Majority Leader Wayne Scott Skirts Truth in Candidate Forum
Rep. Scott’s claims about Oregon State Police funding misleading, inaccurate
In a candidate forum sponsored by the North Clackamas County Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, House Majority Leader Wayne Scott offered a number of inaccurate and misleading statements about staffing cuts to the Oregon State Police (OSP).
In the joint appearance with his Democratic rival Mike Caudle of Oregon City, Rep. Scott asserted that the OSP “didn’t have any layoffs, contrary to what the paper says. They didn’t have one layoff.”
While technically true, Scott’s claim overlooks the fact that the budget approved by the House Special Committee on Budget, which he chairs, eliminated 20 sworn trooper positions by failing to provide funds to replace retiring officers. (Source: Budget Report and Measure Summary – 73rd Legislative Assembly, page 9.)
Rep. Scott also stated that the legislature “actually increased State Police total involvement, I think, by 21 people.” The annual report published by the Legislative Fiscal Office, however, indicates that there were 38 fewer positions in the OSP budget for 2005-2007 than there were in the 2003-2005 budget – and 364 fewer than in the previous biennium. (Source: 2005-07 LAB – Public Safety, page 170.)
“While Representative Scott wants to cover up his record of cuts to the Oregon State Police, I believe we must not only restore the positions eliminated by his committee but also hire more troopers and detectives to keep our highways safe and our communities free of methamphetamines,” explained Caudle in a subsequently released statement.
For those interested, the audio file of Scott's remarks are available in .mp3 form here with the first comment beginning near the 2:12 mark and the second coming near the 3:34 mark.
In a candidate forum sponsored by the North Clackamas County Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, House Majority Leader Wayne Scott offered a number of inaccurate and misleading statements about staffing cuts to the Oregon State Police (OSP).
In the joint appearance with his Democratic rival Mike Caudle of Oregon City, Rep. Scott asserted that the OSP “didn’t have any layoffs, contrary to what the paper says. They didn’t have one layoff.”
While technically true, Scott’s claim overlooks the fact that the budget approved by the House Special Committee on Budget, which he chairs, eliminated 20 sworn trooper positions by failing to provide funds to replace retiring officers. (Source: Budget Report and Measure Summary – 73rd Legislative Assembly, page 9.)
Rep. Scott also stated that the legislature “actually increased State Police total involvement, I think, by 21 people.” The annual report published by the Legislative Fiscal Office, however, indicates that there were 38 fewer positions in the OSP budget for 2005-2007 than there were in the 2003-2005 budget – and 364 fewer than in the previous biennium. (Source: 2005-07 LAB – Public Safety, page 170.)
“While Representative Scott wants to cover up his record of cuts to the Oregon State Police, I believe we must not only restore the positions eliminated by his committee but also hire more troopers and detectives to keep our highways safe and our communities free of methamphetamines,” explained Caudle in a subsequently released statement.
For those interested, the audio file of Scott's remarks are available in .mp3 form here with the first comment beginning near the 2:12 mark and the second coming near the 3:34 mark.
posted by Jonathan Singer at 12:52 PM
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