Without much fanfare, there's a special Oregon election coming up on Tuesday, May 21. As with all Oregon elections, it's vote-by-mail. You should have received your ballot by now, and that ballot is due back no later than 8 p.m. on Election Day. (If you have not yet received a ballot, you should contact your county elections office immediately.)

 

Please remember that postmarks don't count, so mail ballots no later than May 17. After May 17, you should drop them in officially designated ballot drop boxes. Each county's elections website will list such locations for that county.

 

Due to timing issues regarding the Oregon AFSCME Convention, the pending appointment of a new Council 75 Political Action Committee and other factors, we did not make any formal endorsements in this special election cycle. However, we do want to let you know that there are four Oregon AFSCME members (that we know of) running for various offices. They include:

 

• Jackson County Fire District Board, Position 3 — Ralph Browning of Local 2621 (City of Medford).

 

• Lane Education Service District, Position 3 — Cj Mann of Local 3267 (Lane County Housing & Community Services Agency)

 

• Southwestern Oregon Community College Board, Position 4 — Renee Menkens of Local 328 (Oregon Health & Science University)

 

• Southwestern Oregon Community College Board, Position 5 — Julie Kremers of Local 2892 (City of Coos Bay)

 

Portland area voters take note: while, again, AFSCME did not issue any endorsements for the May 21 election, our brothers and sisters at the Portland Association of Teachers did in both the Portland Public Schools and Multnomah ESD board races. AFSCME Local 1995 represents a variety of teacher aides and other employees at MESD. We have agreed to pass along the PAT's endorsement list for your consideration:

 

• MESD, Position 2 — Nels Johnson

 

• MESD, Position 4 — Francisco Acosta, Jr.

 

• Portland Public Schools, Zone 4 — Steve Buel

 

• Portland Public Schools, Zone 5 — Pam Knowles

 

• Portland Public Schools, Zone 6 — Tom Koehler

 

A flier from PAT with more information on the MESD and PPS candidates is attached to this article. We encourage all AFSCME members to be sure and vote in the special election.

 

Following is the list of Oregon AFSCME Council 75 endorsements for the Nov. 6 General Election. Our union utilizes a democratic endorsement process. Candidates are required to fill out a questionnaire and then interview before a panel of union members; that panel then gives its endorsement recommendations to the union's Political Action Committee (PAC). After review, the PAC forwards those recommendations to the full Oregon AFSCME Executive Board, which has the final say on endorsements.

 

The only exceptions to this process are those state legislators who compiled a 100 percent AFSCME voting record in the previous session (in this case, the 2011 session) and are running for the same office. Legislators who meet those two qualifications receive an automatic endorsement. The names of candidates who have gained automatic endorsements are denoted with an asterisk (*) below. We have also provided a link to each endorsed candidate's website where available.

 

Fields left blank indicate that further action is pending, or that no action was taken in that particular race.

 

Please note that if you don't see your state Senate seat on the list, it's because Senate seats are 4-year terms so only half of them are up for election every other year. As there are 30 Oregon Senate seats, typically 15 are up for election each two-year cycle. However, there is one "extra" Oregon Senate election this year in District 17, due to former state Sen. Suzanne Bonamici winning election to the U.S. Congress in mid-term of her Oregon Senate seat. Elizabeth Steiner-Hayward won the seat within Democrat candidates last year (as Bonamici was a Democrat), but under Oregon law the seat opens up in this General Election as a two-year term to fill out the remainder of Bonamici's original term.

 

We will also soon add local union endorsements to this list. Generally speaking, such endorsements are left to the local with employees at that agency; that is, Local 2831, which represents Lane County employees, has "jurisdiction" in making the endorsement decisions for the Lane County Commission, for example. In some cases the Council may then follow with an endorsement of its own. If your local union has made an endorsement for a race in your community that you would like to see listed here, please e-mail that information to Oregon AFSCME Communications Director Don Loving.

