tuesday, marking the six year anniversary of the controversial bill that sought to raise school performance by injecting sharper accountability.

At a press conference in Salem, Novick slammed the legislation, faulting what he characterized as a spineless Congress, and compared NCLB to the flawed implementation of the Iraq war policy.