Juan Carlos  Gonzalez,
Metro President
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• Councilor Gonzalez has served as Metro Councilor for District 4 since 2018. He has been involved in politics from a young age, comes from a working class background, and is a first generation Mexican-American.
• As a Metro Councilor, he proposed the Housing Accelerator Fund which will provide $5 million to build affordable housing units, a continuation of the 5,000 units already built through his facilitation. He has also secured major transportation investments, and passed a $475 million Parks and Nature Bond in support of our natural spaces.
• In continuing the work he has been doing while serving as Metro Councilor, Gonzalez intends to focus on affordability for working families, fostering a sense of belonging for our diverse and vibrant communities, and creating a competitive economy and job market.
• His focus on shared prosperity, economic growth and development that extends to all residents in contrast to gentrification, is a key reason East County Rising trusts Councilor Gonzalez to build power in a way that will benefit the people of East County. He specifically names support for walkable districts and affordable commercial spaces for small businesses in Rockwood, and building up infrastructure without pushing people out of their neighborhoods.

Ashton Simpson,
Metro Council District 1
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• Councilor Simpson has served East County as its Metro Councilor since 2023. As a Black Air Force veteran born to a working class family and growing up in an under-resourced neighborhood, his experiences have informed his approach to street safety and transportation advocacy, securing $185 million for pedestrian safety improvements to 82nd Ave prior to joining the Metro City Council.
• In his first term, Councilor Simpson has directed funds to specifically support the development of permanent affordable housing in District 1, including stipulations about local hiring and union compliance, and has endorsed the Renter’s Bill of Rights that would provide better protections for tenants.
• Now looking to continue his work, Councilor Simpson vows to keep working to reverse the decades of disinvestment in East County while still keeping it affordable for residents. He aims to prevent displacement, create more affordable housing, create walkable neighborhoods, and preserve our natural spaces in the face of climate impacts.
• East County Rising has seen the investments Councilor Simpson has secured for East Multnomah and values his lived experience and understanding of the problems facing residents. His commitment to ensuring that investment goes back to the people of his district is an integral part of his strength as a Metro Councilor and as a member of our community.

Kayse Sama,
Senate District 24
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• Senator Jama has served as a State Senator for District 24 since 2021, and has served as Senate Majority Leader since 2024 when he was elected by his Democratic peers. Born in Somalia and having come to the United States as a refugee, he has been an active support for other immigrants, refugees, and people experiencing racial violence. He co-founded Unite Oregon, and while there he led efforts to end police profiling, reduce the influence of money in politics, reform Oregon’s hate crime laws, and expand drug treatment.
• While serving as State Senator, he has advocated for significant renter protections and emergency rental assistance investments to combat the housing crisis, as well as passed cooling legislation to combat the disproportionate number of heat related deaths in East Portland that have jumped due to climate change. He established the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Advancement, worked to secure increased funding for Extended Case Management Services, and has championed legislation to increase civic participation from historically marginalized communities through ballot translation.
• Unopposed in his 2026 election bid, as State Senator for District 24 Jama intends to continue fighting for affordable housing in East Portland, protections for renters, support for our immigrant and refugee neighbors, policies that combat climate change and build climate resilience, and economic opportunity for all Oregonians.
• East County Rising admires Senator Jama’s grounded approach to policy, considering the budget shortfall faced by the legislature when planning for his next four years of governance. Additionally, he does an excellent job of balancing his priorities between district specific issues and legislation that benefits all of Oregon.

Thuy Tran,
State House District 45
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• Representative Tran has served House District 45 since 2023. Born in Vietnam, she immigrated to the United States as a young child and grew up in a low-income household. As a Doctor of Optometry, former Parkrose School Board member, and Lieutenant Colonel in the Oregon Air National Guard, she has served her communities for many years.
• As House Representative, she has continued her service by fighting human trafficking including providing further support for those victimized by it, passing legislation to prevent wage theft, expanded opportunities for employee-owned companies, expanded tuition benefits for children of disabled veterans, increased focus on emergency preparedness, and worked to safeguard access to reproductive healthcare and childcare investments.
• Rep Tran’s intentions for the next legislative session are to support general liveability issues in her district, especially around 82nd Ave with a focus on driving local economic development. She is also working on an anti-sex trafficking bill.
• East County Rising values her history of service and appreciates her focus on issues specific to her district while also supporting legislation to address issues impacting people across Oregon. It is clear that her priorities come from truly listening to people in her district and being aware of what happens in it.

