avakian questionnaire

7/31/2019 Avakian Questionnaire

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Statesman Journal mini-questionnaire for 2012 General Election

Thank you for responding to this questionnaire, which is for use by Statesman Journal Editorial

Board members in evaluating candidates for potential endorsements in the Nov. 6 General

Election. Your answers also will be shared with reporters and may be published in the printnewspaper and on StatesmanJournal.com.

If you completed our questionnaire for the primary season, youll notice that some requested

information is similar. We ask you to provide it again in case any of your previous data or

answers have changed. (If you cant find a copy of your previous answers, let us know and well

gladly send one.)

Please answer each question and return this questionnaire to the Editorial Board via email as an

attached Word document. The boards email address:[email protected]

Deadline for submitting your questionnaire: 9 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 12, or earlier.

Questions? Contact Editorial Page Editor Dick Hughes, 503-399-6727,[email protected]

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Your name:

Brad Avakian

Age:

51(If your age will change before the Nov. 6 election, please indicate your birthday. We want to make sure we use

accurate ages in editorials and news coverage. )

Political party (if this is a partisan office):

Non-partisan

Position you are seeking (name of position, district number):

Commissioner of Labor and Industries

I plan to attend the editorial board meeting scheduled for:

October 3rd at 11am

Number of years living in the area you seek to represent:

42 years
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Do you affirm that you are a full-time resident of that area?

Yes

City/town of residence:

Washington County, OR

Family (name of spouse/partner, number and ages of children if at home, number of grown children):

Debbie Avakian and two grown children

Education:

BA, Oregon State University; JD, Lewis and Clark Law School

Current occupation and employer:

Commissioner of Labor and Industries; State of Oregon

Military service:

None

Employment history:

Civil rights attorney 1990-2005, self-employed

Community involvement/volunteer history:

Founding board member of Emerge Oregon, which helps women run for office; Founding co-

chair, Washington County Oregon League Conservation Voters; and President, Southwest

Music School

Please list all public offices to which youve been elected, and when:

State Representative 2003-2007, District 34; State Senator 2007-2008, District 17;

Commissioner of Labor and Industries 2008-Present

Please list any unsuccessful candidacies for public office, and when:

State Senate 1998, District 17; US House of Representatives 2011, OR District 1

Other prior political and government experience:

None


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How much your general election campaign will cost:

$465,000

Key endorsements you have received:

Governor John Kitzhaber

Governor Ted Kulongoski

Governor Barbara Roberts

Oregon AFL-CIO

Working Families Party

Planned Parenthood

Oregon NARAL

Oregon Nurses Association

American Federation of Teachers-Oregon

How the public can reach your campaign (remember that this information may be published):

Mail address: 2236 SW 10th Ave., Portland, OR 97214

E-mail address: [email protected]

Web site URL: www.bradavakian.com

Phone: (503) 924-6577

Fax:None

Please limit your response to each of the following questions to about 75 words but be specific.

1. Have you ever been convicted of a crime, been disciplined by a professional licensingboard/organization or had an ethics violation filed against you? If so, please give the details.

No

2. Have you ever filed for bankruptcy, been delinquent on your taxes or other major accounts, or

been sued personally or professionally? If so, please give the details.

Like many Oregonians, I have had difficult financial times, especially when I was in the process


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of closing my law firm. I have made late payments on some bills and on my taxes. However, I

have taken the necessary steps to pay these debts and all of my obligations have been met.

3. Why should people vote for you? What separates you from your opponent(s)?

I have a strong record of protecting workers on the job from my work as a civil rights attorneyto fighting against discrimination in the legislature to serving Oregonians for the last four years

as Labor Commissioner. Additionally, I am the only candidate who is endorsed by both business

owners and labor organizations for my ability to bring all players to the table when dealing with

difficult issues.

4. What are the three most important issues you would address if elected? How? (75 words for each

issue)A. My top priority has always been establishing a well-trained workforce in Oregon. That's

why I put together a diverse coalition to pass the legislation restoring 21st-Century shopclasses to middle schools and high schools. As a first step, 21 schools received grants to

restore programs, and I will continue to push to expand this program to all middle and

high schools, allowing all students the opportunity to get the skills needed to be successful.

B. It is unacceptable that in Oregon women still make less than men for doing the same job.

That's why when I formed the Oregon Council on Civil Rights, I assigned equal pay for

equal work as their first task. In the next year, the council and I will be rolling out a plan

to end wage disparity in Oregon.

C. Wage theft here is absolutely an issue as evidenced by the fact that under myadministration, we recovered over $15 million to workers who were cheated out of their

wages or faced discrimination. Protecting workers' rights will continue to be one of my

top priorities.

5. What do you see as other important issues?

-Continuing to expand technical assistance programs for small and medium sized businesses to

help them navigate the system, ensuring that they are in compliance with the law.

-Saving taxpayer dollars by eliminating inefficiencies while still maintaining strong enforcement

and assistance. Already, my administration has saved over $300,000 by creating greaterefficiency.

6. How would you describe your political style or for judicial candidates, your judicial

temperament?

My political style is to build consensus whenever possible and to fight for the things that

Oregonians believe in when consensus is not possible.


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7. If you are an incumbent, what have you achieved during your current term? If you are not an

incumbent, how have you prepared yourself for this position?

I am most proud of the work we did to unanimously pass the shop class bill through the

Legislature in 2011, ensuring a stronger workforce for Oregon in years to come. Additionally, Iworked with both business and labor to modernize the Annual Construction Industry Wage

Survey and make it fairer for both employers and employees, and under my administration weve

helped more than 6,200 Oregonians get apprenticeships that lead to good jobs.

8. What is the largest budget you have handled, and in what capacity?

As a member of the Ways and Means committee, I jointly oversaw the allocation of over $50

billion during the 2005 session, and as Commissioner of Labor and Industries, I directly oversee

a budget that has been as large as $23.5 million.

9. What is the largest number of employees youve supervised, and in what capacity?

I have overseen up to 112 employees as Labor Commissioner.

10. Who is your role model for this office the person/people you would most like to emulate?

The person most influential in my life for teaching me to have a balanced approach to difficult

decisions was my father.

11. Any skeletons in your closet or other potentially embarrassing information that you want to

disclose before it comes up in the campaign?

No

12. As a public official, your views on public issues are relevant to voters and potential

constituents. Please indicate whether you support or oppose each of these statewide measures on

the Nov. 6 ballot. (This question does not apply to judicial candidates.)

Measure 77, catastrophic disaster Yes/No

Measure 78, separation of powers Yes/No

Measure 79, real estate transfer taxes Yes/No

Measure 80, marijuana legalization Yes/No


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Measure 81, gillnetting ban Yes/No

I feel this is no longer an issue given the Governors actions on the practice.

Measure 82, allows private casinos Yes/No

Measure 83, authorizes Wood Village casino Yes/No

Measure 84, eliminates inheritance tax Yes/No

Measure 85 shifts corporate kicker to K-12 schools Yes/No

Thank you. Again, please submit your questionnaire as an attached Word document to

[email protected] later than 9 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

avakian questionnaire

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