SALEM — Four of six candidates for Oregon secretary of state met Friday for a tete-a-tete before the Salem City Club, answering questions on a host of topics.

The secretary of state is the state’s chief auditor and elections official, and succeeds the governor should he or she leave office before the completion of a term.

The front runners, Democrat Brad Avakian and Republican Dennis Richardson, were joined Friday by Libertarian Candidate Sharon Durbin and Pacific Green Party candidate Alan Zundel.

The gap between Richardson, a former state legislator, and Avakian, the state’s labor commissioner, has narrowed in what was already proving to be a heated contest.

A poll commissioned by The Oregonian/OregonLive and KGW, reported Friday, showed 34 percent of voters prefer Richardson and 33 percent favor Avakian. Twenty-six percent are undecided.

The poll had a 4-point margin of error.

Auditing

Richardson argued that previous secretaries of state have used audits “selectively to protect power,” saying that there was no audit of the state’s botched health insurance exchange, Cover Oregon, of former Gov. John Kitzhaber or of the failed Columbia River Crossing, a project to improve the Interstate-5 bridge between Oregon and Washington.

“We need a secretary of state who will function on behalf of the people, facing the government and making sure that the people’s the money is well spent, not one who faces the people and protects the power base that is already there,” Richardson said.

Avakian said he is the only candidate with a record of holding state agencies accountable, citing certain cases he pursued as the state’s labor commissioner.

He also criticized Richardson, saying that as a member of the Legislature he could have called for an audit of those programs. Richardson served as a state representative from 2003 to 2014.

Durbin, an attorney and former Forest Grove planning commissioner, said a person with “no political dog in the fight” should be the state’s auditor, and that the secretary of state should be “ruthless” but fair in auditing.

Zundel, a former political science professor from Eugene, said there would always be political motivation when a secretary of state was from one of the two major parties.

Motor Voter

Avakian has drawn attention to voter registration issues in the past few weeks.

He supports Motor Voter and wants to educate younger Oregonians about the political process through civics education, and reduce barriers to voting.

Avakian criticized Richardson, who he said sponsored “voter suppression” laws while serving in the Legislature. Richardson supported voter ID legislation.

Durbin favors Motor Voter, while Zundel said the law could reduce the share of Independent Party voters in Oregon. The party recently attained “major party” status in Oregon after it surpassed 5 percent of registered voters.

Richardson agreed with Zundel, claiming Motor Voter was passed to “dilute” Independent voters and that he wanted to include smaller parties in the political process.

Ballot initiatives, referendums

The candidates were asked what, if any changes, they would make to the state’s laws permitting initiative petitions and referendums.

Durbin said she wants to provide people help with drafting initiatives in order to avoid “unintended consequences.”

Zundel said the process gives more power to citizens instead of to political parties beholden to financial interests.

Richardson said citizens have a right to file petitions and referendums, and that the secretary of state should work with the attorney general to draft initiative and referendum descriptions understandable to voters.

Avakian agreed initiative descriptions need to be understandable, and said the secretary of state needs to enforce the signature gathering process along with the attorney general and labor commissioner.

Redistricting

The candidates were asked whether the Legislature should remain in charge of updating legislative districts every decade, or whether it should be the job of the secretary of state.

Richardson said Oregon had a “history of gerrymandering.” He said the state should have a committee studying the issue to see if there is a “fair and balanced” and “honest” way to redistrict.

Avakian said he “disagreed significantly” with Richardson.

“I think Oregon has a very good system,” Avakian said, noting legislators are elected directly by, and are accountable to, voters.

Durbin called for readjustments in legislative districts, saying she believed there was gerrymandering.

Zundel said any answer would be a matter of speculation because the Legislature would have to pass a law ceding the responsibility of redistricting, which was unlikely.