Gabriel Velasquez
The very first job I ever had was as a church custodian at the church I’ve grown up. I took the job in order to pay for part of my tuition at Portland Community College at the time. However, things suddenly changed when during my last year at PCC, my grandmother who has taken care of me just as much as my own parents did, was diagnosed with Stage 3 Colon Cancer. I was heavily involved with her recovery becoming her home healthcare worker while also juggling school and my internship with State Senator Lee Beyer all at the same time.
Since then my grandma is in remission while I have still been taking care of her. During this time I have worked for Shemia Fagan’s campaign for Oregon’s secretary of state, worked for Oregon Senate Majority Leader Rob Wagner, co-founded a political action group called Americans United For Democracy, which seeks to improve democracy in government as well as in the workplace, all while graduating in 4 years with a Bachelor’s of Science in Poltical Science and a Minor in Business Administration at Portland State University during a global pandemic.
Keaton Ems
Keaton Ems is the vice president of government relations at Citizens for a Greater Idaho, and a representative of the Move Oregon’s Border for a Greater Idaho. He is a 2020 graduate of Portland State University and is working on a Master of Public Policy at Oregon State University.
Akasha Lawrence-Spence
Akasha Lawrence Spence is the first person in her family to be born in America. Her mother immigrated to the United States over 40 years ago with nothing but a dogged determination to achieve the American dream. She worked tirelessly as an 1199 SEIU nurse on the frontlines of our community and as a Lt. Colonel on the frontlines of the battlefield. It is upon her mother’s legacy of service to our community, and her country that Akasha is building her own. As a small business owner, working to create generational wealth in frontline communities, civic activist, working to expand our democracy, and public servant, Akasha is working to ensure that every Oregonian has the housing, healthcare, food, healthy environment, and security they need to live full-fledged lives.
Last year, our state confronted unprecedented need: a global health crisis, economic crisis, and the youth-led movement to demand racial justice and right historical wrongs. As Oregon House Representative for HD-36, Akasha worked to pass landmark police reform bills, landlord and tenant protections, and a holistic COVID-19 response for all Oregonians. Her collaborative leadership and strong advocacy background lead her to galvanize the community to provide direct economic support to farmworkers, immigrant families, small businesses, our indigenous communities, and Black Oregonians who would otherwise be left out of the equation.
Akasha championed The $62 million Oregon Cares Fund for Black Relief and Resiliency in collaboration with a statewide coalition of community members and community-based organizations who saw the need for direct economic relief to support Black communities who were facing both the destabilizing impacts of the pandemic and an existing legacy of discriminatory policies.
In her career, Akasha is the Founder & Principal Designer of Fifth Element—a conscientious real estate development firm helping small businesses own commercial real estate. Fifth Element works primarily with BIPOC women providing them with a pathway for collective ownership and the creation of generational wealth. Her work serves as an incubator for economic growth and the creation of economic sovereignty in frontline communities.
The work Akasha engages in, in community, in politics, and in business, stems from her belief that when communities have ownership and control of their resources, they are more resilient, self-sufficient, and dynamic places where people feel grounded, stable, and connected.
Akasha supports a simple yet impactful economic justice platform because no Portlander should be expected to negotiate between paying the rent and buying groceries, seeking medical care or going into insurmountable debt, or be unable to access the capital to purchase a home or start a small business for no other reason than their gender or the color of their skin. For Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color, the promises of freedom and justice have never been met, and no one verdict can ever lead to the justice, equity, and humanity that we all deserve without transformational change. Through community centered leadership, government centered on people can repair harm, transform lives, and turn trials into triumph.
