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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 31, 2020)
OREGON Thursday, December 31, 2020 McCall’s allegations ‘unsubstantiated,’ according to report By MAXINE BERNSTEIN The Oregonian SALEM — A labor lawyer hired by the governor’s offi ce determined that former public records advocate Ginger McCall’s accusations against the governor’s staff of pressuring her to take their side on public records matters rather than maintaining indepen- dence were “unsubstantiated.” Attorney Brenda K. Baumgart wrote in a 57-page report, released last week in response to a pub- lic records request, that Gov. Kate Brown’s former legal counsel, Misha Isaak, did not engage in “unprofessional or inappropri- ate conduct” in his dealings with McCall when she was the state’s public records advocate and chaired the state’s Public Records Advisory Council. “Noticeably absent from the record is the identifi cation of any political interest, agenda, or prior- ity of the Governor that Mr. Isaak pressured Ms. McCall to advance with the Counsel and, second- arily, how that political interest, agenda, or priority was anti-trans- parency or otherwise in confl ict with reform efforts desired by Ms. McCall or the Council,” Baumgart wrote. McCall said she was deeply dis- appointed in the report, but wasn’t surprised based on the limited number of people who Baumgart questioned. McCall resigned in September 2019, saying that Isaak pressured her to secretly work to advance the governor’s policy positions, and told her that she reported to him and should vet any public records legislation, policy proposal and report with the governor’s offi ce before releasing them. McCall explained in a letter to the governor when she resigned that she accepted the job with the understanding the public records Isaak McCall advocate would have a high degree of independence to medi- ate records disputes, identify bar- riers to transparency and recom- mend legislative fi xes. Isaak welcomed the report’s fi ndings. “The events surrounding these allegations were the most painful of my life,” he said in an email. “After more than a year, I am relieved that my name has been cleared, and that I can put this painful episode behind me.” McCall said the report appears to “refl ect an investigation which is designed to rehabilitate the images of the Governor and her former staff and to cast doubt on me.” She noted that Baumgart spoke to staff from the governor’s offi ce and three other state offi cials with close ties to Brown, but did not speak to McCall’s former deputy Todd Albert or anyone from the Public Records Advisory Council, the Secretary of State’s Offi ce, the Oregon State Archives or the Ore- gon Department of Justice. “Ms. Baumgart did not inter- view a single person outside of the Governor’s circle,” McCall said by email. “She clearly gives great cre- dence to Mr. Isaak and Ms. (Emily) Matasar’s recollec- tions over mine. But my meeting memos were recorded contempo- raneously, in the hours and days after the meetings. I had nothing to gain by resigning my position,” McCall said. Matasar had been the governor’s government account- ability attorney and is now in pri- vate practice. East Oregonian A9 Oregon Legislature argues Capitol staff unionization would be unconstitutional By DIRK VANDERHART Oregon Public Broadcasting SALEM — Similar reasoning sunk an attempt by Delaware aides to unionize earlier this year. Oregon Capitol staffers attempt- ing to form a union encountered a potential roadblock on Tuesday, Dec. 29. Their employer says they’re not allowed. In a formal document fi led with the state, the Oregon Legislature raised a host of objections why the push for a fi rst-of-its-kind union of legislative aides can not move for- ward as proposed. The most sweeping argument: that such a move would be uncon- stitutional. Because the state’s Employment Relations Board, which certifi es public-employee unions, is part of the executive branch, the Legislature says the board is barred by the separation of powers clause in the Oregon Constitution to order lawmakers to recognize a union. “These subject employees work to perform legislative related func- tions and duties,” the objection said. “Any recognition of the bar- gaining unit by a branch of the government other than the Oregon Legislature would violate Arti- cle III, section 1 of the Oregon Constitution.” That argument is similar to one raised by offi cials in Dela- ware after legislative staffers there attempted to unionize earlier this year. The legal reasoning proved potent enough to sink that effort. It’s not clear what impact it will have in Oregon. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 89, which Capitol staffers in Salem are hoping to join, told Ore- gon Public Broadcasting earlier this month it didn’t think such an argument would fl y in Oregon. “We looked at that case when the campaign started,” IBEW Local 89 organizer Tony Ruiz wrote in an email on Dec. 20. “We don’t believe the same argument could be made based on Oregon rules and so far no challenges have Kaylee Domzalski/Oregon Public Broadcasting, File House Speaker Tina Kotek motions to someone on the House fl oor on April 11, 2019. Offi cially, Kotek has kept quiet on eff orts by Oregon Legis- lature staff to unionize. been made by the employer.” But the Legislature is now rais- ing the issue as a central reason why legislative aides cannot be recognized as a union. “Nationwide, counsel for the Employer is unaware of any administrative or judicial branch rendering a constitutionally valid recognition of a bargaining unit within the legislative branch,” Oregon Department of Justice attorney Tessa Sugahara wrote in the state’s objection. Oregon has grappled with the separation of powers in a union- ization push before. In 1983, the Legislature passed a bill ensuring that the chief justice of the Oregon Supreme Court would have the authority to bargain with judicial branch employees. As part of its objections, the Legislature notes that no similar action has been taken for the Legislative branch. The Legislature raises more issues, too. It says that many — and perhaps most — employees proposed to be included in the bar- gaining unit might be ineligible because they either possess, or are eligible to possess, management or confi dential duties within lawmak- ers’ offi ces. And the Legislature argues that the constantly rotating cast of lawmakers and staffers in the Capitol makes the number of employees eligible to join a union hard to pin down. “By the end of December 2020, some of the employees included in the proposed unit who may have been employed at the time the petition was fi led will have left employment at the Legisla- ture due to a newly elected offi - cial replacing their member and that new member hiring personal staff of their choosing,” the docu- ment said. Legislative offi cials are request- ing a hearing before an administra- tive law judge to make their case. The state’s top two lawmakers, House Speaker Tina Kotek and Senate President Peter Courtney, both limited their comments on the matter Dec. 29, saying they could not comment on a pending case. “I am very supportive of our Legislative employees,” Court- ney, D-Salem, said in a statement. “They are the backbone of the Capitol.” A spokesman for Kotek, D-Portland, said she “has a strong pro-labor record and greatly appre- ciates the work of all legislative staff, who are essential to the Leg- islature’s work.” EASTERN OREGON marketplace Place classified ads online at www.easternoregonmarketplace.com or call 1-800-962-2819 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. After hours, leave a voicemail and we’ll confirm your ad the next business day. Email us at classifieds@ eastoregonian.com or fax: 541-278-2680 East Oregonian Deadline is 3 p.m. the day before publication 211 S.E. Byers Ave. 333 E. 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