Former Eugene Mayor Declares Independence

According to press reports, former Eugene Mayor, Jim Torrey, who narrowly lost a race for the State Senate to Democrat Vicki Walker has joined the Independent Party of Oregon.

Torrey said that he wants to advocate for issues he cares about without being shackled to the GOP platofrm:

"I want the freedom to do what I think is important and I don't want to be saddled with the expectations of a party affiliation...We have lost the ability to work on common ground issues because of the stringent partisanship that exists,"