Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 16, 2012)
Nov. 16, 2012_NWLP 10/10/17 10:52 AM Page 8 ...Election results: Washington (From Page 5) 359,000 pieces of mail informed union members about their unions’ endorse- ments. “We had some tough decisions to make when it came to prioritizing our resources,” said Oregon AFL-CIO President Tom Chamberlain. “But watching the results come in, I’m con- vinced that we did the right thing, and I am looking forward to working with the many new pro-worker candidates who were elected across our state.” In local elections, Charlie Hales de- feated Jefferson Smith for mayor of Portland, and Amanda Fritz turned back a challenge from former state rep Mary Nolan for re-election to the City Council. Unions were split, with every candidate running with some labor support. In Multnomah County, voters strongly supported Measure 26-143 to form a new library district. Library em- ployees are members of AFSCME Lo- cal 88. The Columbia Pacific Building Trades Council scored a win with pas- sage of Measure 26-144, a $482 mil- lion bond measure for the Portland School District. The trades hope to se- cure lots of work rebuilding schools in the district in the near future. In Columbia County, Earl Fisher and Tony Hyde were re-elected to the Board of Commissioners. Both were endorsed by the Northwest Oregon La- bor Council (NOLC), and Fisher had backing from the Columbia Pacific Building Trades Council. PAGE 8 NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS At the City of Wilsonville, Tim Knapp was re-elected mayor and Susie Stevens was elected to the City Coun- cil. Both ran with support from NOLC. Labor-backed candidates didn’t fare as well in Clackamas County and Gresham. NOLC-supported candi- dates Richard Strathern and Paul Warr- King lost bids to the Gresham City Council, while Clackamas County Commission incumbents Chair Char- lotte Lehan and Commissioner Jamie Damon lost re-election despite strong labor support. Lehan and Damon had not yet con- ceded as of press time, however, citing an ongoing investigation by the state Department of Justice into ballot tam- pering by an elections worker. A part- time temp employee, a registered Re- publican, was accused of filling in ballots for Republican candidates on sections of ballots that voters left blank. In an email to supporters, Lehan said the temp worker marked ballots for her opponent. “If these allegations turn out to be true, it will be an un- precedented breach of trust and could call into question the integrity and va- lidity of this election. “Because of this I have been ad- vised by legal counsel to hold off mak- ing any decision in this race until the Department of Justice investigation is complete. At that time we will assess the outcome of the investigation.” LABOR’S OWN A couple of union members cele- brated first-time political victories on Election Day. Brian Adams, a member of the Fire Fighters Union who attended the Ore- gon Labor Candidate School, was elected to the Sandy City Council, Po- sition 3. Adams won with 54 percent of the vote against two other candi- dates. Jake Carter, a member of IBEW Local 125, was elected to the board of directors of the Columbia River Public Utilities District. He defeated Darrel Purkerson by a margin of 64 to 35 per- cent. WASHINGTON In the State of Washington, labor- endorsed Democrat Jay Inslee won the governor’s race. Democrat Kathleen Drew lost her race for secretary of state by just 0.6 percent. WSLC-endorsed candidates Brad Owens for lieutenant governor, Bob Ferguson for attorney general, Mike Kreidler for insurance commissioner, Peter Goldmark for public lands com- missioner, and Sheryl Gordon Mc- Cloud for Supreme Court all won. In a pair of too-close-to-call South- west Washington legislative races, la- bor-backed Democrat Tim Probst was ahead of incumbent state Sen. Don Benton (R) by 16 votes as of Nov. 13 in the 17th District. School teacher and Washington Education Association member Monica Stonier led her Re- publican opponent by 81 votes for an open House seat in the 17th. Washing- ton counts ballots that were post- marked as late as election day, and re- sults won’t be officially certified until Nov. 26. Jim Gizzi lost his race for Po- sition 2 in the House. In the 49th District, labor-endorsed Democrats Annette Cleveland (Sen- ate), Sharon Wylie, and Jim Moeller all won handily, while candidate David Shehorn lost his House race in the 18th District. The current breakdown in the Washington Senate is 27 Democrats and 22 Republicans. In the House it’s 56 Democrats and 42 Republicans. In Clark County, labor-endorsed Democrat Joe Tanner lost his bid to un- seat incumbent Republican County Commissioner Tom Mielke, 51 per- cent to 49 percent. Labor-opposed Re- publican David Madore unseated Re- NOVEMBER 16, 2012
