Retired ophthalmologist Gordon Leitch ran into a snag during his campaign for governor of Oregon when the state would not accept his $20 gold pieces to pay his candidate filing fee.
Leitch believes gold and silver coins are the only legitimate forms of legal tender, with paper money and checks constituting fraud on the part of government. His campaign promises include a 30-percent discount on taxes paid in those precious metals.
The office of Oregon?s Secretary of State declined Leitch?s $100 filing fee on the grounds that no bank would accept the coins for deposit.
In February, Leitch refiled and provided a candidacy statement to be placed in the election pamphlet that the state will distribute to voters. He paid the $1,000 fee for placement in the pamphlet with 1,000 U.S. silver dollars, which were reported to be worth nearly $9,000.
The state accepted this payment. But then Leitch filed a lawsuit to oust the other candidates from the ballot, arguing that their filings weren?t valid because they didn?t pay their fees in gold or silver. A judge threw out the suit, but Leitch said he intends to appeal to the state Supreme Court.
