Rebecca Barrett, October 17, 2006
When Sara Gelser ran for the state Legislature two years ago, some people in the party thought it was a bad idea.
Gelser, the challenger in the 2004 Democratic primary, surprised some party faithful when her campaign exposed the shortcomings of the two-term legislator against whom she was running. Some people went so far as to criticize her for bringing up her opponent's voting record and pointing out her shoddy attendance at the Legislature and public events.
Gelser narrowly lost the primary election to then-Rep. Kelley Wirth, who went on to victory in the 2004 election.
But it turned out that Gelser was right to call for a change in representation.
A year later, Wirth resigned in disgrace, facing a drug charge and an ethics complaint.
Last December, Gelser was the unanimous pick of Benton and Linn county commissioners to serve as interim representative for District 16, including Corvallis and Philomath.