Torrey turns Independent.

Byline: Edward Russo The Register-Guard

Former Eugene Mayor Jim Torrey, a lifelong Republican, no longer belongs to the Grand Old Party.

Torrey last month switched his voter registration from Republican to the fledgling Independent Party of Oregon.

A Republican since he turned 21, the 67-year-old Torrey said he switched parties so he can work on his favorite issues without being "shoehorned" into Republican positions or having a Republican label used against him by political opponents.

"I want the freedom to do what I think is important and I don't want to be saddled with the expectations of a party affiliation," he said.

Torrey has joined a political party that was first recognized just last January by the Oregon Secretary of State. Last week, John Frohnmayer, an Independent Party member, announced that he is running against Republican U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith.

Last year, Torrey and State Sen. Vicki Walker waged a bruising battle for the state Senate. As part of the campaign, Walker used TV ads showing Torrey's support for the 2004 re-election of Republican President George Bush. Walker defeated Torrey by 1,705 votes.

Torrey said the defeat "freed" him to change party affiliation. If he had been elected, Torrey said he most likely would have remained a Republican to fulfill promises to his campaign supporters.

Torrey said he became an independent also because he is tired of Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature refusing to "reach across the aisle" to solve problems.

"We have lost the ability to work on common ground issues because of the stringent partisanship that exists," he said.

Torrey, elected to the Eugene School Board earlier this year, said he has been working on efforts to help children, such as expanding early childhood education and health insurance coverage.

He said he did not switch party affiliation in anticipation of running for statewide office, such as state Superintendent of Public Education.

Torrey said "family responsibilities" would prevent him from seeking or serving in a statewide office.

Local political leaders reacted differently to Torrey's switch.

Hal Reed, the chairman of the Lane County Republican Party, declined to say whether he was disappointed.

"We need people like him, with his background and leadership to be part of our party, but everyone has to make up their own mind about what they want to do," he said.

Torrey is "a good man and I respect any decision that he makes," Reed added.

Jared Mason-Gere, chairman of the Democratic Party of Lane County, said Torrey has joined a "whole slew of Republicans" in Oregon and across the country "who have grown tired of their party's increasingly extreme stances."

"Given the failure of Oregon Republicans to lead on issues like education, the creation of family wage jobs, environmental protection, and ending the war in Iraq, what is surprising is that it took (Torrey) so long to leave."

Reed said he doubts that Torrey became an Independent Party member to prepare for another run at statewide office someday.

"It's illogical to think that somebody can get elected as an independent," he said. "You have to get elected with the support of the two major political parties."

The Independent Party formed after supporters last year gathered 26,000 signatures.

The party welcomes voters who are "frustrated" with partisan state politics and the inability of either major party to pass "real ethics laws and campaign finance reform," said co-chairwoman Linda Williams of Portland.

Noting Torrey's Republican background, Williams said, "I guess we are getting folks from both sides of the spectrum."

"We welcome anyone who wants to get out of the two-party bind."

Twenty six percent of the state's voters do not belong to either the Democratic or Republican Party.

Most of them are registered as "unaffiliated" or "other," or they belong to six minor parties, such as Libertarian, Pacific Green and Constitution.

Last week, John Frohnmayer, an unpaid affiliate professor at Oregon State University, and former National Endowment of the Arts chairman, declared as an Independent Party candidate, hoping to unseat Smith for U.S. Senate.

The Independent Party has only 268 members in Lane County. Statewide, the party in July had 3,627 members, according to the secretary of state.

Torrey, a former city councilor and two-term mayor, left the mayor's office in early 2005. He considered running for secretary of state, but stayed on the sidelines to help his wife, Kathy, recover from an illness.

After his state Senate battle with Walker, Torrey earlier this year ran unopposed for a seat on the Eugene school board.

His party switch came about earlier this summer after he and his wife moved from a home in the RiverPointe neighborhood off Ayres Road in north Eugene to an apartment on Goodpasture Island Road. The move forced him to re-register as a voter and rethink his affiliation, Torrey said.

"In the end," he said, deciding to leave his longtime party "wasn't that difficult."

"I sat down and looked at where am I really? I am an independent, pragmatic person and why not be what I am?"