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