March 5, 2010 Volume 111 Number 5

Northwest Oregon Labor Council backs city, county incumbents

The 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. 


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