Willy Chotzen,
State House District 46
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• Born in Ashland, Representative Chotzen felt compelled to address systemic inequities faced by his students as a middle school math teacher which led him to pursue a career as a public defender. In his time working at a legal aid clinic, Chotzen fought against wage theft, eviction, and foreclosures. He has served District 46 as its House Representative since 2025.
• During his time in the legislature, Rep Chotzen has passed bills protecting geolocation privacy and increasing expungement opportunities for youth convicted of crimes. His focuses in his first two sessions have been consumer protection, data privacy, and restorative justice.
• Next session, Chotzen intends to focus on defending democracy, expanding civil rights, and protecting communities impacted by federal overreach. His priorities also include public education, worker’s rights, public transportation, traffic safety, and climate change.
• East County Rising values Rep Chotzen’s legal expertise and his determination to pass legislation that supports his district and the safety and security of all Oregonians. His focus on data privacy is particularly relevant in the face of increasing authoritarian actions from our Federal government.

Andrea Valderrama,
State House District 47
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• Representative Valderrama has served District 47 in the legislature since 2021. A first generation Peruvian-American, she started her advocacy journey while in school, working to pass tuition equity and sanctuary laws, then helping to pass mandatory relocation assistance and public campaign financing in the City of Portland as a community member after graduating. While on the David Douglas School Board, she championed and passed comprehensive birth control dispensing in the district’s school based health clinic.
• As House Representative, she was elected by her fellow Democrats to serve as House Deputy Majority Whip, then House Majority Whip. Rep Valderrama has worked on affordable housing, homelessness prevention, displacement mitigation, and equitable development while in office, as well as access to quality education, good paying jobs, childcare, and safe working conditions. In the face of ICE overreach in East Portland, Valderrama has publicly stood up for her constituents and introduced legislation to ensure children are cared for in cases of family detention and deportation.
• Unopposed in the coming election, during her next term in office Rep Valderrama plans to focus on access to addiction treatment and behavioral health services, affordable housing and addressing homelessness, community safety, access to healthcare and human services, working families and small businesses, access to education and childcare, climate resiliency and the environment, and strengthening democracy.
• East County Rising has seen Valderrama’s service and commitment to East Portland, as well as her drive for action. She shows up when times are difficult and is a champion for a wide array of causes impacting the wellbeing of her constituents.

Lamar Wise,
State House District 48
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• Representative Wise was appointed to serve District 48 in 2025 by Democratic PCPs and by Multnomah and Clackamas County Commissioners. He previously served as the legislative director and executive director of the Oregon Student Association, and later as the Political Director of AFSCME Oregon. As a Black man in Oregon politics, his experiences of structural racism and exclusion have informed his approach to leadership and to stressing the importance of equity in every role he takes on.
• During the 2026 legislative session, Rep Wise passed bills to prioritize homebuyers over large investors, protect funding for affordable housing and make financing easier for construction, support small businesses, codify protections for students experiencing homelessness, allow for mobile pharmacies to service rural areas, support immigrant communities and fight federal overreach, protect victims of abuse and stalking, and fund suicide prevention and workforce preparation for veterans.
• Next session, Wise intends to push for stronger background check requirements for childcare providers, more support for first-time homebuyers, and greater transparency and fairness in public contracting to ensure proper use of taxpayer dollars.
• Rep Wise jumped into his role as House Representative for District 48 despite having been appointed only a few months earlier. His history in organizing have provided him with an exemplary understanding of the Oregon State legislature, and his community outreach efforts have been aiding him well in understanding his diverse and expansive district.

