"Nothing can stop the power of a committed and determined people to make a difference in our society. Why? Because human beings are the most dynamic link to the divine on this planet." – Rep. John Lewis
We are in another pivotal moment in Oregon politics, and we deserve to have leaders who represent us in elected office. What will the next four years of leadership look like? How will our state government respond to the long-term impacts of COVID-19, economic recovery, and public services like statewide child care, mental health, and affordable housing? How will our next Governor show up for Oregonians of color and underrepresented communities? Now is the time to engage meaningfully and take action. This is the chance to elect leadership that best represents and serves us.
APANO stands with the progressive Asian and Pacific Islander (API) community to unite in the fight for social justice—for everyone. As part of that fight, we must show up at the ballot for the issues and people we believe in.
This spring, APANO is taking on its 8th election cycle for the 2022 Primary Election. Since March 2017 when we announced the formation of our 501(c)4 organization, we’ve made great strides in showing what APANO and our community can win at the ballot. In the May 2020 primaries, we worked on 11 races and made 90,000 dials and 60,000 texts split between C3 and C4 activities. In the November 2020 general election, we made nearly 400,000 phone calls, sent 217,000 texts and hosted 106 phone and text banking shifts to fight for our future! We supported 3 statewide API candidates with 1 winning their race. Representative Khanh Pham was the first API legislator elected in Oregon in a generation. Our community power continues to grow in political advocacy, and we’re excited to have you all be part of it.
Starting in March, we will be making additional candidate endorsements and focusing our efforts in the following 17 Priority Races for the May 17, 2022 Primary Elections:
Statewide
- Governors Race
Portland/Multnomah County
- Metro Council District 1
- Metro Council District 4
- Metro Council President
- Portland City Council Position 2 (at-large)
- Portland City Council Position 3 (at-large)
- Multnomah County Commissioner Chair
- Oregon House District 34
- Oregon House District 36
- Oregon House District 38
- Oregon House District 46
- Oregon House District 48 (priority race)
Beaverton/Hillsboro/Washington County
- Hillsboro City Council
- Beaverton City Council
- Washington County District Attorney
- Oregon House District 30
Clackamas County
- Clackamas County Commissioner
Marion County
- Oregon House District 19 (priority race)
If you are a candidate who is running for an elected office for which APANO is making endorsements, please read our Candidate Endorsement Packet and fill out our Candidate Endorsement Interview Request Form to begin the process of earning APANO’s endorsement! Applications are due on February 18, 2022.
Our API votes matter. Our values-led work matters. Come support the fight in May.
If you want to learn more or get involved with our candidate endorsement process or our greater c4 political program, please do not hesitate to contact Marchel Marcos, Political Director, at marchel@apano.org.
This programming message is brought to you by APANO, a 501c4 nonprofit organization.