A Case For 3 Outstanding Progressives In Oregon
Raise your hand if you’d buy into this deal: two new solid progressive voices in Congress and, as an extra helping of good fortune, a city council that would be a progressive model for every city in the country? We could have that— or blow the opportunity if progressives aren’t all-in supporting the fight.
Take the 3rd Congressional District. Earl Blumenauer is retiring after more than 25 years representing the district. Susheela Jayapal is Blue America’s suggestion for the seat— and for good reason. Soon after Susheela announced she’d step down as a commissioner for Multnomah County to enter the primary, I had coffee with her to get a deeper understanding of her progressive vision.
I already had a sense of who she was— someone with deep roots in the community and a top-notch legislator who delivered for communities she represented. I asked her why she would trade an influential commissioner perch close to home for an elected position requiring that she fly 3,000 miles to D.C. each week and, then, home again, all to wrestle with the madness of an often-paralyzed Congress? She said, without missing a beat: the fight goes on, we can never give up and she felt compelled to add her experience and skills into the day-to-day struggle for a better nation.
Drawing on my long career in politics interacting with hundreds of elected leaders, I’ll add one other observation: Susheela is one of those rare politicians who is also a genuinely good person. Not only did I personally donate to her campaign, but I’m telling anyone I know to support Susheela because I’m certain she will be a stalwart vote for progressive values in Congress.
To the south of District 3 is another important fight Blue America is boosting: Jamie McLeod-Skinner is working hard to seize back the 5th Congressional District from the hands of a wingnut Republican, Lori Chavez-DeRemer. Jamie fell just short of victory in 2022 in a 51-49 general election result. With a presidential race on the ballot, Jamie has a great shot at winning the seat with increased turnout in the areas of the district she romped in 2022.
In the city of Portland, I’ve already weighed in here about my campaign of Solidarity for the City Council. Everywhere I speak to voters, my primary message is something we all understand: virtually every crisis we face in our communities boils down to people not earning enough money because the elites have robbed workers over four decades of their sweat-of-the-brow. Houselessness? How can people afford a decent home, in most cities, urban and rural, if the paycheck is too small to cover rent and basic expenses?
With an entirely new government structure, we have a chance to build a model city, and I intend on being an unwavering voice demanding that workers’ wages go up, in the public and private sector. I’m thrilled to say that the guiding theme of my campaign, in just a bit over two months, has already garnered the backing of four major unions: United Auto Workers, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Iron Workers and the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, with more to come.
For progressives, we should never think about “swing states” or even states, districts or cities that mainstream Democrats think of as not winnable. We should think always: where can we build the kind of power and movement that unites all people around the vision that Susheela, Jamie and, humbly, I have carried our whole lives: a vision of equity, justice and democracy for all.
And, heck, because it’s a campaign: please consider supporting each of us as generously as you can so we can be three additional pillars in the on-going project to build a progressive society.