Anna Williams kicks off House re-election campaign

During her first session, the Oregon State Legislature passed a $1 billion per year school funding measure, as well as the most robust Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance program in the nation, according to a press release.

“The lack of a statewide Paid Family and Medical Leave program was a huge reason that I ran for office in the first place,” Williams said. “I once lost a job as a direct result of my taking maternity leave. The person my employer hired to fill in for me effectively ended up with my job, because it was cheaper to keep them on. No one should ever lose a job just because they prioritize caring for a loved one.”

Additionally, Williams worked with Sen. Chuck Thomsen (R-Hood River) to bring millions of dollars in state funds to her district, including $1.7 million for emergency repairs to a storm sewer line in Hood River and $2.4 million for economic development and infrastructure in Cascade Locks, which in part will allow pFriem Family Brewing to expand into that community.

She also introduced and passed a bill that expanded the ability of the Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman to provide services to aging people throughout the state.

The legislature gained national notoriety during Rep. Williams’ first session, in which Senate Republicans twice left the state to deny quorum to the chamber and prevent major Democratic priorities from passing. Williams did her best to maintain good relationships with her Republican colleagues throughout that tense standoff, said a press release.

“It’s no secret that we can get more done through cooperation than through partisan division, and I haven’t found it too challenging to work across the aisle on important issues. Some staffers who have worked in the Capitol for decades say that the 2019 session was the most chaotic they’ve ever seen,” Rep. Williams said. “It was my first session, though, so that level of chaos seems like the norm to me. Still, I hope things calm down in 2020.”

One of the bills that inspired a Senate walkout, the widely debated effort to cap carbon emissions by major polluters in the state, remains a key piece of unfinished business leading into the 2020 session. Williams said she remains supportive of legislation to address climate change, but wants to ensure that the focus is on the resiliency of communities that will be most impacted in the years to come.

“People in rural communities like ours will bear the brunt of climate change,” she said. “Farmers will see impacts on their crop yields, rural economies will change as people continue to move to cities where they can more easily access services, and people in our woodland communities will face higher and higher risks of wildfire. We need to use the state’s resources to protect and preserve our rural ways of life, and extend the social safety net out to our most remote neighbors.”