Christina Stephenson was re-elected to a second four-year term as Oregon labor commissioner. It wasn’t a surprise given that she had just one little-known challenger, but it might be the most impactful win for organized labor in Oregon’s May 19 primary. Stephenson is a strong union ally who in her first term presided over a long-overdue increase in labor law enforcement.
Turnout this May was higher than usual for a primary, possibly because low-frequency voters were motivated to reject Measure 120, a 6-cent gas tax increase that was supposed to fund road and highway maintenance. The legislature-approved measure was endorsed by the Oregon Labor Federation but rejected by 83% of those voting.
Unions took sides in multiple Democratic primaries for open and contested seats for the Oregon Legislature. One of them was HD 52 (Hood River) where a four-way Democratic primary had two union-endorsed candidates. David Osborn (35%) and Nick Walden Poublon (11%) both lost to Hank Sanders (45%). Sanders’ father is the founder of Zoomcare and his mother is state senator Lisa Reynolds; though he had no union endorsements, he did play a role in helping unionize fellow reporters at the Chicago Tribune.
In seven Democratic primary races, different labor organizations back different candidates. The results:
- In SD 3 (Ashland) Denise Krause won with 35% and Oregon Labor Candidate School grad Cristian Mendoza Ruvalcaba came in third place with 18%.
- In SD 11 (Keizer) Virginia Stapleton (66%) easily bested former state rep Teresa Alonso Leon.
- SD 15 (Hillsboro) SEIU Local 503 member Myrna Muñoz narrowly defeated incumbent Janeen Sollman 52% to 48%. Sollman had been a notable no vote on some key union priority bills.
- HD 7 Springfield City Council member Kori Rodley outpolled second-place finisher Ky Fireside with 58% to 30%.
- HD 27 (Beaverton) Medical doctor Tammy Carpenter outpolled Beaverton City Councilor Ashley Hartmeier Prigg 52% to 48%.
- HD 38 (Lake Oswego) Incumbent Daniel Nguyen (73%) easily survived a challenge from teacher John (Waz) Wasielewski.
- HD40 (Gladstone) history teacher Michael Sugar won with 71% against Charles Gallia.
Each of those Democrats will face a Republican nominee in November.
Meanwhile HD 57 (Heppner) was the rare race where unions made endorsements in a Republican primary: Incumbent Greg Smith stands out from his caucus for the number of pro-labor votes he’s cast, and union backing helped him win 55% against a challenger.
Several county commissions were in the ballance with highly competitive primary contests.
In Clackamas County, incumbent commissioner Paul Savas came in first with 42% of the vote with broad union backing. He will face former commissioner Mark Shull in a November runoff. Shull served just two years of his term and lost a recall election after making disparaging remarks about Muslims and immigrants and comparing vaccine mandates to the Holocaust. Shull narrowly outpolled another challenger, former Clackamas County chair Jim Bernard, who was endorsed by Operating Engineers Local 701. Union-backed incumbent Diana Helm came in first with 42% of the vote in a seven-way race and faces second place R.W. Smith (16%) in November.And former commissioner Sonya Fischer won outright with 52% after entering the race late, ousting incumbent Ben West (48%), who defeated her in 2022. Union endorsements were about equally divided between them, with the Northwest Oregon Labor Council backing West.
In Deschutes County, three of the four county commissioner candidates backed by Central Oregon Labor Chapter and local union were the top finishers. That included Coast Guard vet Jamie Collins and pastor Rick Russell, who won outright; and Red Cross director Morgan Schmidt (44%) who will face runner-up Rob Imhoff (38%) in November. Union-backed high school teacher Amy Sabbadini (30%) will face first-place finisher Lauren Connally (38%) in November.
In Lane County, union endorsee Sean VanGordon won outright with 52%. Incumbent Heather Buch placed second with 47% and will face Jake Pelroy (48%) in November.
