‘Labor legislators’ keep workers’ interest in mind
A cadre of of retired unionists is
seeking re-election to the Oregon
House of Representatives — with the
intent of keeping an eye out for work-
ers’ interests.
Lawyers and small business own-
ers dominate the Republican-con-
trolled House. The “labor legislators”
— all of whom are blue-collar De-
mocrats — help counter-balance that.
In the current state House, Democ-
rats have 27 seats while Republicans
have 33. The Democrats would need
to gain four seats to take over.
Most of the “labor legislators” have
a relatively easy path to re-election.
Only Larry Galizio has an opponent
running an active campaign.
“Things
seem to be fine
at this point.
I’ve seen my
opponent at
only one com-
munity func-
tion,” said Rep.
Jeff Barker,
63, a retired
lieutenant of
the Portland Police Bureau and a for-
mer president of the Portland Police
Association and editor of the union
newspaper, The Rap Sheet.
Barker, of Aloha, is running for a
third term in House District 28. His
opponent is Republican Eldon
Derville-Teer.
Barker serves as vice chair of the
State and Federal Affairs Committee
and is a member of the Judiciary Com-
mittee and Joint Legislative Counsel.
He was appointed chair of the Judi-
ciary subcommittee on Criminal Law
by the Republican House leadership.
A former Marine, Barker said in an
earlier interview with the NW Labor
Press that his experiences as a contract
negotiator, union leader, street cop,
lieutenant, pension trustee, college
graduate and average citizen are rea-
sons why voters should re-elect him to
the House.
During the last legislative session,
Barker rated a 93 percent on the Ore-
gon AFL-CIO’s Committee on Politi-
cal Education (COPE) scorecard.
Larry Gal-
izio, 42, a fac-
ulty member at
Portland Com-
munity Col-
lege and mem-
ber of the
American Fed-
eration
of
Teachers-Ore-
gon
Local
2277, is seeking re-election in House
District 35.
The first-term state representative
from Tigard recorded a 94 percent
COPE voting record with the AFL-
CIO.
Galizio, an instructor in communi-
cations and journalism at PCC’s Syl-
vania Campus, served on the House
Revenue and General Government
Committees during the 2005 session.
He is a strong proponent of educa-
tional issues and school funding. He
opposed a school funding plan pushed
by House Republicans because it did
not provide for reasonable class sizes.
Instead, he worked (albeit unsuccess-
fully) to fund schools in accordance
with the state’s Quality Education
Model.
Galizio’s seat is being targeted by
the GOP. He is opposed by Shirley
Parsons, a retired Portland police offi-
cer.
Rep. Diane Rosenbaum, 56, is the
senior labor
legislator. She
is seeking a
fifth term in
House Dis-
trict 42, rep-
resenting
Southeast
Portland.
Her only
opponent in
the November
general election is Jeff Cropp from the
Pacific Green Party.
Rosenbaum is a retired central of-
fice technician for Qwest and a 30-
year member of Communications
Workers of America Local 7901.
During the 2005 legislative session
Rosenbaum was the House Democra-
tic Whip. This year she is the Assistant
House Democratic Leader and is help-
ing out in other campaigns.
“Democrats have had to fight aw-
fully hard just to stay where we are,”
said Rosenbaum, referring to attacks
by the Republican leadership on re-
ducing indexed minimum wage in-
creases and cutting funding for the
Oregon Bureau of Labor and Indus-
tries.
“Not a lot of good has been hap-
pening (at the Legislature) for work-
ing people,” she continued.
With a Democratic majority, she
said labor would be in a stronger posi-
tion to make inroads to strengthen col-
lective bargaining rights for workers,
for tax fairness and for school funding.
Rosenbaum has served as president
of the Coalition of Labor Union
Women, on the Executive Board of
the Oregon AFL-CIO and the North-
west Oregon Labor Council, and is a
founding member of the Workers’
Rights Board of Portland Jobs with
Justice.
She also is president of the Na-
tional Labor Caucus of State Legisla-
tors, a bi-partisan network of union
member and union-friendly state law-
makers who promote working family
issues in state legislatures throughout
the country.
Rosenbaum has a 100 percent life-
time AFL-CIO COPE voting record in
the Legislature.
Although
no stranger to
state politics,
Rep. Brad
Witt, 54, is
considered the
rookie of the la-
bor legislators.
He was ap-
pointed
to
House District
31 in January
2005 after former Rep. Betsy Johnson
resigned to accept an appointment to
the State Senate.
Witt, of Clatskanie, served 14 years
as secretary-treasurer of the Oregon
AFL-CIO and is currently working for
United Food and Commercial Work-
ers Local 555.
During his first session, Witt was
assigned to the General Government
Committee and the Information Man-
agement and Technology Committee.
“It’s been a wonderful challenge to
represent a vast rural district and be a
voice for working people. I’m com-
mitted to returning to Salem to repre-
sent our community’s values,” Witt
said.
A graduate of the University of
Massachusetts, Witt earned a master’s
degree from the University of Oregon,
specializing in management, econom-
ics and sociology.
