Oregon State House District 29
The State Senate and House of Representatives are responsible for making or changing laws and passing a state budget. Sixty representatives serve in the House. The sizes of districts are based on the number of people living there. The Oregon Legislature meets for a long session in odd-numbered years and a short session in even-numbered years. To qualify as a candidate for the Oregon State House of Representatives, a person must be a U.S. citizen, a registered voter, a resident of the district for at least 1 year prior to the General Election, and age 21 or older. The salary is $35,052 plus a per-diem stipend.Term: 2 years. This is a partisan position.
Click a candidate icon to find more information about the candidate. To compare two candidates, click the "compare" button. To start over, click a candidate icon.
-
Susan McLain
(Dem)
According to the Annie E. Casey report, Oregon’s schools are lagging. What would you propose to improve our public education system?
What would you propose to address access to affordable housing and access to mental health and addiction services?
What funding source should be used for after-school and summer programs for children in low-income families?
Town Where You Live
Forest Grove
Your Experience/Qualifications
Retired teacher of 42 years, Metro Council for 16 years, and State Representative for 9 years.
County
Washington
Term
2 years
Term Expires
2025
Funding is the biggest challenge affecting both educators and public education, but it provides the most opportunity for growth and impact. The $2 billion investment made through the Student Success Act, along with record-breaking funding in both 2021 and 2023, help to provide opportunities to bring better results for our students in Oregon schools. However, we are clearly still faced with funding challenges and dramatic staffing shortages across the state that are directly related to those funding challenges. Simply put, we need more adults in our buildings, from educators and counselors to nurses, librarians, and classroom aides.
In the 2024 Legislative Session, I advocated for historic bills that addressed the affordable housing crisis and mental health and addiction services. We must continue encouraging the building of diverse housing options and provide the infrastructure needed to support new affordable communities. In relation to mental health and addiction services, we need to grow the pool of counselors and other specialists so that we have enough available staff to serve the needs of all Oregonians. These are complex problems and while the Legislature has provided the foundation with new funding and policies recently, we must continue to push for more funding, especially for mental health and addiction services.
I was proud to be the Chief Sponsor of HB 4082 in the 2024 Legislative Session. The bill passed with strong bipartisan support and funds $30 million for Summer Learning this Summer. In addition, it sets up a workgroup of education and non-profit leaders to determine how Oregon can move forward in funding and supporting Summer Learning and After School programs as an integral part of our K-12 system. I look forward to hearing the workgroup's suggestions on how we should fund these programs going forward. Still, it will likely be from a diverse array of funding tools that we can braid together to fund the programs at the levels needed to ensure the success of all of Oregon's students.
To make a selection for a candidate you must first find your races. Would you like to find your races now?
You have already selected the maximum number of candidates for this race.
You must uncheck an existing selection before making another selection.