 

(At the top of this Election Central page there is a link to a more detailed explanation of the union's endorsement and contribution process.)

 

* WASHINGTON RESIDENTS — Click here to see AFSCME Council 28 endorsements.

 

STATEWIDE PARTISAN

 

Secretary of State — Kate Brown (D)

Treasurer — Ted Wheeler (D)

Attorney General — Ellen Rosenblum (D)

 

STATEWIDE NON-PARTISAN

 

Labor Commissioner — Brad Avakian

Supreme Court Justice — Richard "Dick" Baldwin

Court of Appeals — Jim Egan

 

STATEWIDE BALLOT MEASURES

 

Measure 79 — NO (Real estate transfer tax prohibition)

Measure 84 — NO (Estate tax phase out)

Measure 85 — YES (Corporate kicker repeal)

 

OREGON SENATE

 

Senate District 01 —

Senate District 02 —

Senate District 05 — Arnie Roblan (D)

Senate District 09 — Fred Girod (R)

Senate District 12 —

Senate District 14 — Mark Hass (D)

Senate District 17 — Elizabeth Steiner-Hayward (D)

Senate District 18 —

Senate District 21 — Diane Rosenbaum (D)

Senate District 22 — Chip Shields (D)

Senate District 23 — * Jackie Dingfelder (D)

Senate District 25 — Laurie Monnes Anderson (D)

Senate District 27 — Geri Hauser (D)

Senate District 28 —

Senate District 29 —

Senate District 30 —

 

OREGON HOUSE

 

HOUSE DISTRICT 01 —

HOUSE DISTRICT 02 —

HOUSE DISTRICT 03 — Wally Hicks (R)

HOUSE DISTRICT 04 —

HOUSE DISTRICT 05 — * Peter Buckley (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 06 —

HOUSE DISTRICT 07 —

HOUSE DISTRICT 08 — Paul Holvey (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 09 — Caddy McKeown (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 10 — David Gomberg (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 11 — * Phil Barnhart (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 12 — John Lively (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 13 — Nancy Nathanson (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 14 — Val Hoyle (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 15 — Andy Olson (R)

HOUSE DISTRICT 16 — Sarah Gelser (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 17 — Sherrie Sprenger (R)

HOUSE DISTRICT 18 —

HOUSE DISTRICT 19 —

HOUSE DISTRICT 20 — Vicki Berger (R)

HOUSE DISTRICT 21 — Brian Clem (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 22 — Betty Komp (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 23 — Jim Thompson (R)

HOUSE DISTRICT 24 — Kathy Campbell (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 25 — Paul Holman (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 26 —

HOUSE DISTRICT 27 — Tobias Read (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 28 — Jeff Barker (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 29 — Ben Unger (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 30 — Joe Gallegos (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 31 —

HOUSE DISTRICT 32 —

HOUSE DISTRICT 33 — Mitch Greenlick (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 34 — Chris Harker (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 35 — * Margaret Doherty (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 36 — Jennifer Williamson (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 37 — Carl Hosticka (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 38 — Chris Garrett (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 39 — Bill Kennemer (R)

HOUSE DISTRICT 40 — Brent Barton (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 41 — * Carolyn Tomei (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 42 — * Jules Bailey (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 43 — Lew Frederick (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 44 — Tina Kotek (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 45 — * Michael Dembrow (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 46 — Alissa Keny-Guyer (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 47 — Jessica Vega Pederson (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 48 — Jeff Reardon (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 49 — Chris Gorsek (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 50 — Greg Matthews (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 51 — Shemia Fagan (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 52 — Peter Nordbye (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 53 — Gene Whisnant (R)

HOUSE DISTRICT 54 — Nathan Hovekamp (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 55 — Mike McLane (R)

HOUSE DISTRICT 56 —

HOUSE DISTRICT 57 — Greg Smith (R)

HOUSE DISTRICT 58 — Bob Jenson (R)

