ARTICLE
The 2018 election primary races have come and gone, and there is a lot to look forward to in the general election in November. This election year, the Portland Metropolitan region featured several exciting high profile races with direct impacts on the way our region approaches land development and residential building. With some races called within minutes of the polls closing, there are still many critical races that will continue on into November. Primary races in Oregon give political parties the opportunity to pick their candidate for general election November. However, many races in our region are nonpartisan, therefore all candidates participate in the same primary. In these cases, a candidate must secure more than 50% of the ballots cast in that race. If no one candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, then that race continues into a runoff between the top two candidates in that race in the general election. Members of the Government Relations and PAC committee met with candidates running for key positions and deliberated at length on this year’s endorsements. While it remains important that we elect industry friendly candidates to all offices in the region, the HBA was particularly successful in a couple of key primary races. In a huge victory in Washington County, an incumbent commissioner who has been notoriously unfriendly to the industry was voted out of their seat, and the HBA endorsed candidate voted in. The HBA actively engaged in this race, even lending staff to contribute to the winning campaign. The HBA was able to ensure that seven other endorsed candidates around the region were successful in either securing their seats or are moving into a general election runoff. With many races continuing on into a runoff after the primary, is it even more critical that the HBA and its membership lend their support for the candidates that champion our causes. Here is a rundown of the outcomes of 2018 Oregon primary in our region with HBA endorsements noted:
OREGON BUREAU OF LABOR COMMISSIONER