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