OTLA Sidebar September 2020

4 • SIDEBAR • September 2020 an important player in the Democratic Caucus. We are also the second largest contributor to Representative Chris Gorsek’s effort to replace retiring Senator Laurie Monnes-Anderson. Gorsek’s election would flip that seat from an incumbent who was weak on civil justice to a strong civi justice supporter. Monnes-Anderson voted to keep the $500,000 cap on non- economic damages in place. Now our focus is on two critical Senate races in November where pro- civil justice candidates have a fighting chance to win: Deb Patterson and Melissa Cribbins. Patterson is a minister who cares for a special-needs daughter. She is extremely strong on civil justice issues and a true believer in the fights YOU as OTLA members take on for your clients. Patterson is running for a seat in Salem and Polk County against incumbent Senator Denys Boles. Boles was appointed to the seat and is facing her first Senate election. In the House, she voted against us on legislation to remove the compensation cap and is no friend of OTLA on access to justice issues. Cribbins is an attorney from Coos Bay who currently serves on the Coos County Commission. She is running to replace Senator Arnie Roblan in a seat that stretches from Coos Bay to Pacific City. Her opponent is Dick Anderson, a retired investment banker and Mayor of Lincoln City. There has also been tremendous positive change in the Senate leadership. Senator Rob Wagner was elected by his colleagues to serve as Senate Majority Leader. He operates in a very collaborative manner and is a strong advocate for civil justice. You may remember his speech on the Senate floor in favor of the Horton fix eliminating the cap on non-economic damages. His willingness to engage with us both during the special sessions and on the campaign trail has been a sea change from prior sessions and elections. To that end, we want to help Sen. Wagner build a strong civil justice majority in his Caucus by electing Pat- terson and Cribbins. Looking at the House, OTLA-PAC led the way on expanding the pro-civil justice numbers by backing first time LEGISLATIVE UPDATE continued from page 1 candidates in their difficult primary races back in May. We were the biggest or second biggest contributors to Wlns- vey Campos, Khanh Pham, Ricki Ruiz and Dacia Grayber. These candidates’ victories in the primaries mean an ac- celeration of both generational change and diversification in the Oregon House. Each of these candidates were preceded in office by an incumbent two to three decades older. Further, adding three candidates of color and four can- didates of working-class backgrounds means more voices will be represented in the capitol. Now our focus is on protecting House members who face challeng- ing general elections in November and who stood with us on civil justice issues. First and foremost, we must make sure Representative Anna Wil- liams returns to the legislature. She is a first-termer facing a tough challenge from retired police officer Jeff Helfrich. Williams’ district includes Hood River, Sandy and east Multnomah County. She was rock solid on all access to justice issues that came before her in her first term. Longtime champion Representa- tive Paul Evans also needs our help. He has a Salem district that is evenly divided between Ds and Rs, yet Evans has never flinched when it comes to preserving and expanding access to justice. You’ll probably get calls from many candidates this fall. The races listed above are the most important races we are facing and your indi- vidual contributions to these candi- dates, in conjunction with OTLA-PAC contributions, will be absolutely essential to their victories. Please consider making a contribution both individually and to Guardians. Your generous support of the Guardians program means so much to advancing the cause of civil justice in Oregon. These are the leaders who share our values and who put themselves on the line on the campaign. Thank you for all you do in the struggle for justice and thank you in advance for con- sidering additional contributions to candidates. Melissa Cribbins, candidate for SD 5 representing the central coast from Tillamook south to Coos Bay and North Bend. Deb Patterson, candidate for SD 10 representing Maron and Polk counties including much of Salem.