NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | October 5, 2018 | PAGE 3
She’s worked to educate the
public about lead poisoning,
asthma, and HIV. Today she
runs Lane County’s antismok-
ing program.
Her district leans slightly Re-
publican, but Inskip has been
endorsed by Congressman Peter
DeFazio and senators Jeff
Merkley and Ron Wyden. And
she has labor in her corner.
“We need to have people in
office who know what it’s like
to be a regular working Oregon-
ian,” Inskip told the Labor
Press. “We need more working
people in the legislature — to
represent our needs, not the
needs of corporate interests.”
...Union members running for office
From Page 2
part of the turnaround.
A member of IBEW Local
280, he’s running as a Democrat
in South Salem’s House District
19, challenging incumbent
Denyc Boles. [Boles, a hospital
lobbyist, was appointed to the
seat when fellow Republican
Jodi Hack resigned to head a
lobby group for non-union
homebuilders.]
Ellison grew up in Albany in
a blue collar household headed
by a single mom. The ticket to a
decent life was a union appren-
ticeship. For the last 12 years,
he’s worked at Northside Elec-
tric as a journeyman electrician
and project estimator.
He and his wife, a UFCW
member at Fred Meyer, have
three kids, so he sees the decline
in Oregon’s public schools and
the burdens teachers face, and
thinks successful individuals
and corporations aren’t putting
enough back into the system.
“It’s time people stand up and
say they need to pay their fair
share,” Ellison told the Labor
Press.
Last June he earned a mas-
ter’s in renewable energy engi-
neering from the Oregon Insti-
tute of Technology. If he he wins
election, Ellison wants to unite
greens and labor, and he wants
to ensure labor has input when
lawmakers put together a long-
anticipated clean energy jobs
bill next year.
He would also work to re-
store the prevailing wage, re-
quiring projects funded with tax
breaks to pay construction
workers projects a living wage
and benefits.
So far, his campaign has
knocked on over 9,000 doors
and contacted over 15,000 vot-
ers. By the end of October, he
hopes to hit 15,000 doors and
connect with 25,000 voters.
The strike that lit a match for
justice
Like most members, Lane
County public health worker
Christy Inskip wasn’t that in-
volved in her union. Then last
October she and her fellow AF-
SCME Local 2831 members
went on strike. Fighting together
for fair wages and benefits
sparked in her a passion to fight
for workers rights.
Next election cycle
Backed by organized labor, AFSCME member Christy Inskip is taking on two-
term incumbent state rep Cedric Hayden in Roseburg.
A year later, with union sup-
port and training from the Ore-
gon Labor Candidate School,
she’s challenging the incumbent
Republican in House District 7
(Roseburg). Cedric Hayden, a
rancher and dentist, holds the
same seat his father once did.
He voted “no” on paid sick
leave, “no” on the minimum
wage increase, and “no” on the
legislature’s funding package
for Medicaid.
Inskip says it’s past time
more women, and more work-
ing people, ran for office, and
she’s ready to be one of them.
Inskip was raised in the
Ozarks of Southeastern Mis-
souri by her dad, a mechanic
and farmer, and her mom, a
teacher’s aide then nurse. Inskip
did them proud, earning a mas-
ters degree in public health.
Prusak, Ellison, and Inskip are
just three of the Oregon union
members who are making first-
time runs for office this year.
There are at least half a dozen
others are running. Maybe next
time it’ll be you? Oregon Labor
Candidates School is looking
for recruits. To find out more,
and get in touch with them at
oregonlaborcandidateschool.org
THE OREGON MACHINISTS’ COUNCIL
has endorsed the following candidates
for the November 6, General Election
STATE HOUSE
CONGRESSIONAL
District 1
U.S. Rep. SUZANNE BONAMICI
STATE SENATE
Senator JAMES MANNING, SD 7
Senator BETSY JOHNSON, SD 16
Candidate CHARLES GALLIA, SD 20
Rep. PAM MARSH, HD 5
Rep. PAUL HOLVEY, HD 8
Rep. CADDY MCKEOWN, HD 9
Rep. DAVID GOMBERG, HD 10
Rep. NANCY NATHANSON, HD 13
Rep. JULIE FAHEY, HD 14
Rep. DAN RAYFIELD, HD 16
Rep. PAUL EVANS, HD 20
Rep. SHERI MALSTROM, HD 27
Rep. JEFF BARKER, HD 28
Rep. SUSAN MCLAIN, HD 29
Rep. BRAD WITT, HD 31
Rep. MITCH GREENLICK, HD 33
Rep. MARGARET DOHERTY, HD 35
Rep. JENNIFER WILLIAMSON, HD 36
Candidate RACHEL PRUSAK, HD 37
Rep. BARBARA SMITH WARNER, HD 45
Rep. JEFF REARDON, HD 48
Rep. CARLA PILUSO, HD 50
Rep. JANELLE BYNUM, HD 51
All of the above candidates submitted letters asking for endorsement and the OMC acted accordingly. The OMC will consider all requests
for endorsements from any political party’s candidate that supports unions, labor, wages, working and economic conditions.