HOUSE DISTRICT 59 — John Huffman (R)

HOUSE DISTRICT 60 —

 

LOCAL JURISDICTIONS

 

Benton County Measure 02-79 (Levy) — YES

Clackamas County Commission Chair — Charlotte Lehan

Clackamas County Commission, Position 4 — Jamie Damon

Columbia County Commission, Position 3 — Tammy Maygra

Deschutes County Commissioner, Position 2 — Alan Unger

Jackson County Commissioner, Position 2 — Jeff Scroggin

Josephine County Commissioner, Position 2 — Toni Webb

Josephine County Commissioner, Position 3 — Cherryl Walker

Multnomah County Measure 26-143 (Library District) — YES

Polk County Commission, Position 1 — Dan Clem

Portland City Council, Position 1 — Mary Nolan

Portland Mayor — Jefferson Smith

Portland Measure 26-144 (Portland Public School Bond) — YES

Tillamook County Commission, Position 1 — Lisa Phipps

 

 

 

 

 

 

Following is the list of Oregon AFSCME Council 75 endorsements for the Nov. 2 General Election. Our union utilizes a democratic endorsement process. Candidates are required to fill out a questionnaire and then interview before a panel of union members; that panel then gives its endorsement recommendations to the union's Political Action Committee (PAC). After review, the PAC forwards those recommendations to the full Oregon AFSCME Executive Board, which has the final say on endorsements.

 

The only exceptions to this process are those state legislators who compiled a 100 percent AFSCME voting record in the previous session (in this case, the 2009 session) and are running for the same office. Legislators who meet those two qualifications receive an automatic endorsement. The names of candidates who have gained automatic endorsements are denoted in boldface below.

 

(At the top of this Election Central page there is a link to a more detailed explanation of the union's endorsement and contribution process.)

 

Note: If your Senate district is not listed, remember that state senators serve four-year terms, so not every Senate district is up for election this year. State representatives serve two-year terms and all 60 Oregon House seats are up for election each voting cycle, but only half of the Senate's 30 seats are up for election every other cycle.

 

We have also listed local union endorsements at the end of this article. Such endorsements are generally left to the local with employees at that agency; that is, Local 2831, which represents Lane County employees, has "jurisdiction" in making the endorsement decisions for the Lane County Commission, for example. In some cases the Council may then follow with an endorsement of its own. Lane County is a perfect example of that this year, where longtime Local 2831 and Council 75 activist Pat Riggs-Henson is running for county commissioner. If your local union has made an endorsement for a race in your community that you would like to see listed here, please e-mail that information to Oregon AFSCME Public Affairs Director Don Loving.

 

FEDERAL

 

U.S. Senate — Ron Wyden (D)

U.S. House, District 1 — David Wu (D)

U.S. House, District 2 — No endorsement

U.S. House, District 3 — Earl Blumenauer (D)

U.S. House, District 4 — Peter DeFazio (D)

U.S. House, District 5 — Kurt Schrader (D)

 

STATEWIDE

 

Governor — John Kitzhaber (D)

Treasurer — Ted Wheeler (D)

 

OREGON SENATE

 

Senate District 03 — Alan Bates (D)

Senate District 04 — Floyd Prozanski (D)

Senate District 06 — Lee Beyer (D)

Senate District 07 — Chris Edwards (D)

Senate District 08 — Daniel Rayfield (D)

Senate District 10 — Jackie Winters (R)

Senate District 11 — Peter Courtney (D)

Senate District 13 — Virginia Parker (D)

Senate District 15 — Chuck Riley (D)

Senate District 16 — Betsy Johnson (D)

Senate District 17 — Suzanne Bonamici (D)

Senate District 19 — Richard Devlin (D)

Senate District 20 — Martha Schrader (D)

Senate District 22 — Chip Shields (D)

Senate District 24 — Rod Monroe (D)

