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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 17, 2008)
OCT. 17, 2008:NWLP 10/14/08 9:55 AM Page 2 The Oregon Secretary of State has a new Web site available so that voters can verify that they are, in fact, registered to vote. You can check the status of your family and friends, too. All you need is a name, zip code, and birthday. To check your voter registration, go to: https://secure.sos.state.or.us/eim/vr/showVoterSearch.do b h m k Bennett Hartman Morris & Kaplan, llp Attorneys at Law Oregon’s Full Service Union Law Firm Representing Workers Since 1960 Serious Injury and Death Cases • Construction Injuries • Automobile Accidents • Medical, Dental, and Legal Malpractice • Bicycle and Motorcycle Accidents • Pedestrian Accidents • Premises Liability (injuries on premises) • Workers’ Compensation Injuries • Social Security Claims We Work Hard for Hard-Working People! 111 SW Fifth Avenue, Suite 1650 Portland, Oregon 97204 (503) 227-4600 www.bennetthartman.com Our Legal Staff are Proud Members of UFCW Local 555 Ballot Measure 65 Labor opposes ‘top two’ primary This year, ballot measures spon- sored by longtime labor foe Bill Size- more and conservative activist Kevin Mannix are staring down at organized labor like a partly-loaded pistol. Meas- ures 58 through 64 run the gamut of budget-busting mandatory sentences to tax cuts to the richest taxpayers to muz- zles for public employee unions. With unions campaigning to oppose those measures, other measures at the beginning and end of the ballot aren’t getting as much attention. But labor or- ganizations are taking sides on those as well — supporting two of the legisla- tive referrals on the ballot, and oppos- ing an initiative that would change Ore- gon politics. The referrals are Measure 56 and Measure 57. The initiative is Measure 65. Measure 56 would get rid of the “double majority” requirement that dooms many local school and fire dis- trict levies. Under the double majority, which passed as part of a 1996 ballot measure authored by Sizemore, local property tax measures on the ballot in May elections cannot pass unless the majority of a district’s registered voters cast ballots, and a majority of those are in favor. But that’s considered undemo- cratic because non-voters can doom a levy even when voters approve it by a wide margin. Measure 57 is an alternative to Measure 61, one of the two Mannix measures. Measure 61 would institute mandatory minimum sentences for cer- tain property crimes. Measure 57, the alternative, would increase sentences, but leave discretion in the hands of judges and prosecutors, and ensure that addicts get treatment while incarcer- ated. Measure 65, meanwhile, would radi- cally change Oregon elections in ways that — most labor leaders have con- cluded — are not in the interests of working people. It’s opposed by the Oregon AFL-CIO, the Oregon Educa- tion Association, the Oregon State Building and Construction Trades Council and most union locals. Labor’s main criticism of the measure is that it would make it harder for non-wealthy people to run for office. Measure 65 would institute the “top two” primary. No longer would the pri- mary be the way Democrats and Re- publicans select who they want to nom- inate in the general election. Instead, all voters would choose among all candi- dates from all parties. The top two vote- getters would then square off in the general election, even if they are mem- bers of the same party. The measure would also eliminate the right of minor parties to place nominees on the gen- eral election ballot. “It’s going to cost labor a lot more,” said Bob Shiprack, executive secretary of the Oregon Building and Construc- tion Trades Council. “I can’t see one thing in this ballot measure that con- vinces me it’s a good idea.” Measure 65 could make elections more expensive in several ways. First, races that are now basically settled in May would drag out to November. In districts that lean strongly Democratic or Republican, whoever wins the May primary under the current system is fairly assured of victory in November. Michael Dembrow is a good exam- ple. A union activist leader within the American Federation of Teachers, Dembrow won the Democratic primary for House District 45. Because the Northeast Portland district leans strongly Democratic, Dembrow is al- most assured election in November. But what if Oregon had the top-two primary? Dembrow would have to have taken twice as much time off from his job as an instructor at Portland Com- munity College, and run not one but two strenuous campaigns. Dembrow says he probably would not have run if that had been the case. The price tag would also have gone up for the union political committees that support Dembrow’s election. Not only would they have to fund two cam- paigns, but they would have had to mail to a greater number of voters in the pri- mary — not just Democrats. It’s notable, says Oregon AFSCME Council 75 political coordinator Joe Baessler, that most of the backers of the measure are CEOs and deep-pocketed business groups. Baessler said the measure has the support of middle-of- the-road political figures because they think it will result in the election of more moderates. In party primaries, candidates must first appeal to mem- bers of the party; in a top-two primary, the candidate would need to compete for all votes from the get-go. Columbia-Pacific Building & Construction Trades Council Endorsements for the Nov. 4 General Election O R E G O N City of Portland Commissioner #1 C h a r l e s L e w i s Multnomah County Commissioner # 3 J u d y S h i p r a c k Commissioner # 4 C a r l a P i l u s o Columbia County Commissioner #3 T o n y H y d e Fairview City Council Commissioner #3 T h e r e s a D a v i s Wood Village City Council Commissioner #2 G a r y M o o re Clatsop County Commissioner #2 P a t r i ci a Ro b e rt s C e n t e n n i a l S c h o o l D i s t r i c t B o n d M e a s u r e 2 6 - 9 7 Proudly Endorsed By: Su p po rt • United Food & Commercial Workers Local 555 • Tualatin-Valley Firefighters Association, Local 1660 W a s h i n g t o n (representing Scappoose and Clatskanie firefighters) • Teamsters Joint Council No. 37 • Oregon School Employees Association, St. Helens Chapter 31 • Oregon School Employees Association, Clatskanie Chapter 53 • Northwest Oregon Labor Council • Oregon State Building and Construction Trades Council • Columbia County Democratic Central Committee PAGE 2 ‘Earl Fisher is a person of integrity and vision. His ideas to bring living-wage jobs to Columbia County are fresh and original. I’m endorsing Earl Fisher.’ Clark County County Commissioner #1 P a m B r o k aw County Commissioner #2 J e a n n e H a r ri s SKAMANIA County Rita Bernhard Columbia County Commissioner County Commissioner #2 B r u c e S ch e r l i ng Paid for and authorized by the Columbia-Pacific BCTC NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS OCTOBER 17, 2008
