leadership. She chaired the
national Democratic Wo-
men’s Caucus until 2004,
when she was unseated
ernor and he needs a
from her DNC post by party
proposal typed up.
activist Jenny Greenleaf.
Groener is “old
Back at the Club, it’s
school,” a high-tech
11:45, and Botkin is prepar-
holdout who refuses to
ing her testimony for the
cart around a laptop.
hearing. She looks in her
“I’m not a produc-
computer for notes of what
tion typist,” Botkin
she said in 2005.
says. “If you want it by
At 12:30, she grabs
9:30, you better give it
lunch and heads to a fourth-
to me right away.”
floor conference room for
Lobbyists trickle in
the weekly meeting of the
and out of the room;
United Labor Lobby — an
several confer nearby.
informal roundtable of the
Without time to
Capitol’s union lobbyists.
read every bill, lobby-
Today a couple dozen labor
ists rely on each other
lobbyists sit around a table,
to stay on top. It’s like
reacting to a $220 million
a hive. They exchange
bombshell. Last night, Josh
little pieces of infor-
Kardon of U.S. Senator Ron
mation with each other
Wyden’s office delivered a
as they pass in the hall. At a Feb. 16 hearing on a bill to give 911 operators early grim message — the federal
“Holvey just left retirement, AFSCME lobbyist Mary Botkin testifies along with government isn’t going to re-
the hearing.” “Schau- 911 dispatcher Stephanie Babb.
new its subsidy to rural
fler is looking for you.”
counties that used to collect
“Any idea what this
revenue from federal timber
Rep. John Lim, a Gresham Republi-
bill is supposed do?” “What did you can, is the first.
sales. They debate responses, but don’t
think of Kardon’s presentation?”
see a way out. AFSCME stands to lose
“How are you?” she asks.
Botkin has a special status in the
350 members who work in rural county
“Working hard for you,” he replies.
hive, and 20-plus years at the Capitol
“You always work hard for me,” she government.
have earned her an outsized reputation. says. They get right to the point. She’s
Botkin has seen a lot of layoffs over
Critics and admirers alike describe her pushing a bill to require that state work- the years. In fact, layoffs were her intro-
as a fighter, loyal, hot-tempered, blunt ers be reassigned if an on-the-job injury duction to legislative politics. In the late
and funny. All day long, fellow lobby- prevents them from doing their old job. ’70s, when rising natural gas prices cost
ists come up to her with questions or Lim asks questions. How many people her husband Mike his job at Oregon
greetings, asking for directions to some- does this affect? Who will oppose it? Steel Mills, Botkin threw herself into or-
one’s office, borrowing mouthwash.
Will it cost money? Which committee is ganizing a group called the Plant Clo-
Botkin says it’s her policy to treat it assigned to?
sure Committee. They didn’t stop the
other lobbyists with professional cour-
Botkin closes the meeting by asking plant closures, but they did help win a
tesy, regardless of who they work for.
Lim what his priorities are. Reciprocity federal law requiring companies to give
“There’s no bad guys. Everybody has is an unspoken rule of lobbying. She’s 60-days notice before mass layoffs.
a job to do,” she says.
After lunch, Botkin sees Rep. Paul
asking his support on one of her bills;
Besides, sometimes they work to- maybe she can help on one of his.
Holvey in the hall. He’s a Eugene De-
gether.
Botkin has no qualms working both mocrat and a union carpenter.
A minute later she’s speaking into sides of the aisle in Salem, but in the
“Do I have to lobby you?” she asks.
her wireless cell phone earpiece: “I re- wider world, she’s a diehard Democrat.
“It depends on which side you’re on,”
ally need to know what’s going on with From 1988 to 2004, she served as one he says.
the 911 bill.”
“I’m on the side of the angels,” she
of two Oregon representatives on the
It’s time to make the rounds, visit a Democratic National Committee, the says.
few lawmakers.
“I’d better read the bill,” Holvey says,
body which chooses the party’s national
teasing.
Botkin’s record of candor provokes
the same from legislators, and the more
experienced ones don’t beat around the
Kirkland
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It’s 2 p.m., an hour before the hear-
ing. AFSCME council representative
Deb Kidney and several 911 dispatchers
Kirkland
have arrived. They are setting up in the
Union Plaza
hearing room. The recordings are truly
1414 Kauffman Avenue
horrifying. They decide not to use the
Vancouver, WA 98660
one where the caller’s daughter has just
shot herself.
360•694•4314
At 2:30, City of Portland lobbyist
Mark Landauer takes Botkin aside. In
hushed tones he tells her he’s going to
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Steam is practically pouring out of
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Botkin’s ears as she re-enters the hearing
room, closing the door behind her.
