District 4: Prozanski.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Voters use many of the same criteria to choose the best candidate as employers use to hire the best applicant for a job. Who is more qualified? Who has the most relevant recent work experience? Who will bring the most energy and enthusiasm to the organization?

In the Senate District 4 race between appointed incumbent Democrat Floyd Prozanski and Republican challenger Norm Thomas, the job of representing the district clearly should go to Prozanski. The four-term legislator is substantially more qualified, and if undecided voters are looking for something else to tip the balance, Prozanski really wants to be their voice in Salem.

Thomas, an avuncular 73-year-old retiree, had no intention of running for office again after a lackluster showing in the 1998 Republican primary. When Lane County Republicans were casting about for a candidate to oppose Prozanski, Thomas turned them down.

After some arm twisting, he reconsidered, and was rewarded with copious campaign contributions from the Senate Republicans Political Action Committee.

Thomas comes across in person as a likable, low-key candidate with a self-deprecating sense of humor and a solid grasp of Republican themes. He believes state spending is "out of control" and could be cut much further without damaging essential services. That view of the state budget isn't shared by many knowledgeable analysts, including a number of Republican legislators.

On the stump, the soft-spoken Thomas morphs into Mr. Hyde. He has waged a fiercely negative campaign to paint Prozanski as a tax fanatic who "led the charge in the Oregon State Senate for bringing baseball to Portland while school budgets were being slashed." Really?

Prozanski wasn't a member of the Senate when the baseball stadium was being debated, and he never spoke on the measure in the Legislature. He simply voted for it, along with 32 other Democrats and Republicans in the House, and it passed.

District 4 voters should disregard the tired strategy of misrepresenting procedural votes and committee actions as "votes for tax increases." Prozanski's record speaks for itself. He's a prosecutor with firsthand knowledge of what the state's criminal justice system is up against. He has been a tireless advocate for adequate school funding, support for seniors and holding state programs accountable for how taxpayers' money is spent.

Prozanski has seven years of experience struggling with his legislative colleagues to balance the state budget while trying to maintain essential services. He's pushing to close tax loopholes that allow big corporations to pay a minimum income tax of $10.

The difference between running for the Legislature and serving in it is something like the difference between going fishing and catching fish. District 4 voters have a chance to elect a senator who won't let important opportunities get away.

They should vote for Prozanski.