Oregon’s union arch-nemesis is running for governor again.
Remember Bill Sizemore, the ballot measure baron who tied the Oregon Legislature in knots in the ‘90s and aimed salvo after salvo at public sector unions? At great expense, unions defeated most of his initiatives, but they kept coming, until unions investigated his operation and found it rife with signature fraud and campaign finance violations. In a sensational 2002 trial, a jury convicted Sizemore of racketeering and ordered him to pay $2.5 million to OEA and AFT-Oregon in damages.
But on Feb. 7, Sizemore announced a second coming: He filed to be on the Republican primary ballot this May, where he’ll be up against Christine Drazan, Bud Pierce, Stan Pulliam and 12 others.
Today Sizemore lives in Redmond and lists his occupation as general contractor and owner of Bill Sizemore Painting.
Judging by his past record, Sizemore might be a poor pick for the party: He got just 30% of the vote against John Kitzhaber in 1998, which may explain why he was a fourth place finisher in the 2010 Republican primary for governor.
