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Challenger Lars D.H. Hedbor, left, is taking on incumbent Richard Burke for a spot on Tualatin Valley Water District's commission. The men belong to rival factions of the Oregon Libertarian Party, which has infused the Washington County race with controversy and rancor.

(Courtesy/Hedbor Burke campaigns)

Campaign controversy is bubbling up in one of the most unlikely places - a race for the Tualatin Valley Water District board of commissioners.

Robo calls, a "hatchet-piece" mailer and accusations of ethical wrongdoing are roiling the contest, which is normally as low-key as area politics get.

Not lost on observers is the fact that the two candidates - longtime TVWD incumbent Richard Burke and challenger Lars D.H. Hedbor -- are members of rival factions of the Libertarian Party of Oregon.

The two, along with the party branches they represent, share a long and contentious history.

Burke served as the party's executive director in the late 1990s, when Hedbor and others tried to oust him over allegations of financial impropriety. Nothing was proven, no charges were filed and Burke left of his own accord.

An intraparty split since then has resulted in ongoing arguments over which delegation gets seated at national Libertarian Party conventions, and lawsuits are still pending.

Hedbor's wing of the party is the one officially recognized by the Oregon Secretary of State's office. He won election two weeks ago as the party's new chairman.

The feud has now emerged in the race for one of TVWD's five unpaid commission positions. The district provides drinking water for more than 200,000 residents, most of them in unincorporated Washington County.

Even seasoned political analysts say they've rarely seen such acrimony, most of which is coming from Hedbor and his backers, in a contest for a special service district's unpaid seat.

"This harkens back to a time when people said the party is everything and if you're not with us, you're an apostate," said Jim Moore, a Pacific University political science professor and TVWD district resident. "It's just amazing."

Moore first knew something unusual was afoot when he recently received a mailer claiming that Burke used the Libertarian Party of Oregon's bank account for "his personal expenses." It added that Burke was once put on trial by the party and "found guilty of five major offenses."

"I can state with confidence that (Burke) is the most duplicitous, self-serving, back-stabbing, conniving member this party has ever known," read a mailer quote attributed to Wes Wagner, recent past chairman of one of two Oregon Libertarian Party factions. "His reputation ... is legendary and steeped in well-earned infamy."

Soon, Moore received an automated robo call claiming that district water rates have climbed by 160 percent since Burke was first elected in 1999. A mailer from Hedbor's campaign followed that, repeating the 160 percent claim.

Burke, an information consultant who lives in Hillsboro, called the mailer and robo call "appalling and disappointing." He defended his record as a district water commissioner and said his focus will remain on helping secure a new long-term supply for district customers.

"A lot of growth is coming to this area, and we have a duty to our ratepayers to ensure adequate supplies over the next 50 to 100 years," said Burke, 51. "That's really what I'm focused on right now."

TVWD commissioners, in a unanimous decision, voted in 2013 to join the city of Hillsboro in building a 30-mile-long pipeline linking district customers with the Wilsonville Water Treatment Plant's facility on the Willamette River in Wilsonville.

Construction of the $1 billion project is scheduled to begin in 2020.

He disputed Hedbor's cost-increase assertion, saying the figure over his time in office is closer to 102 percent. However, even that number is misleading, he said, since TVWD, as a wholesale customer of the city of Portland, has little choice but to pass along cost hikes precipitated by large capital projects throughout Portland's water system.

"We've done everything we can to absorb those costs, but at some point, rates have to go up," Burke said. "That's precisely why we are looking to the Willamette River to develop our own new source."

Burke declined to respond to "attacks on my character" from Hedbor and others, including Wagner.

"My real fear," he said, "is that this kind of campaign will make the district seem less stable than it is."

Hedbor, 47, acknowledged that his campaign "may sound like a vendetta, but it's actually more than that. I genuinely feel like I'm better able to represent our ratepayers."

Burke's vote in support of a Willamette River supply option "ignored" public sentiment on the issue, he said.

"He simply dismissed the public will," Hedbor said. "That's not how an elected official should act."

Wagner, who has so far donated $2,000 to Hedbor's campaign and been reimbursed another $5,830 for one of two mail pieces, had far harsher words.

He repeated one of the mailer's claims that Burke at one point misused the party's credit card for personal use - an assertion that Burke, in a follow-up interview, declined to comment on.

"Burke will lie and lie and lie," Wagner said. "And you can quote me on that. If he wants to sue me for libel let him."

Two TVWD commissioners backed Burke's performance in office.

"When it comes to water policy, Richard knows what he's talking about and he's done a fine job," said Jim Doane, a retiree who once worked as the Portland Water Bureau's chief engineer. "But he's only one of five and we're pretty much unanimous in the big decisions we make."

Commissioner Dick Schmidt agreed, saying, "Richard has absolutely" been effective.

"But in my opinion," he added, "this is about politics, not water. I think that's pretty clear to everyone."

-- Dana Tims

503-294-7647; @DanaTims