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April 7, 2017 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
Labor groups weigh in on May election for education boards, school bonds
Labor unions and councils are
weighing in on races in the May
16 elections. Most of the en-
dorsements are for education
boards and school bond meas-
ures that will appear on ballots.
Candidates seeking the endorse-
ment of the Northwest Oregon
Labor Council (NOLC) must
complete a questionnaire, and
most candidates interview with
the Executive Board. Following
is a breakdown of endorsements
that have been announced by
various labor councils and union
locals:
Portland Public School
Three incumbents on the current
school board are stepping down,
and 10 candidates have filed to
run. NOLC, the Portland Asso-
ciation of Teachers, and the
Portland Federation of School
Professionals Local 111 are sup-
porting Rita Moore in Zone 4
representing North Portland;
Scott Bailey in Zone 5 covering
Northeast Portland; and Trisha
Parks in Zone 6 in Southeast
Portland.
The Columbia Pacific Build-
ing and Construction Trades
Council (CPBCTC) also sup-
ports Bailey in Zone 5, but it en-
dorsed Jamila Singleton Mun-
son in Zone 4.
Moore is a school activist and
parent of a PPS student. She is
co-chair of the Community
Budget Review Committee. A
former university professor, she
works as a policy analyst in the
Office of Health Analytics of the
Oregon Health Authority.
Munson is a former teacher
and principal at a charter school
in Houston, Texas. A graduate of
Grant High School, she is a sen-
ior managing director for Teach
for America, a non-profit that re-
cruits college students to teach
in a public or public charter K–
12 school.
Bailey is a school activist
who has organized with parents
against school closures and
served on the district-wide
Boundary Review Advisory
Committee. An economics
teacher at Clark College, he
played a key role in passing the
2012 school bond.
Parks is a teacher in Beaver-
ton and a former union leader
there. She wants to bring more
teacher voices into the decision-
making processes at PPS. She
has children in the district, and
has served as president of the
Atkinson Elementary PTA.
Candidates are elected dis-
trict-wide, but they must live in
the zone in which they are run-
ning. Terms are four years.
NOLC and CPBCTC both
endorsed Portland Public
School Bond 26-193. The meas-
ure is a $790 million construc-
tion bond. If passed, Benson and
Madison high schools would be
remodeled, Lincoln High and
Kellogg Middle School would
be demolished and rebuilt, and
nearly every Portland school
would get safety hazards fixed.
(See NW Labor Press, March
17, 2017.)
David Douglas SD
Four of the seven seats on the
School Board are up in May.
Only registered voters of a par-
ticular area may vote for a par-
ticular seat in the “by-district”
election.
NOLC, United Food and
Commercial Workers (UFCW)
Local 555, and the Oregon
School Employees Association
have endorsed Ana del Rocio
for Position 1. The former
teacher and mother of two is
employed as a public policy
professional. del Rocio is chal-
lenging incumbent board mem-
ber Cheryl Ancheta.
Gresham-Barlow SD
NOLC, CPBCTC, UFCW Lo-
cal 555, and IBEW Local 48
have endorsed Jason Dugan for
School Board, at-large. Dugan is
a member of IBEW 48 and has
been an active parent in the
school district for many years.
He has volunteered as a coach,
as well as on several committees
for the school district. He
worked on the successful bond
measure, and was co-chair of
the Political Action Committee.
Two other candidates have filed
to run.
Lake Oswego SD
CPBCTC endorsed Bond Meas-
ure 3-515. LO School District is
seeking $187 million to rebuild
Lakeridge Junior High, perform
maintenance repairs, and imple-
ment safety and security up-
grades on existing schools.
NOLC, Portland Community
College Local 2277-American
Federation of Teachers (AFT),
and PCC Local 3922-AFT have
endorsed Rob Wagner for
School Board, Position 2. Wag-
ner, an associate vice president
of college advancement at Port-
land Community College, is a
former employee of the Ameri-
can Federation of Teachers. He
is running unopposed.
Portland Community College
NOLC and CPBCTC have en-
dorsed Moses Ross for the PCC
Zone 5 Board seat. Ross is a
small business owner and single
dad. He is being challenged by
Valdez Bravo, a Democratic
Party activist and Army veteran.
Bravo is endorsed by PCC Lo-
cal 2277-AFT and PCC Local
3922-AFT. Bravo, who holds
master’s degrees in health care
administration and business ad-
ministration from Baylor Uni-
versity, works at the Veterans
Health Administration.
Multnomah Education Service
District
NOLC has endorsed Mary
Botkin for re-election to MESD
Position 3. Botkins is a retired
lobbyist of Oregon AFSCME
Council 75.
City of Portland
NOLC has endorsed Ballot
Measure 26-189 put forth by
the Portland City Council. The
measure amends the City Char-
ter by increasing the City Audi-
tor’s independence from audited
agencies, and adds other duties.