Senate District 26 — Brent Barton (D)

 

OREGON HOUSE

 

HOUSE DISTRICT 01 — No endorsement

HOUSE DISTRICT 02 — No endorsement

HOUSE DISTRICT 03 — Wally Hicks (R)

HOUSE DISTRICT 04 — Richard Levine (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 05 — Peter Buckley (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 06 — Lynn Howe (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 07 — Bruce Hanna (R)

HOUSE DISTRICT 08 — Paul Holvey (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 09 — Arnie Roblan (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 10 — No endorsement

HOUSE DISTRICT 11 — Phil Barnhart (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 12 — Terry Beyer (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 13 — Nancy Nathanson (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 14 — Val Hoyle (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 15 — Andy Olson (R)

HOUSE DISTRICT 16 — Sara Gelser (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 17 — Richard Harisay (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 18 — Rodney Orr (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 19 — Claudia Kyle (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 20 — Vicki Berger (R)

HOUSE DISTRICT 21 — Brian Clem (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 22 — Betty Komp (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 23 — Jim Thompson (R)

HOUSE DISTRICT 24 — Susan Sokol Blosser (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 25 — Jim Dyer (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 26 — Sandy Webb (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 27 — Tobias Read (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 28 — Jeff Barker (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 29 — Katie Riley (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 30 — Doug Ainge (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 31 — Brad Witt (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 32 — No endorsement

HOUSE DISTRICT 33 — Mitch Greenlick (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 34 — Chris Harker (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 35 — Margaret Doherty (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 36 — Mary Nolan (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 37 — Will Rasmussen (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 38 — Chris Garrett (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 39 — No endorsement

HOUSE DISTRICT 40 — Dave Hunt (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 41 — Carolyn Tomei (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 42 — Jules Bailey (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 43 — Lew Frederick (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 44 — Tina Kotek (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 45 — Michael Dembrow (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 46 — Ben Cannon (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 47 — Jefferson Smith (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 48 — Mike Schaufler (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 49 — Nick Kahl (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 50 — Greg Matthews (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 51 — Cheryl Myers (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 52 — Suzanne VanOrman (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 53 — Gene Whisnant (R)

HOUSE DISTRICT 54 — Judy Stiegler (D)

HOUSE DISTRICT 55 — Michael McLane (R)

HOUSE DISTRICT 56 — Bill Garrard (R)

HOUSE DISTRICT 57 — Greg Smith (R)

HOUSE DISTRICT 58 — Bob Jenson (R)

HOUSE DISTRICT 59 — John Huffman (R)

HOUSE DISTRICT 60 — Cliff Bentz (R)

 

BALLOT MEASURES

 

MEASURE 70 — Vote "Yes"

MEASURE 71 — Vote "Yes"

MEASURE 72 — Vote "Yes"

MEASURE 73 — Vote "No"

MEASURE 74 — No endorsement

MEASURE 75 — No endorsement

MEASURE 76 — Vote "Yes"

 

LOCAL

 

CLACKAMAS COUNTY COMMISSION NO. 2 — Robert Austin

CLACKAMAS COUNTY COMMISSION NO. 3 — Ann Lininger

* COOS COUNTY COMMISSION NO. 3 — Andy Jackson

LANE COUNTY COMMISSION NO. 1 — Jerry Rust

LANE COUNTY COMMISSION NO. 2 — Pat Riggs-Henson

LANE COUNTY COMMISSION NO. 5 — Faye Stewart

METRO PRESIDENT — Tom Hughes

MULTNOMAH COUNTY COMMISSION NO. 2 — Karol Collymore and Loretta Smith

POLK COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE — Melanie Mansell

POLK COUNTY COMMISSION NO. 2 — Danny Jaffer

POLK COUNTY COMMISSION NO. 3 — Ron Dodge

 

* The Coos County endorsement comes from the Southwest Oregon Central Labor Council, which includes heavy AFSCME representation.