A Democratic union in Oregon has collected enough signatures to force a recall election of one of the state’s top Democrats, opening up what could be the first recall election in the state legislature in 35 years.
The union, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555, surpassed the threshold to trigger the recall for Oregon state Rep. Paul Holvey, a Eugene Democrat, by securing 5,000 valid signatures, according to a spokesman for the Oregon secretary of state’s office on Thursday. Holvey now has three days to decide whether to resign or appear on the ballot.
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“Oregonians deserve better representation than Paul Holvey provides; this applies especially to working Oregonians who have been left behind by Holvey and the Democratic Party’s Caucus leadership,” union communications coordinator Miles Eshaia said in a statement to the Oregonian Thursday. “Paul Holvey knows how to advance or kill legislation on behalf of corporations like La Mota that are owned by rich people; he’s just forgotten how to do it for regular people, like La Mota’s employees.”
The petition comes after Holvey, who has served in the state legislature for nearly 20 years, tabled a bill that would have allowed cannabis workers to unionize. The union accused Holvey of tabling the measure due to pressure from La Mota, a cannabis business that was a major donor to Democratic candidates. Holvey denies the allegation.
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Recall elections in the state are extremely rare. Only three state legislators have been recalled in the past century, one in 1935, one in 1985, and one in 1988.
Holvey has served in the state house since 2004 and leads a predominantly liberal district. If Holvey, who serves as the chairman of the House Committee on Business and Labor, chooses not to resign, an election will be held on Oct. 3. But if he does resign, or the recall is successful, his district will nominate three to five candidates for the local commissioners to finish out his term, which expires in 2025.
