Duke Shepard, Oregon AFL-CIO political director since January 2006, has been hired by newly-sworn-in Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber.
Shepard worked for Kitzhaber once before as a field coordinator of Kitzhaber’s 1994 campaign for governor. Now Shepard, 38, will be labor and human services adviser to the governor.
The Oregon AFL-CIO won’t hire a replacement. Instead, Shepard’s responsibilities will be divided between President Tom Chamberlain, Field Director Graham Trainor, and Communications Director Elana Guiney.
Shepard has a bachelor’s degree in political science from University of Oregon. Before he was hired by Chamberlain, Shepard managed the 1996 initiative campaign that raised Oregon’s minimum wage, served as policy adviser to Multnomah County Chair Diane Linn, worked on Congressman Peter DeFazio’s 2004 re-election campaign, helped create a regional business plan at the Portland Business Alliance, and spent time as an organizer with the Oregon Nurses Association.
Twice elected to the Mt. Hood Community College Board of Directors, Shepard also ran for a seat on the Metro Council in 2010, but dropped out of the race after finishing a distant second in the primary.
