October 5, 2007 Volume 108 Number 19

SEIU’s Alice Dale considers run for attorney general

Alice Dale, a high-ranking official of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), is considering a run for attorney general of Oregon.

Hardy Myers, the current attorney general, announced he will not seek another term, and two candidates have so far filed to run for the office. If Dale enters the race, she would be competing with Lake Oswego State Rep. Greg Macpherson and Lewis & Clark Law School professor John Kroger for the Democratic nomination in the May 2008 primary. No Republican has yet filed to run for the office.

Dale is president of 6,800-member SEIU Local 49 based in Portland, and vice president of the SEIU international. SEIU is an affiliate of the Change to Win labor federation. Prior to that, she was the longtime executive director of SEIU Local 503, also known as the Oregon Public Employees Union. Dale also serves on the governor-appointed Oregon Health Policy Commission.

Oregon state law requires candidates for attorney general be members of the Oregon Bar Association; Dale, an attorney, is a member.

“She’d be a formidable candidate,” said Oregon AFL-CIO President Tom Chamberlain. “She’s one of the top leaders not only of the labor movement, but of Oregon. I don’t think anyone ought to underestimate her.”

Dale has been meeting with labor leaders and others to gauge possible support, and said she’ll most likely make a decision by mid-October.


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