Up for Debate: Oregon Senate District 24

Incumbent senator Rod Monroe faces two challengers in the upcoming democratic primary for senate district 24. Largely in response to housing issues, Kayse Jama and Shemia Fagan seek to unseat Monroe and shift the priorities for East Portland and North Clackamas County.

Join us for what will certainly be a lively and substantive debate on issues that span the region.

The Candidates

Shemia Fagan is a labor attorney, former David Douglas School Board member, and two-term state representative.
 
Kayse Jama is the founder and executive director of Unite Oregon and currently serves on the steering committee of Oregon Health Equity Alliance, the Fair Shot Coalition, and the Oregon Commission on Black Affairs.

Rod Monroe is the incumbent senator in District 24 and a former member of the David Douglas School Board, Metro Council, Mt. Hood Community College board, and Warner Pacific College board. 

Moderator

Kalpana Krishnamurthy is the national field and policy director at Forward Together. She directs its state-based organizing and civic engagement program, in addition to national policy work. From 2005 to 2012, Ms. Krishnamurthy directed the racial justice and gender justice programs at Western States Center, including developing two state-based report cards and a program to support LGBTQ people of color. She has been a youth organizer and reproductive rights organizer and worked in philanthropy at both the Third Wave Foundation and the Ms. Foundation for Women. She remains active in philanthropy and currently serves on the Advisory Board for the Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity.