AFSCME #88 backs three in Multnomah Co. races
The union that represents most
workers at Multnomah County an-
nounced Feb. 20 that it will back Deb-
orah Kafoury, Rob Milesnick and Carla
Piluso for three open seats on the non-
partisan County Commission.
Multnomah County Employees Lo-
cal 88, an affiliate of the American Fed-
eration of State, County and Municipal
Employees (AFSCME) represents
some 2,700 workers there. The county
is responsible for jails, libraries, bridges
and an array of social services for the
aged, sick, disabled and mentally ill.
Local 88 is the largest of the eight
unions representing county workers. Its
three-step endorsement process in-
cludes written questionnaires from all
candidates, interviews by the AFSCME
Local 88 Political Action Committee,
and participation in a Candidates’ Fo-
rum. That forum — held at the general
membership meeting Feb. 20 — al-
lowed candidates to respond directly to
questions submitted by members.
“It’s an exciting meeting. I love it
because everybody is so involved,”
said union president Becky Steward.
Following the forum, members dis-
cuss and then vote on their endorse-
ment selections.
Kafoury is a former House Democ-
ratic leader from Northeast Portland.
She served as a state rep from 1999 to
2004. She graduated from Portland’s
Grant High School and received a
bachelor’s degree in English from
Whitman College. Also running in Dis-
trict 1 are Wes Soderback and Mark
Newey. Neither responded to AF-
SCME’s questionnaire or invitation to
the forum.
Rob Milesnick received a law de-
gree from Syracuse University. He
works as a lobbyist for ODS Health
Plans. Prior to that he worked for the
Oregon Judicial Department supervis-
ing DUII probationers in Multnomah
Chase is backing union members with the Union Plus ® Mortgage
Program — a home purchase and refinancing program exclusively
for union members, their parents and children.
County. Also running for the seat in
District 3 are Judy Shiprack, Mike Del-
man, Bruce Barclay and Roy Burkett.
Burkett did not respond to the union’s
invite.
Carla Piluso has a 29-year career in
law enforcement, including the last five
years as chief of police for the City of
Gresham. She holds a bachelor’s de-
gree in political science and speech
from Willamette University. Her 95-
year-old father was a longtime member
of the International Longshore and
Warehouse Union, and Piluso herself
was a shop steward for the Teamsters.
She has been with the police depart-
ment for 29 years. Also running for the
seat representing East Multnomah
County are Diane McKeel and Ken
Quinby.
The primary election is May 20. If
no candidate gets 50 percent plus one,
the top two vote-getters will face off in
November.
Gardner won’t run for Congress;
other candidates still deciding
Oregon Labor Commissioner Dan Gardner, a member of the International
Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 48, has decided not to run for Congress
this year.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Darlene Hooley announced Feb. 8 that she will not seek
re-election to her seat in the 5th Congressional District.
Gardner discussed a possible run with political advisers and his family, and late
last month announced he would not run, saying that spending time with his children
would come first. Gardner has two-and-a-half more years to serve in his second
term as labor commissioner.
Two other potential Democratic candidates also won’t seek the job. They are
Paul Evans and Brigadier General Mike Caldwell. Evans is an aide to Oregon Gov.
Ted Kulongoski and spouse of Hooley’s chief of staff. Caldwell is well-known by
the building trades and in AFSCME circles at the Oregon Military Department.
Meanwhile, State Sen. Kurt Schrader (D-Canby) has thrown his hat into the
ring in the Democratic primary, and former State Treasurer Jim Hill is rumored to
be interested.
On the Republican side, Kevin Mannix and Mike Erickson are looking hard at
the open seat. Mannix is a Democrat-turned-Republican state legislator who ran un-
successfully for governor and attorney general. Erickson challenged Hooley two
years ago — and lost by a sizable margin.
Only one Republican candidate had filed to run at press time. He is R.J. Wilson,
a Salem dance instructor.
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Service Employees International
Union Locals 503 and 49 have en-
dorsed Democrat John Kroger for
Oregon attorney general.
SEIU is Oregon’s largest union,
representing nearly 50,000 workers in
the hospital systems, long-term care,
property services and public-service
sectors.
“We endorsed John Kroger because
we need an attorney general who will
stand up for the people of Oregon and
John has a history of doing the peo-
ple’s work,” said Kate Pingo, secre-
tary-treasurer of Local 49.
SEIU joins Carpenters Union Lo-
cals 247 and 2154 of Portland and
1065 of Salem in supporting Kroger,
along with former Gov. John
Kitzhaber and City Commissioners
Erik Sten, Dan Saltzman and Randy
Leonard.
Kroger is a Lewis & Clark Law
School professor and a former federal
prosecutor, who says he will combat
the state’s meth crisis by pushing for
tougher enforcement and treatment,
will hold polluters accountable by im-
posing fines and jail time, and will
fight for the civil rights of Oregonians
by arguing those cases himself in
court.
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• Savings on closing costs
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