nwlaborpress.org | Building trades PAC endorses Gordon Smith

April 4, 2008 Volume 109 Number 7

Oregon building trades PAC endorses Gordon Smith in primary

Oregon U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith has been endorsed in the Republican primary by Oregonians to Maintain Community Standards, the political action committee of the Oregon State Building and Construction Trades Council.

The organization took no action in the Democratic primary between Speaker of the House Jeff Merkley and activist attorney Steve Novick of Portland. Building trades unions are upset with those two candidates because they oppose construction of liquefied natural gas plants in Oregon.

“I have to say, Senator Smith is good on a lot of our issues,” said Bob Shiprack, executive secretary of the Oregon State Building and Construction Trades Council. “And our national building trades leaders have a good rapport with him. They like him.”

In other federal primary races, the building trades endorsed Republican Mike Erickson and Democratic State Sen. Kurt Schrader for Congress in District 5. Schrader is among five Democrats running to succeed retiring Democrat Darlene Hooley.

Erickson is facing stiff competition from Kevin Mannix in the Republican primary. Mannix, a former Democrat, has served in the Legislature with both parties and ran unsuccessfully for governor and attorney general as a Republican.

The building trades also endorsed incumbent Representatives Greg Walden (R-Dist. 2), Earl Blumenauer (D-Dist. 3), and Peter DeFazio (D-Dist. 4).

In statewide primary races, Oregonians to Maintain Community Standards backed John Kroger for attorney general and gave a three-way endorsement for secretary of state to Democrats Rick Metsger, Vicki Walker, and Kate Brown.

Shiprack said the building trades PAC didn’t endorse incumbents in several state Senate and House races because of votes those politicians cast — or actions they took behind the scenes — to try to kill the organization’s priority legislation in the 2007 session. House Bill 2944 called for prevailing wage laws to apply on construction projects that used both public and private funding. The bill passed and was signed into law, but without support from those lawmakers.

In legislative primary races, Oregonians to Maintain Community Standards endorsed the following candidates: Oregon State Senate
Dist. 1-Jeff Kruse (R)
Dist. 2-Jason Atkinson (R)
Dist. 5-Joanne Verger (D)
Dist. 9-Fred Girod (R)
Dist.14-Mark Hass (D)
Dist.18-Ginny Burdick (D)
Dist. 22-Margaret Carter (D)
Dist. 23-Jackie Dingfelder (D)
Dist. 24-none
Dist. 25-none
Dist. 28-none
Dist. 29-David Nelson (R)
Dist.30-Ted Ferrioli (R)Oregon State House
Dist. 1-Wayne Krieger (R)
Dist. 3-none
Dist. 4-none
Dist. 5-Peter Buckley (D)
Dist. 6-none
Dist. 7 -Bruce Hanna (R)
Dist. 8-Paul Holvey (D)
Dist. 9-Arnie Roblan (D)
Dist. 10-Jean Cowan (D)
Dist. 11-Phil Barnhart (D)
Dist. 12-Terry Beyer (D)
Dist. 13-Nancy Nathanson (D)
Dist. 14-Chris Edwards (D)
Dist. 15-Andy Olson (R)
Dist.16-Sara Gelser (D)
Dist. 18-none
Dist. 19-none
Dist. 20-none
Dist. 21-none
Dist. 22-Betty Komp (D)
Dist. 24-Jim Bunn (R)
Dist. 25-none
Dist. 27-Tobias Read (D)
Dist. 28-Jeff Barker (D)
Dist. 29-Chuck Riley (D)
Dist. 30-none
Dist. 31-Brad Witt (D)
Dist. 32-Debbie Boone (D)
Dist. 33-Mitch Greenlick (D)
Dist. 34-Suzanne Bonamici (D)
Dist. 35-Larry Galizio (D)
Dist. 36-Mary Nolan (D)
Dist. 37-Scott Bruun (R)
Dist. 38-Chris Garrett (D)
Dist. 38-Linda Brown (D)
Dist. 40-Dave Hunt (D)
Dist. 41-Carolyn Tomei (D)
Dist. 42-Jules Kopel-Bailey (D)
Dist. 43-Chip Shields (D)
Dist. 44-Tina Kotek (D)
Dist. 45-Michael Dembrow (D)
Dist. 46-Ben Cannon (D)
Dist. 48-Mike Schaufler (D)
Dist. 50-none
Dist. 51-Linda Flores (R)
Dist. 52-Suzanne VanOrman (D)
Dist. 53-Gene Whisnant (R)
Dist. 54-Chuck Burley (R)
Dist. 55-none
Dist. 56-none
Dist. 57-Greg Smith (R)
Dist. 58-Bob Jenson (R)

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