OCT. 17, 2008:NWLP
10/14/08
9:55 AM
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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