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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (June 6, 2008)
NW Oregon Labor Council candidates do well Labor ally Sam Adams outpolls 12 to win mayor’s race When ballots were counted May 20, most of the candidates backed by Port- land-area unions won local government office. Most city and county races are non-partisan, and if no candidate wins a majority in the primary, voters pick be- tween the top two in November. Of the 10 races the Northwest Ore- gon Labor Council (NOLC) made en- dorsement recommendations, eight were victorious in the primary. Outright winners included Sam Adams for mayor of Portland; Dennis Doyle for mayor of Beaverton; Nick Fish and Randy Leonard for Portland City Coun- cil; and Craig Roberts for Clackamas County sheriff. Only Leonard and Roberts are incumbents. Adams, a Portland city commis- sioner, garnered more than 52 percent of the vote in a field of 13 candidates running for an open seat. Incumbent Tom Potter did not seek re-election after serving just one term. Businessman Sho Dozono finished a distant second with 34 percent of the vote. Adams is an ally of organized labor and had wide union support, including AFSCME Local 189, the largest union at the city. Adams has worked with Thirty-two people and seven labor organizations received awards May 31 at the 11th annual Labor Appreciation and Recognition Night dinner sponsored by the Northwest Oregon Labor Council. In addition to paying tribute to these “friends of labor,” the event was a fundraiser for Labor’s Community Service Agency. This year, $2,031 was raised on raffle tickets for cash and Made in the U.S. prizes donated by local unions and area businesses. This year NOLC made a special pre- sentation to Congresswoman Darlene Hooley (center photo left), who is retiring after 12 years in the U.S. House of Representatives. Making appearances were U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (above), Portland mayor-elect and city commissioner Sam Adams, city commissioner-elect Nick Fish, Democratic nominee for Congress (to succeed Hooley) Kurt Schrader, and Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian. Recognized at this year’s dinner (pictured below) were: Jerry and Genny Schmunk, Claude McMahan, George and Dorothy Socha, Ted and Ann Totten, Lee Herman, James Bernardin, Don and Pam Peters, Randy Shaw, Mike Pucik, Bruce Hansen, Anna Tompte, Al Panek, Val Jack, Helen Gourde, Jim Davis, Ron Rogers, Leanna Hakala, Regina Klavano, Clif Davis, Shannon Walker, Jim Cook, Bill Shatava, Kenneth Morgan, Barbara Lewis, Bill Wimmer, Dee Dee Pruit, Sharron Rainey, Suzanne Kunse and Marty Blake. Machinists Lodge 63, IBEW Local 48 and its international, the Pacific NW Regional Council of Carpenters, Exterior and Interior Specialists Local 2154, and Carpenters Locals 247 and 1388 were recognized for their contributions to the Unions For Kids Motorcycle Poker Run, an annual fundraiser for Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. Appreciation Night Honors Friends of Labor PAGE 12 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS building trades unions (he helped John Mohlis of the Columbia Pacific Build- ing and Construction Trades Council get a mayor-appointed seat on the Port- land Development Commission), and is a regular at anti-WalMart rallies put on by United Food and Commercial Work- ers Local 555. During an endorsement interview with the Executive Board of the Northwest Oregon Labor Council, Adams said, “I will be a union mayor — and I won’t apologize for it.” Adams doesn’t take office until Jan- uary 2009. In a special election to fill an open Portland City Council seat, labor attor- ney Nick Fish won outright with 61 per- cent of the vote. Several unions helped his campaign with elbow grease and campaign contributions. Fish’s largest contributions came from AFSCME Lo- cal 189 ($4,000) and Teachers Voice in Politics ($3,500). He will be sworn in to office this month. NOLC-endorsed candidate Mike Fa- hey finished fourth in a six-person race for Portland City Council, Position 1. Amanda Fritz, a member of the Oregon Nurses Association, was the top vote- getter, capturing 44 percent of the vote. She was endorsed by UFCW Local 555, Laborers Local 483, and Letter Carriers Branch 82. She will face Charles Lewis, who received 13 percent of the vote. In Multnomah County, three of five seats on the commission were open this election. The top vote-getter was Deb Kafoury in District 1, with 87 percent of the vote. She was endorsed by AF- SCME Local 88, the biggest union of county employees, and Portland Fire Fighters Local 43. Judy Shiprack and Carla Piluso won easily in their respective races in Dis- tricts 3 and 4, but neither garnered the 50 percent plus one needed to win out- right. Both had the support of NOLC. Shiprack, a former state legislator and wife of building trades union offi- cial Bob Shiprack, finished first in a field of six candidates with 37 percent of the vote. The runner-up with 18 per- cent of the vote was Mike Delman, pub- lic affairs director of Portland Habilita- tion Center and a former staffperson at AFSCME. He had endorsements from UFCW Local 555 and the Oregon Nurses Association. Piluso, chief of police for the City of Gresham, received nearly 48 percent of SAM ADAMS the vote in a four-person race in east Multnomah County. Her opponent in November will be West Columbia Gorge Chamber of Commerce Director Diane McKeel, who finished with 28 percent of the vote. Local 88 President Becky Steward said she was particularly pleased to see Piluso — who the union endorsed — make it to November, because of her public safety background. “It’s very dif- ficult for the commission to deal with public safety issues if they don’t have someone with expertise,” Steward said. In Beaverton, union support helped unseat four-term Mayor Rob Drake, who was described as very difficult dur- ing contract negotiations with city gov- ernment workers who belong to Service Employees Local 503. SEIU, NOLC, and the Beaverton Police Association endorsed challenger Denny Doyle, a Beaverton city councilor. Doyle won with 10,507 votes to Drake’s 8,768. In Clackamas County, Wilsonville Mayor Charlotte Lehan finished first in a four-person race for County Commis- sion, Position 4. With 47 percent of the vote, Lehan will be in a runoff in No- vember against runner-up Dave Mowry, who garnered 25 percent of the vote. Mowry is a political consultant and for- mer aide to Republican State Rep. Linda Flores. NOLC-endorsed Trent Tidwell fin- ished fourth in a seven-person race for Clackamas County Commission, Posi- tion 5. Tidwell is a city commissioner in Oregon City. Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts won re-election over two other candidates with 79 percent of the vote. JUNE 6, 2008
