NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS | April 15, 2016 | PAGE 9
Unionist Amanda Schroeder wants to fight for East Multnomah County
Union activist Amanda
Schroeder has a lot of doors to
knock between now and May
17. Schroeder, 39, is running for
the District 4 seat on the Mult-
nomah County Commission.
The district has 96,000 regis-
tered voters, and covers all of
eastern Multnomah County
from about 148th Avenue to
Multnomah Falls and Boring.
Schroeder is looking to the la-
bor movement to help her cover
that territory, because in a sense,
her campaign pits the House of
Labor against the Chamber of
Commerce. Schroeder, a U.S.
Army veteran, works at the Vet-
eran’s Administration and is
president of her union —Amer-
ican Federation of Government
Employees Local 2157. Her op-
ponent, Gresham City Council
member Lori Stegmann, is an
insurance agent and former
board member of the Gresham
Chamber of Commerce.
“If I win, I’ll be working for
the people,” Schroeder told the
Labor Press. “If she were to win,
she’d be working for their
bosses.”
County commission seats are
Officers Association.
Because Schroeder works
full-time, and used up her leave
in a recent battle with cancer,
she campaigns evenings and
weekends. She has help from
her husband, a Portland police
officer, and their two kids, 12
and 9. Saturdays, union volun-
teers meet up too, usually at the
Sheet Metal union hall, before
AFGE Local 2157 president Amanda Schroeder, shown above at a 2013 protest
against a federal shutdown, is running for Multnomah County Commission.
non-partisan, but Stegmann, a
Republican, has received in-
kind support from Promote Ore-
gon Leadership PAC, the politi-
cal action committee for House
Republicans. The support — ac-
cess to a voter database — was
valued at $9,000 in campaign fi-
nance disclosures. Those reports
also show Stegmann has raised
$100,000 thus far.
Schroeder has raised less than
$18,000, and admits she hasn’t
been great at raising money.
“I was told I needed to raise
$150,000 to win this race. To me
I find that just repugnant, be-
cause one of the biggest issues
we have out in East County is
poverty. And to raise enough
money to buy a house and es-
sentially piss it away on things
that last for a moment is offen-
sive to me.”
But Schroeder has collected
support and endorsements from
a dozen local labor organiza-
tions. Stegmann is backed by
two: Gresham Professional Fire-
fighters and the Fairview Police
fanning out to knock on doors.
Schroeder’s volunteer campaign
manager Damion Jiles estimates
the campaign has knocked on
over 1,000 doors since March 5.
ONLINE EXTRA
Find out more about the campaign at
AmandaForEastCounty.com.
Northwest Oregon
Labor Council Recommends:
Amanda Schroeder
for
Multnomah County
Commission
District 4
4
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| April 28, 2015