Rep. Teresa Alonso Leon was the primary immigrant Latina elected to hitch Oregon’s State Legislature in 2016. However her three-term stretch as Home District 22’s consultant is coming to an finish.
The district at the moment stretches in a slender strip alongside each side of Interstate 5 from Woodburn, by means of Salem to Market Road however redistricting has shifted the boundaries to increase west to the Willamette River to incorporate some extra rural communities north of Keizer.
One Democrat, Anthony Medina, is hoping to fill Leon’s seat with one other Latino chief. He’s at the moment within the Woodburn College District Board and stays dedicated to his marketing campaign whereas suing a Woodburn massage parlor for inappropriate sexual conduct.
His opponent, Republican Tracy Cramer, believes the district is prepared for a change.
Anthony Medina
Anthony Medina’s household set roots in Woodburn within the early Sixties as farm employees. He’s known as District 22 house for his total life and was raised by his grandparents who informed him of their expertise in labor camps and their journey to Oregon.
Medina grew to become the primary in his household to graduate from highschool the place he grew to become concerned with TRIO Applications, federal packages that present steerage and sources to low-income, first-generation or disabled college students. After commencement, his TRIO advisor inspired him to enroll in Western Oregon College the place he obtained a bachelor’s diploma in Public Coverage and Administration.
Medina grew to become a father throughout his sophomore yr. He stated it was tough, navigating being a dad or mum whereas in school however he was nonetheless capable of thrive. He was a scholar physique senator and in his junior yr, he was chosen because the nationwide TRIO scholar of the yr. It was the primary time an Oregon scholar obtained the award. He spent a semester in Washington, D.C., at Marquette College’s Les Aspin Heart for Authorities the place he labored within the workplace of Rep. Peter DeFazio.
After commencement, he went on to obtain his grasp’s diploma in Schooling Coverage, Group, and Management Research from Stanford College.
However Medina knew he would all the time wish to return to Oregon. And he did.
“I’m actually enthusiastic about this district. That is the place I used to be born and raised,” he defined.
District 22 is over 50% Latino however seeing the neighborhood mirrored in management and initiatives on the state stage is uncommon, Medina stated. It’s why he determined to run for the Woodburn College District in 2017. His profitable marketing campaign led to the first-ever majority-Latino college board in Woodburn and what many contemplate the primary Latino-majority college board in Oregon.
Medina stays enthusiastic about “stepping up” and serving his neighborhood. Being a part of the college board ensured that his neighborhood has entry to high quality sources and supplies and the very best quality public training that they will supply, he stated.
He felt a way of obligation to run, he stated. He’s been an elected official locally for the final 5 years and wished to make sure that the values of District 22 proceed to be mirrored within the Legislature, Medina stated.
Medina stated he would proceed to prioritize training if he was elected however he additionally hopes to concentrate on well being care and the financial system.
“Each single Oregonian deserves to have entry to high quality, reasonably priced healthcare,” he stated.
His spouse confronted main issues throughout her second being pregnant, and it was entry to care that saved his spouse and daughter’s life. His expertise as his grandfather’s caregiver additionally gave Medina perception into how advanced and costly well being care will be, he described.
He’s additionally conscious of accelerating prices basically. Medina stated his expertise working within the Governor’s Chief Monetary Officer’s doing state finance work and serving to funds coverage priorities has given him direct expertise with the legislative course of and with the instruments he might want to tackle the price of dwelling in Oregon.
Medina stated he “has the background and expertise to come back in and achieve success on day one.” He’s been an advocate for college kids within the district for a number of years.
“I wished to guarantee that each scholar in our district felt like once they graduate from highschool, they’re being set on the pathway to achieve success,” he stated. “It simply takes somebody who is aware of in regards to the course of and has the expertise and the background to come back in and step in and achieve success in behalf of advocating on behalf of the neighborhood.”
Tracy Cramer
Political newcomer Tracy Cramer describes her inexperience in politics as an asset, not a fault.
Born and raised in Gervais, Cramer describes herself as a spouse, mom and small enterprise proprietor. She’s deeply invested locally she seeks to characterize, she stated, with roots in each the Gervais and Brooks communities tracing again to her father who labored as a lifelong logger, trucker and ordained minister.
Cramer is a Gervais Excessive College graduate and she or he beforehand labored as a dental assistant earlier than transitioning to change into a stay-at-home mother after the beginning of her third little one.
She stated she felt compelled to run for Home District 22 with a purpose to construct a greater future for her kids. In a earlier interview with the Statesman Journal, she added that whereas her kids are usually not at the moment enrolled within the college district, they finally shall be, and she or he’s grown involved about what’s occurring with the college system.
“I am only a citizen that is involved. I’m a mother that is involved. And that is actually why I jumped into the deep finish,” Cramer stated. “I’ve a coronary heart for this neighborhood, and I might like to work for it.”
Cramer believes lots of the individuals within the district are “fairly pissed off” by the elevated value of dwelling, crime charges, and the training system.
“There’s a number of dad and mom together with myself which are involved about that and so they do not feel like they’re being heard,” Cramer added.
If elected, Cramer hopes to develop “transparency within the curriculum that is being taught in public faculties” and lift commencement requirements.
She can be enthusiastic about supporting companies and native companies. Her household’s personal enterprise was hit arduous through the pandemic. Cramer and her husband took a 40% pay lower through the COVID-19 pandemic, she stated. She and plenty of others have been pissed off with what she known as authorities overreach to be pressured to close down. Companies are leaving the state, she added. Supporting small companies means not overloading them with crimson tape and with taxes, “like we’ve been doing,” Cramer stated.
Companies are the spine that creates thriving communities, Cramer stated.
“I might do what is important to guarantee that they’re supported as a result of it is essential that they’re and so they give again to their communities and we have to guarantee that we’re additionally combating for them,” she stated.
Cramer hopes Democrats contemplate her for the district and anybody who might need issues together with her lack of political expertise. She stated present frustrations stem from ongoing Democratic management. Electing her would convey wanted change, Cramer stated.
“I’m so keen to struggle for them and I am so keen to face up for them and I might like to characterize them,” she stated.
Dianne Lugo is a reporter on the Statesman Journal protecting fairness and social justice. You may attain her at dlugo@statesmanjournal.com, 503-936-4811 or on Twitter @DianneLugo.
from Salem – Salem Local News https://bit.ly/3eEBDs3
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