Occupation: State Senator

Occupational Background: River guide, carpenter/contractor, broadcast producer/host, journalist, mediator, legislator

Educational Background: Harvard, Stanford M.A, Union carpentry school

Prior Governmental Experience: Jackson County Commissioner, Senate President Chief-of-Staff, State Senator

Serving in the Oregon Senate is an honor that I ask you to extend me for a second term. Between sudden walkouts that repeatedly halted work and the stress of zigzagging COVID restrictions, the first term was rough. Yes, there was progress. I’m proud of our foresty work, with massive legislation to recover from wildfires past and reduce wildfires and smoke crises going forward, as well as historic agreements that could end the timber wars. Unprecedented, mostly thoughtful investments in early childhood programs, mental health, housing and water development moves us in the right direction. And it was a true pleasure to steer funding to public safety/fire facilities in Phoenix, SOU-RCC,and amazing community groups like Kid Time, Family Nurturing Center, Armadillo Tech, RV Habitat and Rogue Retreat.

Enough bragging–there’s so much left to do. Too many Oregonians are on the streets, or one missed paycheck away. Barriers to education are too high. We’re not doing what’s needed to shift the trends that generate drought and devastating wildfires. The tax system leans too heavily on modestly-earning Oregonians and too little on many who write eye-popping campaign checks. That and more come from Oregon’s failure to regulate money in politics, exhibit #1 on our list of unfinished business.

Bottom line? We’re not on track to leave our kids and grandkids the Oregon they deserve. In the coming four years I will do everything I can to move us towards that track.

With thanks, Jeff

“Senator Golden’s fierce commitment to solving problems without seeking credit shines through all the work we’ve done together. He truly serves us.” —Jamie McLeod-Skinner

“As a persistent champion for campaign finance reform, Jeff’s shown he’s who we need in Salem.” — Terrie Martin, Phoenix businesswoman and journalist

(This information furnished by Committee to Elect Jeff Golden.)

 

State Senator Kathleen Taylor has lived in Oregon for nearly 25 years. She lives in Southeast Portland with her husband, and two children who attend Portland Public Schools. Her professional background spans the private, public and volunteer sectors.

Senator Taylor began her career as a recruiter for Boly:Welch where she worked with small businesses to find jobs for hundreds of Oregonians. She left to pursue a graduate degree in public policy at Rutgers University. When she returned to Oregon, she went to work as Management Auditor, examining and analyzing government programs. Kathleen has worked for the City of Portland, Metro, Multnomah County, and the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office to help make government at all levels more efficient and transparent.

As a volunteer, Kathleen has been a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), defending the rights of Oregon’s children, and VISTA volunteer, helping at-risk children in rural Idaho. She has also served as a member of the Portland Public Schools’ Citizen Budget Review Committee and as PTA President at her children’s school.

Rep. Taylor has a B.A. in Political Science and Psychology from University of Wisconsin, Madison and a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Rutgers University. She resides in Southeast Portland with her husband Chris and two children.​

Senator Kate Lieber represents Senate District 14, which includes Beaverton, Aloha, and portions of Washington and Multnomah County. Kate is a mother of two, a breast cancer survivor, a community college instructor, and attorney. She is deeply invested in improving our communities and understands, as a State senator, that having power means using it wisely and justly. Senator Lieber is guided by these beliefs and principles in all her work, and sees equity as the foundational principle for all she does.

Kate believes in the right to a safe and inclusive work environment, including the right to organize and bargain for better pay, working conditions, and workplace equity. She also believes healthcare is a human right and will fight to ensure all Oregonians are able to provide for their families.

She ran for office with the goal of re-envisioning social support and services in Oregon. From her time as a Multnomah County prosecutor and later serving on the Oregon Psychiatric Security Review Board and on the Board of Transition Projects, Kate has seen first-hand the deep connections between poverty, mental health, criminal justice, and housing insecurity. In the legislature, Senator Lieber is invested in deepening her understanding of this intersection, and working to end the criminalization of poverty and mental illness while improving access to safe, supportive and affordable housing.

Kate believes strongly that we need to be doing more to support caregivers, and to end the feminization of poverty. She is an advocate for greater protection and flexibility for working caregivers, particularly mothers, and for more support for people caring for relatives who are ill, aging, or living with disabilities.

Kate is able to advocate for these beliefs and principles through her role as co-chair of the Joint Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Services, and member of the Joint Ways and Committee and the Subcommittee on General Government. Senator Lieber believes that budgets are a reflection of values, and this belief guides her work on these committees. As a member of the Senate Committees on Human Services, Mental Health & Recovery, and Labor and Business, Kate is able to champion policies that are important to workers and to the most vulnerable Oregonians. As Assistant Majority Leader, she is a strong voice within the Democratic Caucus for advancing a progressive policy agenda.

Occupation: Owner; Heavy Highway Construction Company, State Senator – District 13

Occupational Background: Construction Projects Management

Educational Background: Oregon City High School, Portland State University

Prior Governmental Experience: State Representative 2005-2014, State Senator 2014 to present.

Legislative Committees: Vice-Chair, Senate Judiciary; Joint Committee on Legislative Audits; Chair, Oregon Transparency Commission; Public Records Advisory Council, plus many others.

Community Activities: Keizer, Wilsonville, Chehalem Valley, and Salem Chambers of Commerce

Personal: Happily married 37 years. Mother of four. Grandmother of seven.

RESTORING TRUST, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND TRANSPARENCY

Making Oregon a Better Place to Work & Raise a Family

• Kim fights to stop abusive restrictions and mandates on small businesses and schools.
• Kim pushes for effective checks on emergency powers.
• Kim advocates cutting crippling regulations that worsen Oregon’s housing crisis.
• Kim promotes policies encouraging job growth and reducing bureaucracy.
• Kim fights to reduce taxes on families and small businesses.
• Kim creates safer communities through work cracking down on sex offenders and human trafficking.
• Kim continues to support laws that hold criminals accountable and make communities safer.

Making Oregon a Better Place to Go to School

• Kim pushes setting budget priorities including funding schools first.
• Kim supports immediately restoring graduation standards.
• Kim fights to get our children back in the classroom and remove mandates that harm our children’s development.
• Kim defends education freedom that improves educational opportunities for all Oregon children.
• Kim continues to advocate for 21st century transparency that requires school districts to make education plans and curriculum easily available online.

A Pioneer for Transparency and Improving Election Safeguards

• Kim spearheaded the Oregon Transparency Website allowing taxpayers to monitor state spending and programs.
• Kim called on all legislators to put their name on bills they introduce to promote transparency in lawmaking while bolstering accountability to voters.
• Kim has, for years, called for regular and thorough election system audits that will ensure fair elections voters can trust.

Learn More at www.KimThatcher.com

https://www.facebook.com/kimthatcheroregon

(This information furnished by Friends of Kim Thatcher.)