When the Oregon Legislature next convenes, Oregon AFSCME’s political director will once again go to work to pass bills — but now he’ll be doing it as a member of the Oregon House.
Lamar Wise, 34, was appointed Nov. 5 to fill the vacancy left when state representative Hòa Nguyen died of cancer Oct. 9. He’ll represent House District 48 for the remainder of her term, which runs through 2026, and will run for a full two-year term next year.
Multnomah County commissioners who voted for Wise said they were seeking a candidate who could hit the ground running in the five-week legislative session that starts in February.
Wise got his start in political organizing while struggling to afford basic expenses as a student at the University of Oregon. He worked for the Oregon Student Association for a few years before going to work for Oregon AFSCME in 2019, eventually becoming the political director in charge of lobbying for bills in the state legislature and supporting candidates running for office.
Because he is now joining the legislature, Wise will move from his current role as political director to work on special projects with Oregon AFSCME’s behavioral health team. State legislators can’t simultaneously serve as paid lobbyists.
As a legislator, Wise told the Labor Press his priorities will be building more affordable housing — with union labor; growing the behavioral health workforce; supporting educators and child care workers; and protecting the immigrant community in HD 48 and across Oregon.
The appointment process
When a seat in the state legislature has to be filled mid-term, county commissioners from the counties in that legislative district pick the new legislator from a group of nominees selected by the political party of whoever last held that seat. The Democratic Party of Oregon, through precinct committee people from HD 48, nominated three candidates. José Gamero-Georgeson was their first choice, followed by Wise as second choice and Terrence Hayes as third choice.
Wise received votes from four Multnomah County commissioners: Shannon Singleton, Meghan Moyer, Julia Brim-Edwards, and Jessica Vega-Pederson. The remaining Multnomah County commissioner, Vince Jones-Dixon, was the sole vote for Gamero-Georgeson. Gamero-Georgeson is vice-chair of the David Douglas School Board and incoming president of the Oregon School Boards Association.
All five members of the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners voted for Hayes, a small business owner and formerly incarcerated man who ran for Portland City Council last year with support from the police union.
HD 48 includes part of East Portland in Multnomah County and parts of Happy Valley, Boring, and Damascus in Clackamas County. Since most of HD 48’s population is in Multnomah County, those county commissioners’ votes were weighted more heavily than those of the Clackamas County commissioners.
Looming budget cuts
Earlier this fall, state agencies were directed to draft plans for a 5% budget reduction after state economists projected a $888 million drop in revenue over the next two years.
“I also pity the person who gets this appointment, because cutting budgets is a really, really awful thing to have to do,” Moyer said in the Nov. 5 meeting. “The state budget is an opaque labyrinth, and making strategic decisions to do the least harm is deeply thankless and often heart-wrenching.”
Wise said the legislature will have to explore all options for retaining revenue and tapping rainy day funds to ensure essential services aren’t cut from vulnerable communities.
“I think it’s going to be a challenge, but it’s a challenge that I welcome,” Wise said.
