Labor Contributions in the Oregon Secretary of State’s Race Raise Hackles

The unions’ largesse—and a misleading website that the three unions paid for—prompted an unusual reaction. See how the numbers break down.

Shemia Fagan (Rick Vodicka)
State Sen. Shemia Fagan (D-Portland) entered the Democratic secretary of state race late, but the state’s three largest public employee unions have allowed her to make up for lost time.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Service Employees International Union and the Oregon Education Association have collectively given Fagan more than either of her two opponents have raised in total. Those opponents, Terrebone lawyer and natural resources consultant Jamie McLeod-Skinner and state Sen. Mark Hass (D-Beaverton), both entered the race more than five months before Fagan did.

The unions’ largesse—and a misleading website that the three unions paid for—prompted an unusual reaction in the normally deferential world of Democratic politics last week. State Rep. Alissa Keny-Guyer (D-Portland) is a longtime ally of Fagan’s, but in this race, she supports McLeod-Skinner. In the early morning hours of May 7, Keny-Guyer sent an angry email to Fagan, with copies to several other elected Democrats.

“In addition to the obscene amounts of money from so few sources going into your campaign, now there is an Independent Expenditure cleverly called OREGONIANS FOR BALLOT ACCESS, made to ‘appear’ neutral since it offers one example of an endorsement for Mark and two for Jamie,” wrote Keny-Guyer, who is stepping down after four terms. “No surprise, it is the first website that appears when you google any of the three candidate names.”

Fagan defended herself, saying the information presented on the website was accurate—and made no apologies that so much of her funding comes from unions.

“I am proud of the support I have received from member-funded labor organizations,” Fagan said. “They represent the voices of Oregonians across the state who choose to pitch in a few bucks a month so they can have a say in the political process.”

Here’s a rundown of the three candidates, and the leading sources of their funding:

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