PAGE 4 | April 17, 2020 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
Union members
running for office
A handful of union members are running for office
on Oregon’s May 19 primary ballot, and thanks to
the Oregon Labor Candidate School, they know
how to campaign. The school trains union mem-
bers in the nuts and bolts of running for public of-
fice. Here are some of the school’s graduates who
are running, along with a list of endorsing unions.
Senate District 10
When union home care provider Deb Patter-
son challenged Republican State Sen. Jackie
Winters two years ago in Salem’s Senate Dis-
trict 10, she got 46% of the vote against the
longtime incumbent. Winters died in 2019,
and Republican State Rep Denyc Boles was ap-
pointed as replacement. Now Patterson is
seeking the seat again, and her campaign may
be one of the best chances for progressive Democrats to pick up a
seat in the Senate, where so many labor-backed proposals have
died in recent years for lack of a vote or two. Patterson is a congre-
gationalist minister, a longtime health administrator, an active
member of SEIU Local 503, and a believer in universal health care.
Her Democratic opponent in the May 19 primary didn’t even file a
Voters’ Pamphlet statement, so the real race to watch will be in
November, when she expects to face Boles. Boles has been on the
opposite side of the union movement on virtually every vote, and
in 2020 she took part in the Republican walkout that shut down
the legislative session. Oregon AFL-CIO, AFSCME, AFT, Teamsters, OEA,
PCUN, SEIU, UFCW. DebPattersonOR.org
INTERESTED IN RUNNING FOR OFFICE OR KNOW A
FELLOW UNION MEMBER WHO SHOULD?
Oregon Labor Candidate School is taking applications May
1 to Aug. 1 for trainings in the Portland area and the
Salem/Eugene area. The day-long classes run October to
March one Saturday a month. Get more details about it at
oregonlaborcandidateschool.org.
Salem City Council, Ward 7
House District 33
Vanessa Nordyke –a member of AFSCME Local 1085– is an attorney
for the Oregon Department of Justice, representing state employees
who are sued on the job. She's also the immediate past president of
the Oregon State Bar. She was appointed to a vacant city council seat
in October. Now she faces a challenge from hospital finance director
Reid Sund, a conservative who turned down one union’s request for
a candidate interview. AFSCME, IAFF, SEIU ElectVanessaNordyke.com
Two OLCS grads—Andy Saultz and Serin Bussell—are running
against each other to succeed retiring State Rep. Mitch Greenlick
in House District 33. Neither has a union at work. Instead they’re
voluntary associate members of American Federation of Teachers
(AFT). Some local unions are backing another candidate in the
Democratic primary, attorney Christina Stephenson.
Andy Saultz, an education professor at Pacific
University, was formerly a teachers union
member in Michigan. He grew up in the dis-
trict, and his campaign knocked on 20,000
doors before the epidemic hit. OSEA, Insulators
36, Glaziers 740, United Farm Workers, and the
Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Di-
vision of the Teamsters. AndyForOregon.org
Serin Bussell worked in procurement for
three years at Metro, and served as a shop
steward there with AFSCME Local 3580. She
left to run Charles Gallia’s unsuccessful cam-
paign for state senate, and then served as chief
of staff for State Sen. Jeff Golden. AFT, AFSCME
SerinForStateRep.com
House District 35
Dacia Grayber is a Tualatin Valley fire fighter
and an active member of IAFF Local 1660.
She’s running for the seat held by Margaret
Doherty, who’s retiring. Her primary opponent
filed no Voters’ Pamphlet statement. Oregon
AFL-CIO, Oregon Building Trades, AFSCME, AFT,
IAFF, LiUNA, OEA, OFNHP, ONA, OSEA, SEIU, UFCW.
DaciaForOregon.com
House District 36
PSU IT specialist Rob Fullmeris a union stew-
ard and member of the SEIU Local 503 execu-
tive board. He’s running for the seat Jennifer
Williamson vacated for her short run for secre-
tary of state. Most unions are backing another
candidate, longtime teachers union lobbyist
Laurie Wimmer. AFT, SEIU RobForOregon.com
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