District 37 candidates wait for fall

Scott Bruun and Michelle Eberle are unopposed this primary election

West Linn Tidings - May 15, 2008
By Dan Itel

It’s only spring, so forgive Scott Bruun and Michele Eberle if they still like each other.

The two West Linn residents have at least a few more months to turn against one another. Bruun and Eberle, the only two candidates for House District 37, are running unopposed in Tuesday’s primary election; so big headlines full of accusations haven’t yet marked their campaign. The way they talk about each other, it may even stay clean in November when Eberle, the Democrat and West Linn City Council president, takes a shot at unseating the two-term Republican Bruun.

“I like Michele a lot,” Bruun said. “She has been a good councilor and dealt with her share of challenges. I give her and the council a lot of credit.”

Bruun said the two first met while they were speaking at a neighborhood association meeting.

“I think Scott Bruun is a very good person,” Eberle said. “He’s a neighbor of mine. I think that he’s done a fine job. But I think I can bring depth and breadth of experiences that will be better suited for issues in the House.”

Bruun, 42, may be relatively young and a junior member of the House, but he’s been a part of some meaningful legislation. His name is attached the school nutrition, metal theft and renewable energy bills. He prides himself so much on his willingness to step across the aisle that he physically has sat on the Democrat side of the House floor during each of his terms. There have even been times when his level of Republican loyalty has been questioned.

“As strange as that sounds, that has been a tremendous opportunity,” Bruun said of the coincidence of his seat location. “It helped me develop some good legislation in 2007.”

Eberle’s political experience has largely been gained at the local level.

In her two terms on the West Linn City Council, she has dealt with a city recovering from one of the largest embezzlements of public money in state history when the city financial director stole more than $1.4 million two years ago. Since then, West Linn has been awarded for the way it deals with its finances.

“The issues that people care about are issues, whether it’s at the local level or state level,” said Eberle, 46. “My experience on the council — land use, transportation, education — those are the same whether it’s at the local or state level.”

Both candidates acknowledge that some of the biggest issues facing the state are also high on the list of concerns of residents of District 37, which includes West Linn, Tualatin and parts of Lake Oswego — growth, education, health care and the environment.

“The issues are big,” Bruun said.

Bruun said he feels like he has built a momentum in his two terms — while serving on the health care and revenue committees in each of his two terms — a momentum he feels will be lost should someone new step in.

Eberle says her regional experience exists in her time on the South Fork Water Board and the Clackamas County Citizen Review Board.

“I know my breadth and depth of experience is really valuable and will be a tremendous asset with making policy decisions,” she said.

Perhaps where the candidates differ the most — aside from their political affiliation — is in their private careers.

Bruun is the president of S.I. Grace, a general contracting firm. And prior to that, he was a vice president for his family’s general contracting firm Lorentz Bruun Co. He also spent more than 10 years in commercial and corporate banking.

Eberle is the executive director of Clackamas County Women’s Services.

What is abundantly clear is their campaigns will certainly take on a different tone in the fall.

“(Eberle) would be a great legislator,” Bruun said. “She just needs to do that after I get done.”