35 Legislators Score High

Accountability Report Reviews ’09 Session

Thirty-five of Oregon’s 90 legislators have received grades of straight A or above in three key areas by the 2009 SEIU 503 Legislative Accountability Report.

The 28-page report, which reviews all aspects of the biennial legislative session from the perspective of members, uses floor votes, committee votes and leadership to gauge records of State Senators and Representatives on workers’ rights, health care and public services.

The report, prepared by the SEIU 503 Political Department, has been distributed electronically or by mail to members of 503 CAPE (Citizen Action for Political Education).

“Politics is the science of who gets what, when and why,” CAPE chair Barbara Casey said in an introduction. “We had particularly gratifying success in the 2009 legislative session.”

But Casey added that unless Oregon voters sustain the two tax-fairness bills the 2009 Legislature passed by voting yes in January on Measures 66 & 67, much of that good work will be undone. Sections of the report cover such activity as

• formation of the Keep Oregon Working alliance
• added staff to cover runaway workload in the Department of Human Services and add millions to state coffers funds in the Department of Revenue
• preservation of community-based care for seniors and people with disabilities as well as childcare for working parents
• the stellar record of such SEIU-backed candidates as Attorney-General John Kroger and 10 first-term members of the House
• the crucial impact of federal stimulus dollars
• successful efforts to restore funding for the Oregon Youth Authority
• pioneering legislation on contractor transparency and accountability and
• the key role legislators played in securing a fair contract for Oregon University System workers.

Download full report

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