He is a veteran of many state
boards and commissions and has lob-
bied on such key issues as economic
and workforce development, natural
resources and workers’compensation.
Witt had a 100 percent COPE vot-
ing record in his first session.
He faces two challengers this No-
vember, Republican Mike Kocher and
candidate Bob Ekstrom, chair of the
Constitution Party.
Rep. Paul
Holvey, 52, is
a community
relations rep-
resentative for
the Pacific
Northwest Re-
gional Council
of Carpenters.
He is seeking
a second term
in House Dis-
trict 8.
A native of Eugene, Holvey was
originally appointed to the seat by the
Lane County Board of Commission-
ers in January 2004. He won his first
election in November 2004.
He serves as vice chair of the Elec-
tions and Rules Committee and on the
Business, Labor and Consumer Af-
fairs Committee.
A former secretary-treasurer of Eu-
gene Carpenters Local 1273, Holvey
was trained in the Carpenters appren-
ticeship program. As a lawmaker he
emphasizes the importance of having
and maintaining a skilled workforce.
“When you flush the toilet, the
lights shouldn’t come on,” he said.
Holvey serves on the Oregon-SW
Washington Carpenters Joint Appren-
ticeship and Training Committee, the
Economic and Workforce Develop-
ment Committee of the Lane County
Labor Council, the Siuslaw National
Forest Resource Advisory Committee,
and as a board member of the Lane
Business Education Compact.
He attended Lane Community Col-
lege, Central Washington University,
and the University of Oregon. He also
received a U-Lead certificate from the
Labor Education and Research Center
of the University of Oregon.
He recorded a 100 percent COPE
voting record in 2005.
Holvey is opposed by Republican
Andrew Hill.
Rep. Mike
Schaufler, 46, a
former member
of the Laborers
Union, is seek-
ing a third term
in House Dis-
trict 48.
He left the
union to become
a contractor in
1996, but he re-
mains a staunch supporter of building
trades union issues.
Schaufler is vice chair of the the
Business Labor and Consumer Affairs
Committee and he sits on the Budget
Committee and Water Committee.
He has held posts on the Happy
Valley City Council; the Happy Valley
Transportation Advisory Committee;
the Clackamas County Concurrency
Project; the League of Oregon Cities
General Government Committee and
the Happy Valley Budget Committee
and Planning Commission.
He recorded a 76 percent COPE
voting record in the 2005 session.
Schaufler is being challenged by
Bill Stallings of the Constitution Party.
For a complete list of bills the Ore-
gon AFL-CIO tracked to determine its
2005 COPE voting record, go to
www.oraflcio.org, then click on “Our
Democracy.”
...Labor organizations differ on some legislative candidates
(From Page 3)
gon AFSCME Council’s Executive Board,
elected at biennial conventions, which makes the
final decision. Generally, any incumbent state
legislator who scores an 80 percent or higher
voting record on AFSCME issues the previous
legislative session earns an automatic endorse-
ment and is not required to go through the inter-
view process.
An exception to that occurred this year with
State Rep. Kim Thatcher (R-Keizer), who had an
8-2 AFSCME voting record in the 2005 session.
Thatcher agreed to be listed as one of the co-
PAGE 6
sponsors of a statewide ballot measure that
would restrict union dues collections. Because of
that, the PAC decided to interview both Thatcher
and her House District 25 opponent, Chuck Lee,
and eventually endorsed Lee over Thatcher. The
Oregon AFL-CIO and OSBCTC are also back-
ing Lee, while the ONA, alone among unions, is
endorsing Thatcher.
The OSBCTC political effort is advised by
Pac/West Communications, a lobby and commu-
nications firm headed by former Republican leg-
islator Paul Phillips. With help from Pac/West,
the Building Trades Council has developed
friendly relationships with some Republican leg-
islators, who back the building trades unions on
issues like licensing, apprenticeship, defense of
the prevailing wage, and public investment in in-
frastructure.
One prominent race where unions split was
on Oregon House Speaker Karen Minnis (R-
Fairview). The Oregon AFL-CIO rated her 36
percent for her votes last year — the lowest of
any legislator — and this year voted to endorse
her opponent, Rob Brading. But AFSCME and
OSBCTC endorsed Minnis.
“We got heat for the Minnis endorsement,”
acknowledges Don Loving, Oregon AFSCME
communications director. “But she walked our
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
picket line in 1999 at the Columbia River Cor-
rectional Institution, when our people were on
strike.”
Also, Minnis had a 5-2 record on bills AF-
SCME prioritized in the 2005 legislative session.
As for SEIU, the former AFL-CIO affiliate
stayed out of some races where the Oregon
AFL-CIO made endorsements, and endorsed
some candidates in races the Oregon AFL-CIO
stayed out of. In one race, they’re on opposite
sides: For House District 37 in West Linn, SEIU
is backing Democrat Bev Backa while the Ore-
gon AFL-CIO backs incumbent Republican
Scott Bruun.
OCTOBER 20, 2006