Capital Press
The West’s
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2015
VOLUME 88, NUMBER 45
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Weekly
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COURTING THE
NATIONAL VOTE
Four state leaders
vie for helm of
American Farm
Bureau Federation
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
A
s the U.S. turns its attention to the
upcoming national presidential
election in 2016, another political
competition is quietly underway
across the country.
The candidates aren’t as recogniz-
able as those seeking the Republican and
Democratic nominations, and their tactics
aren’t nearly as cutthroat, but the winner
will nonetheless have a powerful role in
shaping U.S. farm policy.
With the impending retirement of
Bob Stallman, the current president of
the American Farm Bureau Federation,
the organization will in January choose a
new chief executive for the fi rst time in 16
years.
The president of the nation’s largest
farm organization is considered a key rep-
resentative of the agricultural industry,
regularly rubbing elbows with national
political and business leaders while travel-
ing widely and earning roughly $800,000
a year.
Four candidates
Four state Farm Bureau presidents
— Barry Bushue of Oregon, Zippy Du-
vall of Georgia, Kevin Rogers of Arizo-
na and Don Villwock of Indiana — are
now campaigning in a political environ-
ment much different from that of the last
AFBF presidential election in 2000.
In that contest, Stallman was a rising
star challenging a longtime incumbent,
Dean Kleckner, in an attempt to change
existing management practices at the or-
ganization.
The political landscape has also dras-
tically shifted since the election Kleck-
ner won in 1986, which was the last time
a retirement left the presidency up for
grabs.
Then, agricultural policy was more a
matter of internal discussion than a subject
closely scrutinized by the public.
Turn to VOTE, Page 16
Ryan: No comprehensive immigration overhaul with Obama
Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.
WASHINGTON (AP) —
House Speaker Paul Ryan
on Sunday ruled out a com-
prehensive overhaul of the
immigration system while
President Barack Obama is in
offi ce.
The new leader of the Re-
publican-controlled House
said in several interviews Nov.
1 that he will not work with
Obama because the president
went around Congress with an
executive order to shield from
deportation millions of people
living here illegally.
“I don’t think we can trust
the president on this issue,”
Ryan said on NBC’s “Meet
the Press” and other pro-
grams. “I do not believe we
should advance comprehen-
sive immigration legislation
with a president who has
proven himself untrustworthy
on this issue.”
The decision puts off
any prospect of addressing a
comprehensive immigration
overhaul until at least 2017
— after the presidential race
and Obama’s departure from
offi ce. It leaves the legislation
stalled in the House and with-
out a chance of being revived
in the Senate.
The White House accused
Ryan of “pandering to the ex-
treme right wing” of his party
In wake of Sakuma ruling, Washington
L&I explains paid rest breaks
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
OLYMPIA — The Washington Depart-
ment of Labor and Industries has issued
instructions for paying piece-rate workers
separately for rest breaks, but farm groups
say growers will need more guidance to
fully understand the state Supreme Court’s
new mandate.
“The Supreme Court ruling has creat-
ed a huge mess for L&I and employees,”
Washington Farm Labor Association Exec-
utive Director Dan Fazio said in an email.
“It will take many years to sort it out —
which benefi ts attorneys, not workers.”
The state Supreme Court in July ruled
that piece-rate farmworkers must be paid
for 10-minute breaks based on what they
Turn to REST, Page 16
Don Jenkins/Capital Press
Workers pick cucumbers at a southwest Washington
farm. The state Department of Labor and Industries
has issued guidance for complying with a state
Supreme Court decision requiring piece-rate workers
to be paid separately for rest breaks.
on immigration.
White House spokesman
Josh Earnest said Ryan’s re-
cent comments on immigra-
tion reform are “preposter-
ous” and disappointing.
Earnest called the remarks
“ironic.” He said it’s Ryan
who supported an immigra-
tion deal, then failed to push
for it to come up for a vote in
the House.
As recently as last year
Ryan was working behind the
scenes in the House to pro-
mote immigration legislation
following Senate passage of a
comprehensive bill, including
a path to citizenship for those
here illegally.
The White House criticism
comes as Ryan is maneuver-
ing carefully on the issue of
immigration, long a priority
Turn to RYAN, Page 16