Lane County commissioners unanimously elected on Friday union representative Paul Holvey to fill the vacant District No. 8 seat — which includes the University area — in the Oregon House of Representatives.
Holvey, a Democrat and native of Eugene, works as organizer for the Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters.
Holvey takes the place of former Rep. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, who replaced former Sen. Tony Corcoran, D-Cottage Grove, as the District No. 4 senator after Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski asked Corcoran to sit on Oregon’s Employment Appeals Board. Holvey was chosen from three final candidates.
In his interview with the commissioners, Holvey emphasized the need for balance and bipartisan cooperation to solve what he sees as Oregon’s biggest problem: the economy.
“We’re in a horrible time,” he said.
Holvey, 49, said his combination of a working class background and experience in the business world gives him a unique perspective on Oregon’s economic crisis.
“Without businesses making money, we don’t have good jobs,” he said.
Holvey also spoke of the need for tax reform, more funding for professional and technical training at the community college level, balance between environmental and business concerns and better funding for state-mandated programs carried out at the local level.
“I don’t know the answer and I don’t claim to have a magic pill for it, but I can sit down with legislators from both sides of the table,” he said.
Holvey will fill out the rest of Prozanski’s term, which ends in January 2005 and said he plans to run for the position in the May 18 primary election.
“It’s all going to shake out with the people,” Commissioner Bill Dwyer said. He added that he found comfort knowing the voters would soon make the final decision on who would represent them.
Mike Bonner, a case manager for the Oregon Department of Justice and one of the other two candidates for the nomination, said he also plans to run for the position in the primaries.
University student Randy Derrick, the third candidate, said he does not plan to run.
Holvey has worked in the construction industry as a carpenter, foreman and project superintendent throughout the Northwest.
He has received an award from the Eugene Human Rights Commission for his achievements in the community, which include serving on the board of the Lane Business Education Compact, a nonprofit organization that seeks to promote a high quality local workforce; and the Siuslaw National Forest Resource Advisory Committee; and coaching kids sports.
“I think Paul Holvey will make be a wonderful representative of the people,” Commissioner Peter Sorenson said.