Local state Senator Vicki Walker will leave office for a $100,000 a year political appointment from the Governor, Gov. Ted Kulongoski announced today.

Kulongoski appointed Walker to chair the state Parole Board.

The Lane County Board of Commissioners will take nominees from local Democratic party leaders and appoint a replacement for Walker in the state Senate.

Walker’s District 7 includes west and north Eugene, Santa Clara, River Road and Junction City.

Leading possible candidates for the appointment include the two Democratic state Representatives from the district, Nancy Nathanson and Chris Edwards.

Of the two, Nathanson appears more progressive, based on information from Project Vote Smart. Nathanson, for example, got a 50 percent vote rating from the American Civil Liberties Union last year, whereas Edwards had a 0 percent ACLU rating.

Nathanson scored 95 percent from the Oregon League of Conservation Voters in 2007, Edwards scored 90 percent. The National Rifle Association gave Nathanson’s 2008 voting record an F grade. Edwards got a B from the NRA.

Walker, who also works as a court reporter, served 11 years in the Legislature and played a role in helping to expose former Gov. Neil Goldschmidt’s sex abuse of a 14-year-old girl. Goldschmidt was a close friend of Kulongoski, but Kulongoski denied he new about the crime. Walker was a strong critic of Kulongoski who considered running against him in 2006.

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