Kayse Jama
Occupation: Oregon State Senator
Occupational Background: Nonprofit Founder; Executive Director
Educational Background: Marylhurst University, BA
Prior Governmental Experience: Chair, Senate Committee on Housing & Development; Senate Committee on Labor & Business; Oregon Commission on Black Affairs
Kayse Jama: Opportunity for All
“I have worked with the people of East Portland and Clackamas County for twenty years as a community organizer, advocate, and now as your State Senator. I will continue fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with you to build an Oregon where opportunity is available to all.” – Kayse
Delivering for Senate District 24
Kayse Jama took office in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic and got right to work delivering for his constituents:
- Passing legislation and investing over $1.3 billion to prevent evictions, create affordable housing, and support home ownership
- Investing $4 million in federal funding directly into the District and community organizations serving our most vulnerable
- Establishing Oregon’s first Office of Immigrant and Refugee Advancement
“Senator Jama’s leadership as Chair of the Senate Housing Committee has kept tens of thousands of Oregonians in their homes during this pandemic.” – Katrina Holland, Community Leader
An Inclusive Recovery for an Equitable Oregon
Kayse will center our hard-hit district in the state’s recovery, fighting for:
- Fairness in housing, education, and the workplace
- Climate measures to address extreme heat and other environmental disasters
- Reimagined public safety where everyone is protected
“Senator Jama has dedicated his life to uplifting struggling Oregonians. He will bring us together to create a justice system that works for everyone.” – Andy Ko, Community Leader
Trusted Organizations & Leaders Support Kayse
SEIU
UFCW Local 555
Pro-Choice Oregon PAC & Planned Parenthood PAC of Oregon
Oregon League of Conservation Voters
PCUN (Pineros y Campesinos del noroeste)
Oregon Nurses Association
Pacific NW Carpenters Union
Building Power for Communities of Color
Basic Rights Oregon Equality PAC
Senators Rob Wagner & Kate Lieber
Representatives Tawna Sanchez,
Khanh Pham, & Andrea Valderrama
Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury
(This information furnished by Kayse Jama for Oregon.)
Bill Kennemer
Occupation: State Senator
Occupational Background: Retired Family Psychologist; Small Business Owner; Truck Driver; Janitor; Farm Hand
Educational Background: PhD, Fuller Graduate School of Psychology; Warner Pacific College, Bachelor’s
Prior Governmental Experience: Oregon State Representative, Clackamas County Commissioner Chair, Oregon State Senator, Precinct Committee Person
Senate Appointments: Willamette Falls Locks Commission; Oregon Recycling Advisory Council
Community Involvement: Member, area Chambers of Commerce; NW Steelheaders; Clackamas County Historical Society
Family: Married to Cherie, dad and grandpa.
PROVEN LEADERSHIP CLACKAMAS VOTERS DESERVE!
Dear Neighbors,
It’s my great honor to ask for your vote to continue serving as YOUR Senator from District 20. After retiring from the Oregon House of Representatives in 2018, I was asked to return to the Legislature to serve in the Senate in 2021. At a time during an unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic crisis, we needed experienced leadership.
As your Senator, I’ve been proud to STAND UP for my community by:
- Working to give YOU a vote on tolling;
- Protecting your KICKER TAX REBATES;
- Saying NO to taxing small business Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loans on Oregon income tax returns;
- Working to make health care affordable and accessible; opposing taxes on health insurance premiums and prescription drugs;
- Rejecting job-killing taxes;
- Passing record-high budgets for public schools;
- Defending our Second Amendment rights;
- Voting against legislation to allow violent criminal offenders early release from prison; and
- Exposing “hidden” sales taxes.
Through redistricting, I once again represent parts of Clackamas County I have served before. Be assured, as a former Clackamas County Commissioner and having represented these communities in the State Senate previously, I know your neighborhoods well and am prepared to serve YOU!.
Now more than ever, we need effective leadership with the courage and knowledge to solve problems and the commitment to vote in the best interests of our community.
I ask for YOUR VOTE to continue being a STRONG VOICE for Clackamas County in Salem!
Sincerely,
Dr. Bill Kennemer
(This information furnished by Friends of Bill Kennemer.)
Art Robinson
Art Robinson is a longtime Southern Oregon resident and Constitutional conservative.
Robinson earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology and went on to earn a PhD in chemistry from the University of California-San Diego. He served as an assistant professor at UC San Diego and as a research assistant at Stanford University before becoming the president, research director and co-founder of the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine. Since 1980, he has been the president and research director of the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine. Art is also the writer and president of the Access to Energy newsletter.
Art and his late wife Laurelee had six children, three of whom have PhDs in areas such as nuclear engineering and chemistry. Two of their children are Doctors of Veterinary Medicine and another has a master’s degree in nuclear engineering.
The Robinson family have a successful K-12 education curriculum that has been used for homeschooling and as a public-school supplement for over 100,000 students. Art lives outside of Cave Junction, where he continues his work in science and defending freedom and liberty.