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MARCH 4, 2011:NWLP 3/1/11 10:09 AM Page 3 Building trades miffed at Metro for bypassing Shiprack Building trades unions are miffed at the Metro Council for not appointing Bob Shiprack, recently retired execu- tive secretary of the Oregon State Building Trades Council, to fill a va- cant seat in District 6. Councilors of the regional govern- ment voted 5-1 on Feb. 17 to have for- mer Oregon governor Barbara Roberts complete the unexpired term of Robert Liberty. Liberty is a former director of the environmental group 1000 Friends of Oregon who resigned in mid-Janu- ary to take another job. Union officials aren’t sore at Roberts, a labor-endorsed Democrat who was elected the state’s first woman governor in 1991. They’re more per- turbed by how the process played out that led to her appointment. “It’s a bit disconcerting,” Shiprack told the Labor Press a week after the vote. “After going through this process, I definitely have a clearer understand- ing of why it’s so hard to get things done in this region.” Here is what happened: Following Liberty’s resignation, Metro solicited applications for the va- cancy through Feb. 9. Shiprack, a for- mer six-term state legislator, was one of the first to announce his candidacy. Another was Bob Stacey, Liberty’s suc- cessor at 1000 Friends of Oregon (and his next door neighbor). In November, Stacey lost a close election for Metro president to labor-endorsed winner Tom Hughes. Six others applied to fill “This councilor asked Gov. Roberts to the vacancy, including Roberts — who apply so that the council logjam could did so eight minutes before the filing be broken. During the day more coun- cilors called her, urging her to fill out deadline. Prior to Roberts’ filing, Shiprack the application form and submit it by and Stacey were considered the front- day’s end.” Roberts filed at runners. 4:52 p.m. on Feb. 9. According to Stacey withdrew news reports “When you have his application, but posted by a Metro not before declaring writer on Metro’s both labor support candidacy in 2012. website, Roberts and business support his Roberts said she did was recruited for not intend to run for the position based and that’s not good election. on concerns that Shiprack, mean- there might not be enough, I now while, was out garner- a majority (four ing support from busi- votes) for any can- understand why ness groups and labor didate. Roberts we’ve lost 26,000 organizations. Cam- said “people con- paigning on “job cre- nected with Metro” jobs in Multnomah ation,” he met with gauged her interest each councilor indi- in the position; she County.” vidually and hand- wouldn’t say who billed the entire district, which includes recruited her to apply. Metro also reported that within min- portions of Southwest, Southeast and utes of applying ... Roberts called Northeast Portland. He said he received Stacey, who worked for her adminis- “strong signals” of support from some tration. They didn’t connect right away, of the councilors, although no outright but when they talked, she laid out the endorsements. At a public hearing/job interview on dynamics of her application. “The first phone call came at 8:30 in Feb. 16, more than a dozen people tes- the morning, from a councilor who told tified on his behalf. Representatives of her that none of the applicants for the neighborhood associations and school vacancy — including me — could get districts also testified before Metro majority support from the council,” councilors that their Number One con- Stacey said in a post on his website. cern was job creation. “Bob offered knowledge, a concrete plan on how to create jobs, and ways to make it better for workers,” John Mohlis, executive secretary of the Ore- gon State Building and Construction Trades Council, told the Labor Press. “With their vote, Metro councilors ba- sically told all of the out-of-work resi- dents in District 6 ‘screw you.’ ” “What can you say?” Shiprack said. “When you have both labor support and business support and that’s not good enough, I now understand why we’ve lost 26,000 jobs in Multnomah County.” Shiprack expressed gratitude for the broad support he received in such a short period of time. “I really want to thank all the people who got behind me on this. The support was overwhelm- ing.” Shiprack said he won’t run for the seat in 2012, but he believes labor and business “should pay a lot of attention to this agency. They have a lot of say in the way things operate.” Metro is a regional government that serves more than 1.5 million residents in Clackamas, Multnomah and Wash- ington counties, and 25 cities in the Portland metropolitan area. Its respon- sibilities include urban growth bound- ary management, transportation plan- ning, waste disposal planning and management, recycling, preservation of natural areas, long-range planning, habitat restoration, operating the zoo, and venues for conventions, exhibits, and performing arts. Roberts was sworn in March 1. She will serve the remainder of Liberty’s term, which ends in January 2013. Three seats will be open in 2013, as term limits prohibit councilors Carl Hosticka and Rex Burkholder from running again. The election will be held in May 2012, and if no candidate in their re- spective district receives more than 50 percent of the vote, the two highest vote getters in each district will advance to a run-off election that November. (Editor’s Note: Metro President Tom Hughes was the lone vote for Shiprack. Following the initial vote, Councilor Carl Hosticka moved for a unanimous vote and Hughes supported Roberts in the second round. Roberts chaired Metro’s charter re- view committee in the early 1990s. In 1992, in her second year as governor, voters approved the charter, which es- tablished Metro’s role in regional land use planning. Roberts served as gover- nor from 1991 to 1995 and as secretary of state from 1985 to 1991. She also served in the Oregon House of Repre- sentatives, as a Multnomah County commissioner and on the Parkrose School Board. Since leaving public of- fice, she has served in leadership posi- tions at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and in the Ex- ecutive Leadership Institute at Portland State University’s Hatfield School of Government.) ʻAmerican Madeʼ in the Northwest Mon-Fri 9:30-7:30 Sat 9:30-5:30 Sun 12-6 (International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X) Established in 1900 at Portland, Oregon as a voice of the labor movement. 4275 NE Halsey St., P.O. Box 13150, Portland, Ore. 97213 Telephone: (503) 288-3311 Editor: Michael Gutwig Staff: Don McIntosh, Cheri Rice Published on a semi-monthly basis on the first and third Fridays of each month by the Oregon Labor Press Publishing Co. Inc., a non- profit corporation owned by 20 unions and councils including the Oregon AFL-CIO. Serving more than 120 union organizations in Ore- gon and SW Washington. Subscriptions $13.75 per year for union members. Group rates available to trade union organizations. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT PORTLAND, OREGON. CHANGE OF ADDRESS NOTICE: Three weeks are required for a change of address. When ordering a change, please give your old and new addresses and the name and number of your local union. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS, P.O. BOX 13150, PORTLAND, OR 97213-0150 MARCH 4, 2011 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS PAGE 3
