Oregon Advisory Opinions April 29, 1966: OAG 66-60 (April 29, 1966)
Collection: Oregon Attorney General Opinions
Docket: OAG 66-60
Date: April 29, 1966
Advisory Opinion Text
OAG 66-60.
A person cannot be a candidate for two lucrative offices at the same election.
Secretary of State
This will acknowledge your oral request for the opinion of this office relative to the validity of the candidacy of Mrs. Janet McLennan for the democratic nomination as state senator from the 12th district, position No. 8, Multnomah County, in view of the peremptory writ of mandamus issuing out of the Oregon Supreme Court April 28, 1966. As you are aware this writ commanded the registrar of elections of Multnomah County not to include the name of Mrs. Alice Corbett on sample or official ballots as a candidate for Multnomah County Commissioner position No. 3 to be prepared and distributed for the primary election on May 24, 1966. The court also commanded you not to publish in the Voters' Pamphlet any material on behalf of Mrs. Alice Corbett's purported candidacy.
You will recall from the statement of facts set forth in my opinion No. 6111, dated April 11, 1966, concerning this same matter, there are at least two factual distinctions between the cases of Mrs. Corbett and Mrs. McLennan. (1) The first filing by Mrs. McLennan was for a city office---city commissioner, position No. 3 for the city of Portland; whereas Mrs. Corbett's first filing was for a state legislative office, namely, state senator. (2) The second filing of Mrs. McLennan was for a state legislative office, namely, state senator; whereas Mrs. Corbett's second filing was for a county office.
Notwithstanding these and other factual distinctions it is my opinion that in view of the broad language of the court in its opinion voiding the second filing of Mrs. Corbett, that the second filing of Mrs. McLennan likewise was and now is illegal and void. Accordingly I conclude that the name of Mrs. McLennan as a candidate for state senator should not be printed on the primary election ballot, and that her official campaign statement should not appear in the Voters' Pamphlet.
NOTE: A petition for original writ of mandamus was denied by the Oregon Supreme Court in case entitled: McLennan v. McCall, May 4, 1966.