Dennis Richardson

Dennis Richardson was elected Oregon Secretary of State in November, making him the first Republican to win a statewide elected office in over 20 years.

(Stephanie Yao Long/The Oregonian)

Late Sunday night, Oregon Secretary of State Dennis Richardson sent out an email with the subject line: "The Dreaded Phone Call... 'There's been an accident...your child is dead.'"

He sent it to 26,000 people.

Sent from a Gmail address associated with Richardson's campaign, the email detailed the death of David Schrock, the adult son of Richardson's deputy secretary, Leslie Cummings.

Richardson, criticized in the past as a "king of spam" for sending mass emails, upset some recipients with his latest mass blast.

He told The Oregonian/OregonLive Monday that he sent it out of empathy for Cummings and her husband getting the devastating notification.

"I was thinking how horrible as a parent I would feel if I got that call, and I wanted to express that," Richardson said of the email. "Some people are going to find fault with it. To those who are offended, I am sorry, and it's not my goal to offend anyone."

According to local news reports, Schrock, a 41-year-old from Waldport, died last week working as an electrical lineman in northern California. He is survived by his wife and two children, Richardson's email said.

The email directed those who "are sorry for the loss of David Schrock" to a GoFundMe page to support his family.

As of Monday afternoon, the campaign had raised more than $54,000, well past its $25,000 goal. At least two people who donated said they heard about the fundraiser from Richardson.

According to Richardson, his 26,000-person email list is made up of people who signed up for campaign updates, donated during his campaign, wrote letters of support or received his newsletters when he was a state representative and who subsequently asked to continue receiving Richardson's updates.

Richardson, who was dubbed by opponents as a "spam king" in 2012 after he used public records laws to obtain and use hundreds of thousands of personal email addresses, said none of the recipients' email addresses this time around were obtained through public records requests.

"This had nothing to do with me being secretary of state," he said. "I've got eight daughters and a son. I was thinking how horrible that would be."

He wanted to remind people to love each other and express it before it's too late, he said. He said the email wasn't politically motivated.

The email featured an unsubscribe button, and Richardson said his campaign is happy to unsubscribe anyone who doesn't want to receive future emails. Since winning election in November, he had only sent a few mass emails conveying holiday greetings, he said.



"It was just a missive on how short life can be," he said. "I'm secretary of state, but I'm still a human being, I'm still a person."

-- Anna Marum

amarum@oregonian.com

503-294-5911

@annamarum