Bill Bradbury earns Oregon Education Association endorsement by promising to fully fund our education at the Quality Education Model within his first term.
EUGENE — Oregon’s statewide teacher’s union just voted to endorse Democrat Bill Bradbury for governor, passing over its longtime ally, former Gov. John Kitzhaber, who wants to reclaim his old job.
The decision by the Oregon Education Association culminated a big day for Bradbury, the former secretary of state, who also picked up endorsements today from the American Federation of Teachers and from the Oregon School Employees Association.
It also served to split labor support in the upcoming May primary. On Friday, the AFL-CIO of Oregon announced its support for Kitzhaber, and he has gotten the lion’s share of private labor endorsements.
The OEA claims 48,000 members, most of them public school teachers and other education workers. Democratic candidates crave union endorsements because they often result in campaign contributions and a large pool of volunteers.
Delegates appeared to favor Bradbury’s passion to Kitzhaber’s more sanguine approach.
“Bradbury went to my heart and Kitzhaber went to my intellect,” said Cindy Havenstrite, a 3rd grade teacher in the Mollalla River School District. Hers was a view shared by many in what was a relatively close vote.
In the end, however, the teachers went with their hearts.
Bradbury delivered a fiery, emotion-packed speech, promising to add $2 billion to public school budgets by trimming 5 percent off the tax credits and deductions the state offers.
“It is time to stop making excuses and to start fully funding education in this state,” Bradbury said. He criticized Kitzhaber for failing to support a plan that would give schools an immediate and dramatic infusion of cash.“My opponent says fully funding education is just a slogan,” Bradbury said, referring to himself as the sole optimist in the race. “I gotta tell you, I categorically reject that cynicism.”
Kitzhaber was more staid, even stating that he wasn’t willing to issue promises and “slogans” to gain the union’s endorsement. “I’ve been to this convention before, I know how he game is played. I haven’t given a political speech,” he said.
He said delegates shouldn’t be swayed by Bradbury’s promises, which could prove impossible to keep. “Do we need more money for public education? Absolutely…But we need a realistic plan that works,” Kitzhaber said. “If there were $2 billion in easy money lying around” Democrats in the Legislature already would have found it, he said.Both candidates got personal, talking about the influence of teachers in their lives. Kitzhaber noted both of his parents, now deceased, taught at the University of Oregon. Bradbury talked about losing both his parents a car crash and of a fourth grade teacher who spent the entire year trying to get him to laugh. “I did finally laugh,” said Bradbury, who is now known for his cheery personality. “It‘s a classic example of the dedication an educator brings.”
