Oregon Legislator Girl Gone Wild

Corvallis Oregon is a college town. And 40 year old democratic Oregon state legislator, Kelley Wirth acts as though she is still a college sorority girl out on a wild spring break weekend. Rep. Wirth, who is attractive, and looks a little like a slightly heavy-set and overaged Susan Dey from the old Partrige Family TV Show. And Wirth, who still lives with her mother, has managed to turn her recent reputation as an Oregon legislator into an absurd tale of sex and drugs, much to the disappointment and concerns of both fellow legislators and her district voters.

A few weeks ago, a reported relationship that Wirth had with a young janitor in the state capitol building resulted in a three person argument at the home of the janitor, in which it was reported that Wirth, the janitor, and the former girlfriend of the janitor engaged in a very angry exchange. This angry exchange led to a violent episode later that evening that resulted in the janitor's former girlfriend running down Wirth with her car, causing severe leg injuries to Wirth. For an Oregon legislator who is supposed to act maturely in office, this entire incident seemed like a Jerry Springer Show love triangle gone bad. Who knew the Oregon legislature was ever intended to be a dating agency for the unfulfilled passions of legislators?

In the Oregon legislature, three bills came up for a vote in the last session to tighten-up the supply of chemicals that are used to create meth drugs in Oregon. Oregon has the worst problems in the nation with meth abuse and meth crime. And interestingly, Rep. Kelley Wirth was the only legislator to vote against all three of these bills. One bill, for example puts Sudafed, and similar over the counter drugs behind pharmacy counters and creates a drug log of buyers to prevent large sales to persons who use this medication to produce meth. Another bill that has been signed into law will require a doctor's prescription for drugs such as Sudafed, that often end up in meth . Ebay for example recently banned the sales of large amounts of Sudafed to help to stem the use of this over the counter drug in meth.

Now comes the latest silly episode of the Kelley Wirth saga. The incident last month in which Wirth was injured has now reportedly turned up a user amount of meth that police want to question Wirth about. And despite the fact that Wirth is still injured from last month's automobile assault, she is now missing and cannot be found for police questioning and investigation into the meth evidence found.

At least Wirth is not a hypocrite. She was the only vote against tightening the Oregon meth laws. But this is certainly not the sort of conduct that Oregonian's expect of their legislators. The mounting problems for Wirth are a huge embarrassment.

Oregon democrats were able to win back a majority in the state senate. And every race in the Oregon state house is critical to democrats hopes for regaining support in the Oregon legislature. The Republican speaker of the house has sided with the big tobacco lobby interests and has blocked legislation from even coming to a vote that she personally disagreed with, or was against the interests of big business or big lobby efforts. Oregon democrats need to quickly rid themselves of the plague of Kelley Wirth. 2006 may indeed be a big year of "make it or break it" for the democrats. They cannot afford an anchor like Kelley Wirth to drag along the feet of the party. The Oregon state democrats need to quickly urge Wirth to resign her seat, and seek to find an attractive candidate who will honorably represent the seat that Wirth holds in the Oregon legislature. With every seat vital to a democratic revival in the Oregon legislature for democrats, the bad publicity surrounding Wirth is hardly helpful to the chances of the state democrats. Only serious democrats need apply for political offices. There is no room for politicians like Wirth and her "girl's gone wild" type of politics when serious issues face Oregon, and democrats face a vital test in 2006 to wrest control of the state house from the republican majority.