Pro-Union Eugene Legislator Staves Off Recall by Vast Margin as Contrarian UFCW Push to Oust Him Fails

In a stinging rebuke to the labor union that sought to oust him, pro-labor state Rep. Paul Holvey (D-Eugene) beat back a recall last night, keeping his seat with 90% of the vote in Lane County, one of the most lopsided results in Oregon history.

The United Food & Commercial Workers Local 555, once a staunch ally, sought to recall Holvey in part because he didn’t support a bill that would have aided unionization in the cannabis industry by making it easier for workers to organize. UFCW lobbyist Mike Selvaggio, a leader of the recall effort, said Holvey’s position on the bill was the latest in a long line of actions that showed he was no longer committed to labor. Holvey is a union carpenter by trade.

“I hope that members of UFCW 555 hold UFCW’s leadership and individuals behind this recall accountable for wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars from their dues, without making a single worker’s life better,” Holvey said in a statement.

Out of 12,638 ballots counted as of this morning, votes to keep Holvey in his seat totaled 11,390, or 90.13%, according to the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office.

“The Recall campaign gave Eugene voters an opportunity to evaluate Rep. Holvey’s record without the distraction of up-ticket races, and those voters affirmed that his values are those which should represent District 8 in Salem,” the UFCW said in a statement. “While it is not the conclusion we had hoped for, the Recall campaign and UFCW 555 respect that decision. We sincerely hope that this episode nevertheless serves as a reminder to all elected officials that their offices are entrusted to them by their constituents—not their party leadership—and it is to those constituents that they will ultimately be held to answer.”

Holvey, who spent weeks before the recall election knocking on doors, maintained the support of other Oregon unions throughout the fight. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and Service Employees International Union both endorsed him, as did the Lane Professional Firefighters.

Holvey, 69, remains a member of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, as he has for 35 years.

The loss is a blow to Selvaggio, until now one of the most powerful lobbyists in Salem. He faces a complaint with the Oregon Government Ethics Commission, filed by Holvey in June, alleging that Selvaggio violated state lobbying laws by threatening to oust Holvey over his opposition to House Bill 3183, the cannabis legislation that the UFCW backed.

Oregon Revised Statutes 171.756 says: “A lobbyist may not attempt to influence the vote of any member of the Legislative Assembly by the promise of financial support of the candidacy of the member, or by threat of financing opposition to the candidacy of the member, at any future election.”

“I’m writing to file a complaint against Oregon registered lobbyist Michael Selvaggio for attempting to influence my vote as a legislator by threatening to finance, and actually financing, my opposition in an upcoming election,” Holvey wrote in his June 13 complaint.

The commission will consider the complaint at a meeting on Friday. In a victory for Selvaggio, the commission’s staff has recommended dismissing it.

“Based on the information obtained during the preliminary review, there is no indication that Mr. Selvaggio ever threatened Rep. Holvey or indicated to Rep. Holvey that if Rep. Holvey did not vote in support of HB 3183, Mr. Selvaggio would finance a recall election,” staff wrote Sept. 27. “Similarly, the information obtained during the preliminary review produced no specific allegation or evidence to suggest that Mr. Selvaggio ever offered to stop the recall petition process in exchange for Rep. Holvey agreeing to support HB 3183.”

During the recall effort, Selvaggio also suspended his membership in the Oregon Capitol Club, a lobbyist trade organization that has a room in the basement of the Capitol that members can use. In an interview with WW last month, Selvaggio said he suspended his membership rather than force an investigation into his conduct during the recall. The Capitol Club’s rules are similar to the ethics commission’s, he said.

“It put the Capitol Club in an awkward position,” Selvaggio said at the time. “I’m pretty confident that the ethics commission will investigate this and say there is nothing there.”