Today was the last day for candidates from the major political parties to file for public office in Oregon.

The results of today's filings are not good for our system of representative government. If the general election were held tomorrow, 33 out of 75 legislative races would be uncontested, including 8 out of 15 Senate races and 25 out of 60 races in the House.

The Republicans did not even bother to field a candidate for Oregon Attorney General.

There is still time for an Independent or non-affiliated candidate to emerge. However, given that the legislature has effectively locked non-affiliated candidates off of the ballot in Oregon, the only place for credible candidates to turn may very well be the fledgling Independent Party, which was created to provide ballot access to candidates who don't want to run as a Democrat or as a Republican.

Aside from campaign finance and election reform, the party's only criteria seem to be the candidate's perceived electoral viability.