Both candidates in the Senate District 3 race have condemned recent mailers that attempt to smear Democrat Alan Bates over a messy child custody battle that began more than 20 years ago.

"This is the dirtiest politics you can get," said Bates. "They (opponent Jim Wright’s campaign) are going to try to get the benefit from this and be like Pontius Pilate and say their hands are clean."

Republican candidate Wright denounced the mailers and said he had no prior knowledge that a third party would send them out, although he had heard rumors.

"I would have done anything to not have this happen," he said. "This is not how I wanted to get to Salem."

The mailers, which don’t refer to Wright specifically, are being distributed this week in Jackson County by the Leadership Fund, a Salem political action committee that supports Republican candidates in Oregon.

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The Leadership Fund is one of the biggest contributors to the Wright campaign, giving $37,234 so far. The Wright campaign also will be required to list the cost of the mailers as an in-kind contribution.

The mailers briefly recount court records of Bates failing to appear in a Colorado court in 1981 over child custody matters, triggering a bench warrant for his arrest. They also state he failed to pay $29,539.20 in child support.

Bates didn’t dispute the charges, but said the mailers neglected to say he was ultimately awarded custody of the children.

In 1989, a district court in Denver determined that the mother had created an environment that was "clearly harmful" and gave Bates custody of his two daughters.

"In the end the courts vindicated me by saying the kids were taken out of an unsafe house," Bates said.

His stepdaughter, Kim Bethel, also moved in with Bates during the mid-1980s, even though he didn’t have legal custody of her at the time.

Bethel said Bates rescued her from a dangerous home environment with her mother, whom she hasn’t spoken to in 16 years.

"He risked a great deal because he did not have legal rights to me," said Bethel, 36, a medical assistant who lives in Colorado.

Her mother, Meri Hayworth, who lives in Denver, said, "He (Bates) took a child of mine that was not his."

She said Bates illegally took her children away from her.

Hayworth provided court documentation that showed years of legal wrangling that began in 1980 between her and Bates over child custody and child-support payments.

Bates’ attorney sent a check for $43,572.50 on Nov. 16, 1989, to Hayworth, who was then known as Meri Pfeifer, and her attorney for court fees and custody payments.

Bethel described her mother as a person who created a traumatic home environment of abuse and drugs.

"All three of us girls do not have any contact with her," she said.

Bethel said she and her two sisters had a loving, caring relationship with Bates. All three sisters graduated from Jackson County high schools under his care.

"He talked to me," Bethel said. "He was patient and understanding. He has always been very understanding. As much as she (her mother) bashed him, he didn’t bash her."

Bethel said she was eventually adopted by Bates at the age of 24.

Bates doesn’t dispute that a warrant was issued for his arrest or that he ended up paying back child support payments.

"I just paid her off to be done with it," he said.

Backing up claims made by Bates, the District Court in Denver on Nov. 24, 1989, stated in its ruling on the custody matter, "The Court grants a change of custody of Keri Bates from the respondent (Hayworth) to the petitioner (Bates)."

The court also stated, "The parties have previously stipulated to a change of custody of Krista Bates from the respondent (Hayworth) to the petitioner (Bates)."

The court document states that one of the reasons for changing the custody status for Keri was that "it would be dangerous to leave her in her present environment."

Bates said the girls often lived with him when the legal disputes were under way, complicating the custody payment issue.

"A lot of the time, I was sending child support when they were living with me," he said.

Despite the gravity of some of the legal proceedings against him, Bates said he only had the best interests of the girls in mind at the time.

"There is nothing I’m ashamed of," he said. "If I had to do it over, I would do it again."

Bates said he had hoped that neither side would engage in smear tactics during the campaign.

"I turned $100,000 in contributions down because I didn’t want to go negative," he said. "I said I would step out of the race (if it turned negative), and I meant it."

Rick Thomas, executive director of The Leadership Fund, said the Wright campaign had no prior knowledge of the mailers.

"We haven’t discussed this piece with Jim, Burke or anybody in the campaign," he said. Burke Raymond is Wright’s campaign manager.

Even if Wright had told them not to mail them, Thomas said, "We probably still would have done it."

He said it is important for voters to know about the candidates, particularly if they had to pay almost $30,000 in back child support payments and had an arrest warrant issued against them.

He said it is possible that more mailers could be sent out in the next few days to Jackson County residents.

The Leadership Fund looked into the court records for some time, said Thomas, explaining why the mailers had come out so late in the election season.

The cost of the mailers was unavailable and the eventual size of the in-kind campaign contribution to the Wright campaign was also not available, he said.

Campaign leaders on both sides denounced the Leadership Fund’s tactics.

Wright campaign worker Bob Luther condemned the work of "alleged friends in Salem."

"We’re upset," he said. "Jim’s upset. Everybody’s upset. This is not Jim Wright."

"We denounced the flier," said Raymond. "We had nothing to do with it."

Cathy Shaw, Bates’ campaign manager, said she had warned Wright about two weeks ago that she’d heard about the mailer.

This kind of smear campaign ultimately will hurt both candidates, she said.

"It’s about destroying two men — two pillars of the community," she said.

Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail dmann@mailtribune.com

Meg Landers contributed to this report.