by Julia Shumway, Oregon Capital Chronicle
November 6, 2024
Tuesday’s election could set up a cascade of legislative resignations and appointments in northwest Portland and Beaverton.
State Sen. Elizabeth Steiner, D-Portland, plans to immediately resign her Senate seat after winning the race for state treasurer. She still has just over two years left in her current four-year term.
Rep. Lisa Reynolds, D-Beaverton, who won reelection to her House seat on Tuesday, announced Wednesday that she’ll seek an appointment to finish Steiner’s Senate term. If local Democrats and county commissioners in Washington and Multnomah counties approve, that means another Democrat will be appointed to Reynolds’ House seat.
Whether in the House or Senate, Reynolds said she plans to focus on a package of policies she calls the “Momnibus 2025,” bills to improve housing security, mitigate poverty and expand behavioral health and postpartum services.
“My north star is to end child poverty and to improve the lives of Oregon children and families,” she said. “I am proud of my accomplishments on gun violence prevention, the passage of a child tax credit, securing record investments in youth homelessness, expanding child care slots and strengthening access to reproductive health care, including abortion. I look forward to continuing this work in the Oregon Senate as I strive to ensure that every newborn in Oregon has the very best start in life.”
Steiner endorsed Reynolds, saying that the two worked together on shared priorities including early childhood issues and health care policy. Both are doctors — Steiner is a family physician and Reynolds a pediatrician.
“Our shared values and commitment to upstream solutions give me confidence that she is well prepared to serve our community in this new role,” Steiner said.
Steiner, appointed to the Legislature in 2012, added that she was grateful for her time in the Senate. Her main goal as a legislator was to make Oregon the healthiest state in the nation, she said.
“It is not an easy job, but it is immensely rewarding,” she said. “I will miss the camaraderie and debate with all of my colleagues. I am excited to take the lessons I learned at the Capitol to the Treasurer’s Office where I am committed to helping Oregonians achieve their financial goals.”
Her Democratic colleagues, including Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, thanked Steiner for her work.
“She led with thoughtfulness and inclusivity, ensuring the Legislature responsibly invested in projects and programs across the state to help all Oregonians,” Wagner said. “While the Senate will truly miss her steady hand, the people of Oregon have gained a great treasurer.”
State Sen. Brian Boquist, a Dallas Republican who opposed Steiner in the treasurer’s race, refused to concede in an email Wednesday.
“No statewide election has been finally determined, only one of the ballot measures has been determined and several congressional seats have not been determined despite corporate media hogwash along with talking heads,” he wrote.
The “doctor district” — Steiner’s Senate district and the two House districts it encompasses — has been represented by medical professionals for years and seen a lot of turnover this year. Democrat and physician Maxine Dexter was elected to Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District on Tuesday and resigned her state House seat in July to give Shannon Jones Isadore, the founder of a Portland addiction treatment clinic, a head start in Salem. Isadore won election to a full term on Tuesday.
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