Former congressman, felon Cooley may run for office again

Former U.S. Rep. Wes Cooley, convicted of a felony for lying about his Korean War record in the 1994 Oregon Voters' Pamphlet, may announce his candidacy for the office today.

A man identifying himself as the Powell Butte Republican called Medford radio station KOPE during a talk show Thursday night to say he would run for the office, according to Central Point attorney Dennis Richardson, district chairman of the Republican Party.

"It's his right to do so if he chooses," Richardson said, then added, "We'll support any Republican the people choose in the primary."

Cooley could not be reached for comment.

But many party leaders say Cooley, who left office 14 months ago in disgrace, has no chance of winning re-election.

The party was abuzz with rumors Thursday afternoon that Cooley would run for the office. In the past, he has used KOPE as a political forum.

"It's unbelievable," said state Sen. Lenn Hannon, R-Ashland. "I find it incredulous that he would even consider running for that seat having gone through what he did.

"But maybe he thinks that since the president is getting such high marks with his behavior then he (Cooley) can be elected to Congress."

Perry Atkinson, a Medford Republican in a race for the seat with Hood River businessman Greg Walden, was scratching his head over the political maneuver.

"It sure doesn't fit anywhere in Political Science 101," Atkinson said.

If Cooley does run, he will need to explain why he is in the race, Atkinson said. Incumbent Bob Smith, R-Medford, is retiring from the House.

"It would create more problems for Walden than me," Atkinson said, noting that Walden had worked on Cooley's campaign in 1994.

"We'll have to see how it plays out," Atkinson said, then added, "But we could have two guys in the race that Bob has endorsed."

Smith, who has held the seat for a collective 14 years, endorsed Cooley after he won the GOP primary in 1994. Smith, who had announced plans to retire at that point, was recruited by state and national Republicans to run in 1996 after Cooley dropped out of the race amid allegations of lying about his war record. Smith is again retiring, and has endorsed Walden.

Convicted last March of lying in the Voters' Pamphlet, Cooley was sentenced in Marion County Circuit Court to two years probation and 100 hours of community service and fined $5,000.

Despite his felony conviction, Cooley is likely eligible to run, according to Jackson County Clerk Kathy Beckett and Georgette Brown, her counterpart in Josephine County.

"If a convicted felon serves out his term of incarceration, then all voting rights are restored," Beckett said. "He would then be eligible to vote, but also to file."

If Cooley does run, it would be an interesting race, observed Jim Moore, a political scientist at the University of Portland. Moore, who was reared in Medford, keeps an eye on politics statewide.

"It means what was going to be a carefully scripted primary campaign between the north end and south end would have a very interesting wrench thrown into the entire plan," Moore said.

"It would not be expected that Cooley would win very many votes," he added.

Yet Cooley could influence the outcome between Walden and Atkinson, he said, noting that the two major Republican candidates each have a strong following.

"This will be fun," Moore said.

Larry Brown, chairman of the Josephine County Republican Party, described the potential of a Cooley campaign as "interesting."

"It's just surprising, considering everything that has transpired in the past," Brown said.

Democrat Sue Kupillas, a Jackson County commissioner who lost to Cooley in the 1994 general election, was also taken by surprise.

"I'm speechless -- I'm literally speechless," she said. "This tops everything."