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The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents 1,000 city of Portland employees, today threw its considerable heft behind Andrea Valderrama in the five-way race to replace incumbent City Commissioner Dan Saltzman.
The endorsement of the city's largest labor group is a plum for Valderrama, who's competing with Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith, former state Rep. Jo Ann Hardesty (D-Portland), architect Stuart Emmons and neighborhood association leader Felicia Williams.
An aide to Mayor Ted Wheeler and an elected member of the David Douglas School board, Valderrama lacks the political experience Smith and Hardesty bring to the race so she'll benefit from AFSCME's money and the door-knocking and phone-banking of its members.
"Portland City Council is long overdue for a strong voice from East Portland, and Portland's working families are hungry for the grassroots based leadership of Andrea Valderrama," said Mary Prottsman, a member of AFSCME Local 189 in a statement. "She has a platform that thoughtfully addresses the biggest issues we are facing without underestimating their complexities."
Other key public employee groups, including Service Employees International Union and the police and fire unions, have not yet endorsed in the race.
