Last modified: Sunday, August 24, 2008 2:02 AM PDT Candidates assess bank accounts By JULIA SILVERMAN Associated Press PORTLAND — In the dog days of August, many people kick back and soak up the end of summer, before school starts and the weather turns brisk. No such rest, though, for politicians who are vying to win election in November. Summer is their time to stockpile money in preparation for the fall, when it’s time to start spending money on television ads and glossy mailers. In Oregon, a review of the campaign finance database maintained by the secretary of state’s office shows that some candidates and causes have wasted no time in amassing hundreds of thousands of dollars, while others are off to a far slower start. Oregon House Democrats, who are looking to expand their slim, 31-29 majority in that chamber, have a whopping $772,000 to spend on helping Democrats get elected, boosted by big donations from some of the incumbents who are maneuvering for caucus leadership positions. Topping that list is Rep. Dave Hunt, D-Gladstone, who kicked in $27,000 from his own political action committee, or PAC; Hunt, now the majority leader, looks to become the new speaker of the House when the Legislature convenes in January. A big donation to FuturePAC, the House Democrats’ fundraising committee, also came from Rep. Arnie Roblan, D-Coos Bay ($20,000), who is mentioned as a future majority leader. And Gov. Ted Kulongoski — who would like nothing better than to see the Democrats hold a comfortable majority in both chambers for the last legislative session of his tenure, making it easier to pass his agenda — sent over $25,000 from his own PAC. Being in the majority has its privileges, said Rep. Peter Buckley, D-Ashland, who is FuturePAC’s treasurer. Traditionally more conservative groups, like transportation and business interests, have been giving to House Democrats, he noted. And with that much money in the bank, Democrats will be able to go on the offensive, perhaps putting up to a dozen House races into play. By contrast, the House Republicans have just $31,009 on hand, about one-eighteenth of the Democrats’ total. Minority Leader Bruce Hanna of Roseburg says they’ll be relying more on individual candidates and caucus members to raise their own funds, saying his goal is to get the chamber at least to a 30-30 tie. ‘‘I get up everyday concerned about how to win, and how to get ahead,’’ Hanna said. ‘‘But you can’t buy an election. You have to work hard, you have to have the right candidates.’’ There are also a handful of statewide races on the November ballot that are likely to be big-spending campaigns. In the race for secretary of state, Republican candidate Rick Dancer is leading in the fundraising chase by a 2-to-1 margin, though Democratic state Sen. Kate Brown has been tagged as the favorite in the race. Dancer, a first-time candidate and former news anchor on KEZI-TV in Eugene, who has more than $86,000 on hand, has been getting solid donations from traditional Republican sources, like the timber and agriculture industries. Brown, the former Senate majority leader, was a fundraising powerhouse during the three-way Democratic primary in the spring, but has since slowed her pace and now has just over $37,000 on hand. Dancer said he’s glad to have the come-from-behind factor on his side. ‘‘A good story is when you have that element of surprise that comes in,’’ he said. ‘‘We are starting to hit a stride. We have a race and that’s good.’’ Brown, though, can probably catch up quickly: She’s got connections built up over the years to tap, including with local unions and national groups like Emily’s List, which supports female candidates. ‘‘We are not taking this race lightly,’’ said Amy Wilson, a spokeswoman for Brown, who raised nearly $600,000 in the primary. ‘‘We expect to run an efficient, cost-effective campaign.’’ Perhaps some of the most competitive fundraising has come in the race for state treasurer, which pits Democrat Ben Westlund against Republican Allen Alley. The difference there comes in cash-on-hand: Alley has spent nearly all of the $200,000 he’s raised, and is counting pledges of cash, yet to materialize, in his final totals. Westlund is better positioned going into the fall, with about $165,000 on hand, after raising nearly $90,000 in July and again in August. His donors include $3,000 from a company hoping to develop a liquefied natural gas terminal near Astoria; the state treasurer is one of three votes on the Oregon Land Board that could help determine the project’s fate. A spokeswoman says Westlund hasn’t made up his mind about the proposal yet. Westlund also got a $20,000 donation from the Oregon Education Association; Alley has pledges from some traditional Republican donors, including $20,000 from Rod Wendt, the CEO of Jeld-Wen, the Klamath Falls-based window-and-door manufacturer. Some of this fall’s biggest spending is likely to be on the 11 ballot measures that Oregonians will weigh. A union-backed umbrella group, Defend Oregon, kicked things off with a $450,000 donation from the Service Employees International Union, about all of which has already been spent, but contributions from other unions, and business groups, are planned. Defend Oregon is opposing a handful of measures sponsored by conservative activists, including proposals on mandatory sentences for property crimes, identity theft and meth dealers and prohibiting the use of union dues for political purposes. So far, the group’s fundraising dwarfs that of ballot measure proponents, though wealthy medical equipment manufacturer Loren Parks, a former Aloha resident, has donated $75,000 to the mandatory sentencing efforts. ‘‘We probably will be outspent, we will see,’’ said Kevin Mannix, the sponsor of the minimum sentencing measure and a former GOP chair. To compete, he said, the campaign will look for cheap, but still effective ways to get its message across, like the 41 billboards he said have gone up across the state in the last few days.