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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 18, 2016)
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | November 18, 2016 | PAGE 3 ...Oregon labor’s election night scorecard From Page 1 stormy weather instead of sun- shine when it comes to the state budget in the next biennium. The corporate tax measure would have raised $3 billion a year for schools, health care and senior services, and could also have re- sulted in a boom in road and in- frastructure spending. Instead, Oregon will remain the state with the lowest effective corpo- rate tax rate, and lawmakers will have to deal with a projected $1.4 billion biennium budget shortfall. Brad Avakian’s defeat in the race for secretary of state was another big loss for labor. Sec- retary of State is responsible for overseeing elections and audit- ing government agencies, and becomes governor in the event of a vacancy. Probably no politi- cian in Oregon has spent as much time as Avakian cultivat- ing a relationship with unions, and they backed his race heav- ily: Top contributors included Oregon Education Association (OEA), $145,000; United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555, $60,000, and Oregon AF- SCME, $34,000. But in the end, Republican Dennis Richard- son outpolled Avakian by 43 to 41 percent, more than 75,000 votes, becoming the first Ore- gon Republican in 14 years to win a state-wide election. Avakian will continue to serve as head of the Bureau of Labor and Industries His current term runs through 2018. Oregon labor organizations put considerable money and volunteer hours into increasing Democrats’ majority in the House and Senate. Democrats currently have a 35-25 majority in the House; a 36th House seat would have given them the needed super-majority to ap- prove revenue-raising legisla- tion without Republican votes. But on election night the House kept the same 35-25 split, and Democrats actually lost one seat in the Senate, which will now be split 17-13. The Senate loss came in Dis- trict 3, where the death in August of Sen. Alan Bates meant a hasty catch-up campaign for Ashland attorney Tonia Moro. Moro lost to Republican Alan DeBoer by less than 600 votes out of 65,000 cast, despite $55,000 in support from Oregon AFSCME and $40,000 from OEA. Moro’s loss may mean dim- mer prospects for pro-labor leg- islation over the next two years. Under Speaker Tina Kotek’s leadership, the Oregon House of Representatives has been a pow- erhouse for worker-friendly leg- islation, but again and again in recent legislative sessions, la- bor-backed bills have died or been watered down in the Sen- ate thanks to opposition from corporate Democrats and a lack of support from Senate Presi- dent Peter Courtney. Labor’s political efforts did have some success. Top benefi- ELECTION NIGHT HUDDLE: At the Convention Center, union volunteers watch results come in. Through the Ore- gon AFL-CIO, union volunteers filled over 1,000 shifts — knocking on 100,000 doors, mak- ing 260,000 phone calls, and handing out 2,800 fliers at worksites. ciaries included Democratic can- didates Teresa Alonso Leon, Mark Meek, Janelle Bynum, and Janeen Sollman, all of whom won election in hard- fought races for open house seats that are currently held by other Democrats. Labor efforts also helped several incumbent De- mocrats stay in office — Reps Paul Evans and Susan McLain, and Sen. Arnie Roblan. But labor-backed efforts by Democrats to take open seats currently held by Republicans fell short: IBEW Local 48 or- ganizer Ray Lister lost to Richard Vial in House District 26 (Wilsonville) and Ken Moore lost to Ron Noble in House District 24 (Bend). In those and other hard-fought races, labor found it had a new deep-pocketed adversary — bil- lionaire Nike founder Phil Knight. In his first big foray into Oregon politics, the state’s best- known corporate mogul gave 76th Annual Children’s Holiday Party! FREE! Northwest Oregon Labor Council, AFL-CIO took a position on 16 candidates and measures. Ten won. Six lost. MULTNOMAH COUNTY Commissioner: Amanda Schroeder LOST 53-44. Sponsored by: Marion, Polk, Yamhill Central Labor Chapter, AFL-CIO Foundation. Nearman won re- election with 52-37 percent. In at least one race, labor found itself on both sides. Mark Reynolds was backed by his union, OEA, but Republican Mark Johnson had the endorse- ment of the Oregon State Build- ing and Construction Trades Council. Labor organizations often pride themselves on being non- partisan, and Johnson wasn’t the only Republicans to get union support. In District 57 (Hepp- ner), incumbent Greg Smith won with the endorsement of the Oregon AFL-CIO and the Building Trades. The Building Trades also endorsed incumbent Republican senators Cliff Bentz, Brian Boquist, Vic Gilliam, Bill Hansell, Dallas Heard, John Huffman, Bill Kennemer, Tim Knopp, Andy Olson, and Gene Whisnant, all of whom won re-election in their Republican-majority dis- tricts. NW Oregon Labor Council scorecard METRO Measure 26-178 (Clean, Safe, and Healthy Water) PASSED 77-22 Saturday, December 3, 9:45 a.m. to noon Historic Elsinore Theatre 170 High St., SE, Salem All the children of Marion, Polk and Yamhill counties and their families are invited! The fun includes live Christmas music, a showing of the movie “The Secret Life of Pets,” goodie bags and — of course — a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus. $355,000 to seven Republicans who were in competitive races. Knight’s money helped defeat Lister, Moore, and Moro, and helped Hood River incumbent Mark Johnson survive a chal- lenge from schoolteacher and OEA member Mark Reynolds. But in seats currently held by Democrats, the Knight-backed Republicans lost to Alonso Leon, Bynum, and Sollman. Labor also tried to oust a par- ticularly anti-union legislator, Republican Mike Nearman in House District 23. His district west of Salem is hostile territory for Democrats, so the Oregon AFL-CIO and UFCW backed challenger Jim Thompson, a lifelong Republican running as the candidate of the Independent Party, while four public sector unions put $100,000 into an in- dependent effort that produced anti-Nearman ads. Nearman is an advocate of anti-union “right- to-work” legislation, and an ally of the anti-union group Freedom CLACKAMAS COUNTY County Chair: Jim BernardWON 52-46, defeating John Ludlow. Commission: Ken HumberstonWON 50-48, defeating Tootie Smith. Measure 3-494 (Annexation of Boring RFPD boundaries into Clackamas Fire District #1) PASSED 79-20. COLUMBIA COUNTY Commission: Margaret Magruder WON 51-47. CITY OF PORTLAND Commission: Steve Novick LOST 47-51. Measure 26-179 (Affordable Housing Bond) PASSED 62-37. CITY OF GLADSTONE Mayor: Tammy StempelWON 55-43. Council: Pos. 2: Bill Osburn LOST 48-50. Council: Pos. 4: Neal Reisner WON 50- 48. Council: Pos. 6: Frank HernandezWIN 51-47. CITY OF HILLSBORO Mayor: Aron Carleson LOST 41-58 CITY OF LAKE OSWEGO Mayor: Jon Gustafson LOST Councilor: Theresa Kohlhoff WON CITY OF WEST LINN Mayor: John Carr LOST 43-56.
