Sweet reminder

Yesterday evening, I attended a rally and candlelight parade near Providence Hospital in Portland. The event, attended by 500 people according to one estimate, was called to draw attention to hearings and findings that hospital management hasn’t promoted an atmosphere allowing free and fair elections on whether support staff should form a union. Several politicians spoke, including Secretary of State Bill Bradbury. One compelling speech was by a Catholic priest, who noted that official policy of the Church is to allow workers to form unions if they choose. Another, by a nurses’ assistant who told of intimidation and threats by management towards union organizers.

But that’s not the “sweet reminder” of my post’s title. Two different times at the rally, middle-aged men came up to me and said, “You’re Amanda Fritz, aren’t you? I gave money to help your campaign when you ran”. I didn’t recognize either one, immediately. One fellow gave a contribution to me at the Labor Day Union Picnic in 2005, just days after I started collecting one thousand forty-five donations of $5 to qualify for Public Campaign financing. I received nine donations that day. The other had given to a friend collecting on my behalf.

In both cases, I could hear the pride in the voices. “I helped your campaign.” And I could hear the response, the heartfelt gratitude in my own voice, replying, “Thank you so much. What you did made a huge difference.”

I don’t know the background of these two men. Like most at the rally, they seemed to be working people, giving time and energy to the cause of the Providence housekeepers and aides because they don’t have the power or money to exert top-down pressure. If I’d run with private financing, I doubt these two would be greeting me at social events having contributed tens of thousands of dollars to my campaign, making the difference between a chance, and no chance, of winning. Because of public campaign financing, they knew, and I knew, that they had a very real part in my success.

And that reminded me that my campaign was indeed successful on many levels, despite not achieving the necessary vote count on May 16. It was successful because it wasn’t my campaign. It was our campaign. In the end, it was about public campaign financing, and working men and women joining together, as much as about Amanda Fritz being elected (or not) to the Portland City Council. My supporters at the rally last night, and my friends all over the city, are proud we qualified and upheld the honor and spirit of a huge step forward for democracy in Oregon. We showed it could be done. Together.