The stakes for this election have never been higher. With the outbreak of COVID-19 and amidst a nationwide civil rights reckoning, we need strong candidates who can meet this moment and work with us to fight for the rights and resources of our community and Black and Indigenous communities of color.
As part of that fight we, as voters, must show up at the ballot for the issues and people we believe in. As community members, we must tell candidates what is important to us through our interactions. Join us at our candidate endorsement interviews and make your voice heard by signing up here. The decisions we make in 2020 will shape our region for decades to come. It is up to us to decide what that future looks like.
APANO is continuing on its 5th election cycle. Since March 2017, when we announced the formation of our 501(c)4 organization, we’ve made great strides in showing what our community can win at the ballot. In May 2018, 6 of the 7 candidates that APANO endorsed won, and some made history. In the November 2018 general election, all 14 of the ballot measures and candidate campaigns that APANO worked on came out on the winning end. In May 2019, APANO helped elect one of the most diverse slates of school board and local office candidates this state has ever seen. In May 2020, APANO advanced candidates in 11 out of the 13 races in which it endorsed, including historic victories such as electing Khanh Pham, the first Asian American to ever represent the Jade District, and Carmen Rubio, the first Latina ever elected to the Portland City Council.
This November 2020, we will be making additional candidate endorsements and focusing our efforts in the following 10 Priority Races for the November 3, 2020 General Elections:
Portland and Multnomah County
Oregon House District 50 (Gresham)
Statewide
Oregon Secretary of State
Marion County
Oregon House District 19 (S Salem)
Oregon Senate District 10 (N/W Salem)
Lane County
Lane County Commission
Beaverton and Washington County
Beaverton City Council Position 6
Continued endorsements: our endorsements from May carry over to the November run-offs
Portland City Council Position 4 (at-large)
Oregon House District 28 (S. Beaverton)
Washington County Commissioner 1
Oregon House District 46 (NE/SE Portland)
In determining which races APANO should engage in, we consider several factors, including our organizational capacity and impact, and the following criteria:
Elected position purview and potential ability to impact or influence API lives
APANO members in district, concentration of Asian and Pacific Islanders, and opportunity to grow our base and for APIs to work on campaigns
APANO issue campaign or concerns, including national issues, at stake in district
Asian and Pacific Islander and People of Color candidates in district
APANO members in district, concentration of Asian and Pacific Islanders, and opportunity to grow our base and for APIs to work on campaigns
APANO can make a difference in the race; it is a close, competitive race
Strengthens APANO’s long-term capacity and growth
If you are a candidate who is running for an elected office for which APANO is making an endorsement, please read our Candidate Endorsement Packet and fill out our Candidate Interview Endorsement Form to begin the process of earning APANO’s endorsement! Applications are due by Friday July 10, 2020.
Our API votes matter. Our values-led work matters. Come support the fight for November.
If you want to learn more or get involved with our candidate endorsement process or our greater c4 political program, please contact Michelle Hicks, Field Organizer, at michelle@apano.org.
This programming message is brought to you by APANO, a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization.
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