Maxine Dexter, a physician at Kaiser Permanente and Portland resident, received 67.9% of the vote to become Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District representative.
Maxine Dexter, a physician at Kaiser Permanente and Portland resident, received 67.9% of the vote to become Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District representative.
THE GORGE — For nearly three decades, Earl Blumenauer represented Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District — which includes Hood River County. In October 2023, he announced he would not seek reelection, leaving behind a seat which he had filled since 1996.
Enter Maxine Dexter. She served as a House District 33 State Representative and currently lives in Portland. In December 2023, she announced her intentions to secure the democratic nomination and less than a year later she was chosen by the people in the 3rd Congressional District — most of Multnomah and all of Hood River County. She defeated Republican nominee Joanna Harbour, securing 67.9% of the vote.
“There is no one better positioned to serve our district than Congresswoman-elect Maxine Dexter moving forward,” Blumenauer said in a news release. “She was an extraordinarily effective legislator in Oregon’s House, tackling some of our toughest issues. She has the tools, temperament, and momentum to be an extremely successful member of the Congress from the start. I can think of no person I would rather have take my place and carry this legacy forward.”
Dexter graduated from the University of Washington and is currently a physician at Kaiser Permanente. During the 2023-2024 legislative session, she served on a number of committees such as the Behavioral Health Committee, Veterans and Emergency Management Committee and as the chair for the Housing Committee. Dexter has also sponsored a number of bills surrounding mental and physical health.
Dexter participated in an exclusive interview with the Columbia Gorge News where she outlined her goals, ambitions and how she plans to include Hood River County.
“First and foremost, I’m just so grateful for the faith that the voters in the third congressional district have put in me. I’m humbled, I’m excited. Certainly, it’s a privilege to follow Earl Blumenauer. He’s been an amazing leader for area, and he leaves an enormous legacy,” Dexter said.
Maxine Dexter, incoming, Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District
Since November, Dexter has been back in forth to Washington, D.C., and other locations for the new member orientation. She and the other congressional-elects were trained on how to set up an office, how to hire a team and how to balance a budget. Dexter said that in November, they traveled to the Harvard-Kennedy School of Government and most of the “freshmen” were already talking business.
“Our class was already thinking about bills that we know we can work on together and thinking through the next steps,” Dexter said.
She will officially take office on Jan. 1 and she has plans to tackle housing, climate change, prescription drug costs, reproductive rights and increasing childcare options.
Dexter said she has been very intentional about her visits to Hood River County.
“I was appointed to be chair of housing and homelessness at the state level by Speaker [Dan] Rayfield and we were tasked with passing the largest housing package ever in 2023. And Hood River County, as I know, has the most expensive housing relative to the average median income in the state,” Dexter said. She has met with multiple orchardists and housing developers to try and create affordable housing for agricultural workers.
“I am a Portland resident, but I serve all of the district, and Hood River County is, of course, a really important part of that,” she added.
She said she is focused on “strengthening constituent services and partnerships in the district.”
Her team are hoping to schedule at least one in-person town hall per quarter with the first one happening in Hood River. Details will be shared when more information becomes available.
East Multnomah County has plenty of their own issues, and Dexter knows that the solutions must be multi-faceted.
“There are very clear differences between what Gresham is struggling with, and what Hood River is struggling with,” Dexter said. “They too have challenges, and they’re not the same.”
When she isn’t representing her constituents or helping patients at Kaiser Permanente, Dexter enjoys the outdoors with her family. She and her husband have two college-age children who just voted in their first election. Together they nordic ski on Mt. Hood and go on runs through the neighborhoods of Portland.
“We do a lot as a family,” Dexter said. “And what a better district than having the Columbia Gorge and Hood River to get out and meet people and also enjoy the beauty of Oregon.”
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