Ron Saxton believes that his experience in the private sector makes him the most qualified candidate for governor this election. Although some might argue that experience with state government should be relevant in overseeing a multibillion dollar budget and tens of thousands of state workers, let’s take him at this word.

After a lifetime as a corporate lawyer, who would Ron Saxton represent?

Although Saxton has touted his ownership of a cherry farm in Rickreall, he spent most of the last 22 years as a partner at the Portland law firm Ater Wynne. Saxton chaired the firm throughout the 1990s. His practice focuses on the business and energy sectors, with an "emphasis on major corporate initiatives."

Ater Wynne’s energy clients currently include oil giants BP and ConocoPhillips and Northwest Natural Gas. And you may remember when Saxton and his firm swapped horses midstream and dumped the City of Portland to represent Texas Pacific in the PGE buyout.

The firms other clients include drug manufacturers Bristol Myers Squibb, Pfizer and Merck, and the payday lender Dollarwise Check Cashing Loan.

Chair of the Portland Board

Saxton’s only brush with public office was serving on the Portland School Board from 1997-2001. But despite touting his time on the Board as a model for state government, Saxton’s record shows a pattern of approving golden parachutes for top administrators and consultants and administrative budgets that grew faster than classroom spending.

During his term on the board, Portland Public Schools authorized over $1 million in severance packages for top administrators and consultants:

• Saxton approved the hiring Steve Goldschmidt as a $221,000 consultant with a severance clause that ultimately cost the district $620,000. As the Oregonian wrote in an August 24, 2005 editorial, "Goldschmidt's job contract is a spectacular relic from 2001, a time when the district's leadership and policies were in disarray. The district had no clear standards for administrator contracts. The school board was painfully naive."
  
• Saxton also approved the contract of Superintendent Ben Canada, who left the district in 2001 with a $260,000 severance package.
  
• Canada’s deputy, Susan Dyer, left the District with a $238,000 severance package after just seven months of the job. Saxton admitted in an interview he hadn’t even been aware of the severance provisions in her contract.