...Labor Lobbyist
(From Page 1)
work area: Members only.”
The Capitol Club is Oregon’s 400-
strong lobbyist professional association,
and Room 40 is their clubhouse — a
combination lounge/workspace where
they can retrieve messages and hang out
between appointments. There’s wi-fi,
coffee and closed-circuit television
screens showing whatever’s under way
in legislative committee chambers.
Ducking into the Legislative Printing
Office, she grabs a copy of the Joint
Legislative Schedule — a compendium
of every official proceeding at the Capi-
tol that day. Today’s is 42 pages long.
Botkin joins Baessler at Café Today,
a basement diner where lobbyists and
capitol staffers chow on the cheap. Law-
makers have their own cafeteria, off-lim-
its to the public.
A legislative assistant to House De-
mocrat Mike Schaufler walks by.
“How are you, Mary?”
“I’m fine,” she sighs.
“That wasn’t very convincing,” he
says.
She’s thinking about the hearing. Her
bill is assigned to the House Business
and Labor Committee. Schaufler, a for-
mer member of the Laborers Union, is
the chair.
She’s got hours to kill before her first
scheduled meeting, and heads back to
the Capitol Club. It’s not yet 8 a.m., and
the lounge is nearly empty.
By now, Botkin is multi-tasking.
She’s checking e-mail on her laptop,
reading a bill, browsing a specialized
legislative database that helps lobbyists
track 90 lawmakers and thousands of
bills. At 8:30 she picks up the remote
control and flips channels on the TV,
stopping to watch Portland Democrat
Diane Rosenbaum chair a hearing on
ballot measure reform.
A few minutes later, AFSCME lob-
byist Ralph Groener walks in. “Mary, I
need your help.”
He has a 9:30 meeting with the gov-
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PAGE 4
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NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
At 2:50, Sally Jones walks in, beam-
ing. Jones, a lobbyist for an association
of 911 managers, tells Botkin she’s sup-
porting the bill this time and will testify.
In past sessions, they didn’t support it.
Then Schaufler, the committee chair,
comes in to fetch Botkin back outside to
the hall — he’s heard about the fracas
with Portland and wants to see if tit can
be resolved. No settlement is reached.
At 3 p.m., the hearing begins.
Chair Schaufler bangs the gavel, and
calls Botkin and Stephanie Babb as the
first witnesses. Babb is a 15-year veteran
of the Portland 911 call center. She
walks the committee through the record-
ing. They listen as a 911 operator helps
calm and guide a woman trapped in a
burning mobile home. They stop the
recording.
“What happened?” Rep. Vicki
Berger wants to know.
“She burned to death,” Botkin an-
swers.
The second recording, a few seconds
in, a woman screams, “He blew his head
off.” Schaufler interrupts: “I think we’ve
heard enough.”
The point is made. Imagine listening
to that, day after day, week after week,
for 25 years.
Then Landauer takes the micro-
phone.
“We’d like more time to review this
bill. We’re concerned that it creates a po-
tential fairness issue, because it would
allow dispatchers to retire without reach-
ing the age of 50, which is the present
standard for Police and Fire.”
Fire and Police would ask for the
same, he suggests. Behind him, the 911
workers are fuming.
Out in the hall after the hearing,
Botkin is all gloom. “You people are
never going to retire early,” she tells the
dispatchers.
Landauer calls her over for a quick
word. “It’ll get fixed. I’m a straight
shooter. You have my word.”
Schaufler comes out, and speaks to
Botkin.
“They’re going to move the bill any-
way,” she tells her people. Schaufler is
the bill’s sponsor, and they’ve got the
votes. The delay is a courtesy.
In the car ride back to Portland, she
decompresses. “It’s not about who you
are,” she tells Baessler. “When they talk
to you, it’s our organization they’re talk-
ing to.”
Turning philosophical, she tells a
story.
“One of our [corrections] officers
came in to testify. He was really nerv-
ous, and he spoke in voice so soft you
could hardly hear him.”
But he followed Botkin’s advice —
“talk about what you know — your job.”
Having his union behind him meant he
could give lawmakers his honest opin-
ion, without fear of repercussion. Soon,
they were asking him questions, and he
straightened up. The effect was physi-
cal. Seeing that elected leaders were in-
terested in what he said, he became
taller.
Over the years, Botkin has won pas-
sage of more bills than she can remem-
ber. But what gives her the greatest sat-
isfaction is the thought that her work
enables her members, public employees,
to stand a little taller.
MARCH 2, 2007