Zach Hudson,
State House District 49
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• Representative Hudson has served District 49 since 2021 and has lived in East Multnomah County for 20 years with his wife and three children. As a substitute teacher, he has taught in schools all around the county, and coached wrestling, track, and speech and debate. He has also served on the Troutdale City Council, Troutdale Citizens Advisory Committee, and the Troutdale Budget Committee.
• In the legislature he has helped to stop the closing of the only birthing center in East County, secured funding for culturally specific community centers, and established freedom from discrimination in education on the basis of immigration or citizenship status.
• Next session, he would like to focus on the inclusion of poverty-weighting in Oregon’s K-12 funding model to bring more money into schools in lower-income areas. His other priorities include support for vocational education, green energy technology production, protection of civil rights, protecting Oregon’s voter enfranchisement, expanding access to affordable healthcare, sensible gun regulation, renter protections and affordable housing expansion, protections for bodily autonomy and reproductive health, and protecting Oregonians from fraud and predatory business practices.
• Rep Hudson is strongly connected to and involved in his community. He has a good sense of what will benefit his constituents and works diligently to inspect and craft legislation for long-term success that will not create unintended consequences.

Ricki Ruiz,
State House District 50
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• Representative Hudson has served District 49 since 2021 and has lived in East Multnomah County for 20 years with his wife and three children. As a substitute teacher, he has taught in schools all around the county, and coached wrestling, track, and speech and debate. He has also served on the Troutdale City Council, Troutdale Citizens Advisory Committee, and the Troutdale Budget Committee.
• In the legislature he has helped to stop the closing of the only birthing center in East County, secured funding for culturally specific community centers, and established freedom from discrimination in education on the basis of immigration or citizenship status.
• Next session, he would like to focus on the inclusion of poverty-weighting in Oregon’s K-12 funding model to bring more money into schools in lower-income areas. His other priorities include support for vocational education, green energy technology production, protection of civil rights, protecting Oregon’s voter enfranchisement, expanding access to affordable healthcare, sensible gun regulation, renter protections and affordable housing expansion, protections for bodily autonomy and reproductive health, and protecting Oregonians from fraud and predatory business practices.
• Rep Hudson is strongly connected to and involved in his community. He has a good sense of what will benefit his constituents and works diligently to inspect and craft legislation for long-term success that will not create unintended consequences.

David Osborn,
State House District 52
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• David Osborn has spent nearly 20 years in the Gorge and Mount Hood region living, working, exploring, and organizing in the communities it contains. Having grown up in rural Oregon, he learned the importance of community and volunteering, and later worked in Oregon’s public universities until settling in Corbett and serving on the school board there.
• Osborn’s experience working in local governance and managing a non-profit have shown in his advocacy for the Mt Hood National Forest, support of teacher’s unions, environmental organizing in association with Coney Ranch, Hood Ranch summer camp, and the Sandy River watershed.
• In the legislature, Osborn intends to center affordability and cost of living, progressive revenue reform, and environmental protections including climate resilience. Specifically relating to revenue reform, he intends to ensure that families do not have to choose between education and healthcare by making the wealthiest Oregonians and large corporations pay their fair share for preschool and healthcare for all. He also supports wildfire prevention, ecosystem restoration, and social housing investment.
• East County Rising sees Osborn’s connection and commitment to the district, and values the work he has already been doing in support of his community. His refusal to compromise the needs of his community by choosing between funding education and healthcare and instead finding a different way to get funding is something we admire about his approach.

Nick Walden Paublon,
State House District 52
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• A lifelong Oregon resident, Nick Walden Poublon grew up on a dairy farm and now lives in House District 52 with his husband. A healthcare crisis in grad school sparked his passion for ensuring that healthcare is accessible to everyone, shown through his work at PSU as the Student Health Advisor.
• He has worked as a legislative aide in House District 52, engaging with constituents to create and pass policy beneficial to the area. As a substitute teacher, he works in classrooms all across the district, and uses what he sees in different classrooms to inform his advocacy. He is the chair for the DPO’s healthcare caucus and regularly tries to increase rural involvement in the political process. In 2024 he ran for HD52 against the Republican Majority Leader, Jeff Helfrich, and lost by a margin of 1,300 votes.
• In the legislature, he would prioritize affordable housing, healthcare for all, environmental protections, addressing climate change, conserving biodiversity, reducing pollution, ensuring fair wages, and promoting economic development. 
• East County Rising supported Nick Walden Poublon through his difficult race in 2024, and has seen the work he has been doing to gather support since then. Not only is he well connected to the district, but he seems motivated by care for his community rather than ego, focusing on building a stronger campaign immediately after his loss in 2024.