March 5, 2010 Volume 111 Number 5
Northwest Oregon Labor Council backs city, county incumbentsThe
Northwest Oregon Labor Council on Feb. 22 endorsed several incumbents
seeking re-election at the City of Portland, Multnomah County, and
Clackamas County.
The list includes: City Commissioners Nick Fish and Dan Saltzman;
Multnomah County Chair Ted Wheeler, Multnomah County Commissioner
Jeff Cogen, and Clackamas County Commissioners Jim Bernard and Ann
Lininger. Delegates also voted to support Rex Burkholder for president
of Metro.
The labor council has already endorsed Duke Shepard for an open seat
on the Metro Council. Shepard is political director of the Oregon
AFL-CIO.
Saltzman and Burkholder face the stiffest challenges in the May primary.
Six candidates have filed to run against Saltzman, who has served
on the City Council since 1998. One opponent, Jesse Cornett, also
interviewed with NOLC’s Executive Board and turned in a candidate
questionnaire.
Burkholder is one of three candidates vying for the open seat at Metro,
where Burkholder currently serves as a commissioner.
During his endorsement interview, City Commissioner Fish made a pitch
for building a baseball stadium for the minor league Portland Beavers
in the Delta Park area. He described the location — which includes
Portland International Raceway and the Portland Expo Center —
as a “prime location for a new baseball stadium in Portland,”
with easy access to the freeway and light rail.
Merritt Paulson owns the Portland Beavers baseball franchise. He recently
reached a deal with the City to move the Beavers out of downtown’s
PGE Park to make room for a Major League Soccer franchise that he
bought. PGE Park will soon undergo extensive renovations for the soccer
team. Those renovations will be performed by union workers under a
project labor agreement that Fish and Saltzman both supported.
Fish also talked about creating a recreation center at Delta Park
similar to that of Tualatin Valley’s. A large chunk of land
in that area is owned by developer Tom Moyer.
In Clackamas County, first-term Commissioner Bernard was asked about
the crumbling Sellwood Bridge and what role the County will play in
replacing it. Bernard said Clackamas County has the authority to increase
its vehicle registration fee by $10, with the increase dedicated to
building a new bridge.
“We can pass it at the commission level — and we plan
to do it,” Bernard told the Executive Board.
Replacing the Sellwood Bridge is estimated to cost $330 million. Multnomah
County has already increased its vehicle registration fee by $19 (to
raise $127 million) and the City of Portland has committed $100 million
to the project. A $10 increase in Clackamas County is expected to
generate $44 million toward bridge construction. The bridge is located
in Multnomah County, but an estimated 60 percent of Clackamas County
residents use it, the Executive Board was told.
During his interview, Multnomah County Commissioner Cogen said he
supports a project labor agreement on the Sellwood Bridge project.
© Oregon Labor Press Publishing Co. Inc.
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