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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (March 4, 2016)
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | March 4 , 2016 | PAGE 3 POLITICAL ENDORSEMENTS Labor unions weigh in on May 17 primary races NW Oregon Labor Council backs Novick in Portland, Schroeder in Multnomah Co. Delegates to the Northwest Ore- gon Labor Council issued en- dorsements for the May 17 pri- mary. At the City of Portland, del- egates endorsed commissioners Steve Novick and Amanda Fritz for re-election. The council took no action in the mayoral race, where 12 candidates have filed to succeed Charlie Hales, who is not running for re-election. The top two contenders are state Treasurer Ted Wheeler and Mult- nomah County Commissioner Jules Bailey. Wheeler is term- limited from office and Bailey is giving up his post to run. In Multnomah County, five candidates are running to suc- ceed Bailey. All of them — Brian Wilson, Eric Zimmerman, Sharon Meieran, Mel Rader, and Marisha Childs — are consid- ered “strong” candidates for la- bor, so no action was taken to single out just one. NOLC supports Jessica Vega Pederson in District 3. The seat is currently held by Judy Shiprack, who is term-limited. In District 4, delegates en- dorsed union activist Amanda Schroeder to succeed Diane McKeel, who also is term lim- ited. Lynn Lehrbach, a retired union rep for Teamsters Joint Council No. 37, had filed to run for the seat, but has since with- drawn. Schroeder is president of the American Federation of Government Employees and serves on the Oregon AFL-CIO Executive Board. In Clackamas County, dele- gates issued a “no endorsement” for incumbent Chair John Lud- low, as well as for District 4 Commissioner Tootie Smith. A no endorsement means the council will actively work to de- feat the two Tea Party Republi- cans. Two current Clackamas County Commissioners — Paul Savas and Jim Bernard — are running against Ludlow for chair. NOLC delegates consider both men decent on labor issues, so they stayed out of the race. Neither Savas or Bernard will lose their seat if they lose. Tea Partier Smith faces two opponents — Sandy Mayor Bill King, and Ken Humbertson, a retired probation officer who serves on the Clackamas River Water Board and the Clackamas County Economic Development Commission. Humbertson has some union endorsements, but NOLC decided to stay out of the race for now. Delegates did en- dorse incumbent Commissioner Martha Schrader for Position 3. Delegates endorsed a Clacka- mas County Emergency Com- munications bond measure, as well as a Milwaukie Library bond measure. At Metro, the labor council endorsed incumbents Sam Chase in District 5 and Bob Stacey in District 6. In Columbia County, NOLC supports Margaret Ma- gruder for commissioner, Posi- tion 1, and incumbent Commis- sioner Tony Hyde for Position 3. The Position 1 seat is an open seat now held by Earl Fisher, who is not seeking re-election. In Washington County, del- egates backed incumbent Dick Schouten in District 1. AFSCME Local 189 endorses both Bailey and Wheeler for Portland mayor The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 189, the union that represents about 1,000 Portland city em- ployees, has dual-endorsed Jules Bailey and Ted Wheeler for mayor in the May primary. Twelve candidates have filed for the open seat. If no candidate receives 50 percent plus one vote, the top two will advance to the November general election. “We are aware from their track record in other positions that both Bailey and Wheeler have been great for working people,” said Local 189 Presi- dent Mark Gipson. “Neither one has worked for the city directly before, but both candidates have been excellent with our fellow AFSCME members in their roles with Multnomah County and in state government, and we simply couldn’t zero in on one or the other. “It is a good ‘problem’ to have,” Gipson added. Local 189 also endorsed in- cumbent city Commissioners Amanda Fritz and Steve Novick. “We are thrilled that Com- missioner Fritz helped pass the city’s family leave and sick leave laws,” said Gipson. “Commissioner Novick has al- ways been accessible to hear our concerns, and he has long been a local supporter of working people.” AFSCME Local 88 endorses in Multnomah County races AFSCME Local 88, which rep- resents about 3,500 workers at Multnomah County, as well as employees at Transition Projects Inc. and Central City Concern, has issued a series of commis- sioner endorsements for the May primary election. Local 88 President Jason Heilbrun, a senior business sys- tems analyst for the county, an- nounced the following endorse- ments: ■ Multnomah Commission Dist. 1: Dual endorsement for Brian Wilson and Eric Zimmerman. ■ Multnomah Commission Dist. 3: Jessica Vega Pederson. ■ Multnomah Commission Dist. 4: Amanda Schroeder. “The dynamics of District 1 changed, in particular, when Commissioner Jules Bailey an- nounced his candidacy for mayor in early January,” said Heilbrun. “Given the short no- tice and the presence of two can- didates who really rose to the top, we ultimately decided a dual endorsement in that race was the best option.” Heilbrun said Schroeder has strong labor roots as the presi- dent of her federal government employees local union when she worked for the Veteran’s Ad- ministration. Schroeder also is a member of the Oregon AFL- CIO Executive Board. Local 88’s endorsement process included a written ques- tionnaire, an interview with the union’s Political Action Com- mittee and a candidate forum with all candidates. Ultimately proposed endorsements are de- bated and voted on at a general membership meeting. Heilbrun notes all Local 88 endorsements came by a two-thirds majority vote. Tim Probst gets early backing from Washington AFL-CIO The Washington State Labor Council (WSLC) has endorsed Tim Probst, Democratic candi- date for State Senate in the 17th District covering eastern Van- couver and other parts of south- west Clark County east of I-205. The seat is currently held by Republican Don Benton. He an- nounced earlier this year that he will not seek re-election. Probst is the first candidate the WSLC has recommended for the 2016 election cycle. It’s only the third time in the labor federa- tion’s history that it has endorsed a candidate prior to its political endorsement convention (to be held May 21). The other candi- dates receiving early support were U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell and former State Rep. Tami Green. But with the importance of the 17th District, and an incum- bent not running, the Southwest Washington Central Labor Council urged the WSLC to take action at its February Exec- utive Board meeting. Earlier this year, Probst re- ceived endorsements from IBEW Local 48 and Vancouver Fire Fighters Local 452. Probst served two terms as a state representative for the 17th Legislative District. In 2012, he gave up his seat to run against Benton. He lost by 78 votes.
