Independent Party of Oregon

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The Independent Party of Oregon (IPO) is a centrist political party in the U.S. state of Oregon. The IPO was created in response to changes in Oregon law in 2005 (House Bill 2614) that made it far more difficult for non-affiliated candidates to run for public office in Oregon.

The IPO was certified by state elections officials on January 24, 2007. Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury attempted to block its growth by refusing to print new voter registration cards that would include the Independent Party as a choice.^{[citation needed]} His plan was to continue to use obsolete voter registration cards until nearly 2009.^{[citation needed]} Party backers prepared a lawsuit and showed it to Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers, who then directed Bradbury to print new voter registration cards and discard the old ones not later than July 1, 2007.^{[citation needed]}

The IPO is Oregon's fastest-growing party, having added more than 17,000 members since its inception in January 2007. John Frohnmayer (who served as director of the National Endowment for the Arts in the first Bush administration) has announced that he is seeking the IPO's nomination to run for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Republican Gordon Smith. Former Eugene Mayor Jim Torrey, who lost a 2006 bid for the Oregon State Senate as a Republican, has also changed his registration to Independent and is running to reclaim his seat as mayor of Eugene against incumbent Kitty Piercy.