State Rep. Brent Barton Says Goodbye

State Rep. Brent Barton (D-Oregon City) is surrendering the most expensive seat in the Oregon House. Barton, 35, a Harvard-educated trial lawyer, defeated Republican Steve Newgard in a 2014 rematch that cost $1.24 million. Barton spent $787,000 to retain what is one of only a handful of Portland-area swing seats. In WW's 2015 legislative survey, Barton was the region's most improved lawmaker, but in an Aug. 11 letter to legislative leadership and Gov. Kate Brown, Barton said he was leaving the Capitol. [He'll serve out the remainder of his term, but will not seek reelection.] "My wife and I are expecting our first child, and my law practice continues to grow," Barton wrote. "I do not feel it is fair to my family, my clients, or my constituents to juggle so many responsibilities, and my family must come first."

The TriMet drivers' union just fired its lawyer—and wants to replace him with a familiar foe of the transit agency. Leaders of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 757 announced at an Aug. 10 meeting that the union has eliminated the job of Lane Toensmeier, who has been ATU Local 757's general counsel since January. ATU Local 757 president Shirley Block says the union plans to replace Toensmeier with three new contractors, including former union president Ron Heintzman, a take-no-prisoners negotiator who in 1994 won sweeping benefits for retired union members. Meanwhile, six union members have filed challenges to the June election results that put Block in charge.

State inspectors have upheld a May complaint against WeVillage day care, finding that the Pearl District location violated state staffing requirements on multiple days. It also fined the drop-in center $700, marking the sixth time since 2013 that state officials have dinged the location for not having enough employees on hand to care for children, including infants. The penalty stemmed from complaints by a former WeVillage manager, who told the state and WW that WeVillage endangered children by flouting state staffing rules (“Kiddie Trouble,” WW, May 27, 2015). WeVillage director Aimee Davis did not return WW’s calls seeking comment. 

The Oregonian wants a pot critic. Editors at the state's largest newspaper have started placing ads, shared on Facebook in July, seeking a freelancer to write two to four reviews a month of marijuana strains and edibles. "The candidate should be an experienced cannabis consumer," the notice says, "with deep knowledge about the variety of strains and products available on the Oregon market." But don't expect to be hired full-time: The Oregonian's parent company, New York-based Advance Publications, mandates drug testing for its employees. Oregonian Editor Mark Katches did not answer WW's questions about the newspaper's drug policy.

WWeek 2015