August 7, 2009:NWLP
8/4/09
10:20 AM
Page 5
WSLC ranks state lawmakers
The old method may be imperfect,
but this year’s ratings made it clear it
was a tough session for labor. Not one
of the Washington Senate’s 49 members
got a 100 percent rating, and just five of
the 98 House members got 100 percent.
Ratings were based on lawmakers’votes
on eight bills. WSLC had made it clear
that the bills were of importance to la-
bor. The report in all its detail is avail-
able at www.wslc.org/legis/index.htm.
The top-ranked House members,
with 100 percent ratings, were Democ-
rats Bob Hasegawa, Mark Miloscia,
Mike Sells, Geoff Simpson, and Bren-
dan Williams. Hasegawa is a former
leader of Seattle-based Teamsters Local
174. Sells is secretary-treasurer of the
Snohomish County Labor Council in
Bremerton.
And top ratings in the Senate went to
Democrats Craig Pridemore of Vancou-
ver and Kevin Ranker of San Juan Is-
land. Both had 88 percent ratings.
Bottom-ranked in the Senate — at 13
percent — were Seattle-area Democrat
Al O’Brien and three Republicans.
Overall, Democrats had higher
scores than Republicans, but in the Sen-
ate, the two top-rated Republicans (Don
Benton and Pam Roach) had higher
scores than the five lowest-rated De-
mocrats. Tom Campbell of Pierce
County was far and away the highest
...WSLC may
alter political
action strategy
(From Page 1)
it’s also been customary in the past for
unions to make nominal contributions
to friendly politicians who are not fac-
ing serious election challenges. The
problem is those politicians often pass
on the contributions to party leaders,
who may use it to help elect Democrats
who are not close to labor.
WSLC also wants to develop a new
method for rating lawmakers. Cum-
mings said it has become common
practice for Democratic leaders to “pro-
tect” their members from individual ac-
countability to labor — either by pre-
venting bills from getting a vote or by
blocking roll-call votes in which there’s
a record of how lawmakers voted.
Those practices make it hard for labor
to rate lawmakers’ votes on priority
bills. Also, the traditional rating system
gives legislators credit for voting the
right way on the final passage of the
bill, even if they actively worked against
the legislation during the committee
process or in caucus meetings. For ex-
ample, some legislators who co-spon-
sored the Worker Privacy Act reportedly
worked behind closed doors to quash it
and avoid a vote, after being pressured
by Boeing and other business interests.
All this is on the agenda at the con-
vention, which started Aug. 6, after this
issue went to press.
AUGUST 7, 2009
ranked House Republican, at 75 percent.
Several ranking choices turned the
usual partisan comparison upside down.
Most Democrats voted to approve the fi-
nal state budget, while Republicans
voted against it. WSLC opposed it, ar-
guing it went too far cutting state serv-
ices. Including the budget vote in the
rankings meant all Republicans had at
least 13 percent, while few Democrats
could make 100 percent.
Also, this year’s ratings had a sort of
giveaway – a bill expanding unemploy-
ment insurance that passed almost unan-
imously in both chambers. WSLC sup-
ported the important bill, which added
$45 a week to unemployment checks,
but including the bill in the ratings had
the effect of bumping everyone’s ratings
up slightly, and lessening the difference
between ranked lawmakers.
SW Washington lawmakers ratings
were as follows:
D ISTRICT 17 (E AST V ANCOUVER )
Sen. Don Benton (R) — 50%
Rep. Tim Probst (D) — 63%
Rep. Deb Wallace (D) — 38%
D ISTRICT 18 (C AMAS , W ASHOUGAL ,
B ATTLEGROUND , R IDGEFIELD ,
L A C ENTER , K ALAMA )
Sen. Joseph Zarelli (R) — 25%
Rep. Jaime Herrera (R) — 29%
Rep. Ed Orcutt (R) — 25%
D ISTRICT 19 (L ONGVIEW , K ELSO )
Sen. Brian Hatfield (D) — 50%
Rep. Dean Takko (D) — 63%
Rep. Brian Blake (D) — 75%
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D ISTRICT 49 (W EST V ANCOUVER )
Sen. Craig Pridemore (D) — 88%
Rep. Jim Jacks (D) — 88%
Rep. Jim Moeller (D) — 75%
Labor council in Vancouver makes
picks for August primary election
VANCOUVER — Ballots have
been sent to residents eligible to vote in
this month’s Washington primary elec-
tion. The deadline to return ballots is
Aug. 18. If more than one candidate is
running for a post, only the top two
vote-getters will advance to the general
election in November.
In Southwest Washington, the Clark,
Skamania, Klickitat Central Labor
Council has issued endorsements in
several races.
At the City of Vancouver, the labor
council supports Jack Burkman for an
open seat on the City Council, Position
1. Burkman is running against three
others in a seat being vacated by in-
cumbent Pat Jollota. The labor council
also endorsed Anne McEnerny-Ogle
for Position 3. She is challenging in-
cumbent Jeanne Harris, who has gar-
The Marco Consulting Group
nered endorsements from several union
locals. The Vancouver City Council is a
non-partisan race.
For Battle Ground City Council, the
labor group likes incumbent Mayor
Michael Ciraulo for Position 1;
Michael Dalesandro in Position 4;
Adrian Cortes for Position 5, and in-
cumbent Bill Ganley for Position 6.
The labor council endorsed Mark
Rohr for a seat on the non-partisan
Washougal City Council. It also sup-
ports the re-election of Port of Vancou-
ver Commissioner Nancy Baker.
Nationally, the labor council en-
dorsed HR 676, the single-payer health
care reform bill sponsored by Rep. John
Conyers, (D-Michigan). HR 676 would
institute a single payer health care sys-
tem by expanding an improved
Medicare system to all U.S. citizens.
Washington PAC #48
Washington Primary Endorsements
City of Battle Ground
Michael J. Ciraulo, Pos. 1
Michael Dalesandro, Pos. 4
Adrian Cortes, Pos 5
Bill Ganley, Pos. 6
City of Vancouver
Royce E. Pollard, Mayor
Jack Burkman, Pos. 1
David Michael Heywood, Pos. 2
Jeanne Harris, Pos. 3
City of La Center
Al Luiz, Pos. 2
Barbara M. Vinning, Pos. 3
City of Washougal
Lou Peterson, Pos. 6
City of Ridgefield
Ron Onslow, Pos. 1
Battle Ground School District
John G. Idsinga, Dist. 3
Vancouver School District
Nelson Holmberg, Pos. 3
IBEW #48 encourages everyone to
VOTE!
Paid for by Washington PAC #48, P.O. Box 2883, Battle Ground, WA 98604
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
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