PUBLISHER'S BLOG~ Cornelius Swart, photo by Thomas De Ngo -

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasngo/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Today I spoke with Lew Frederick (the one in the light brown suit) about his hopes to represent North/Northeast Portland in the state House of Representative’s District 43.  Senator (D) Margaret Carter’s move from the Senate has prompted a reshuffle, in this, one of the state’s most staunchly Democratic voting districts.

Things have been moving fast. On Sunday Senator Carter announced she would leave her Senate seat in order to become Deputy Director of the state Department of Human Services. (Each Senate seat represents two House of Representatives seats, in this case in District 43 & 44.) On Monday, House Rep (D) Chip Shields, who occupies one of them, announced that he would bid for Carter’s Senate seat.  On Tuesday House Rep (D) Tina Kotek told Willamette Week that she would not seek the seat.

Today, Frederick confirmed it was no secret that he was seeking to replace Shields if Shields moves to the Senate.

Frederick ran for county commissioner against Jeff Cogen in a highly contested 2007 campaign.  An outspoken advocate for public schools, Frederick has a long history of activism and public service. He currently sits on the state Board of Education but is also famous for being a former neighborhood- focused reporter for KGW.
Yesterday Frederick was in Portland at the PDC advisory committee on N/NE urban renewal. It was mentioned that he was eyeing the House seat. Frederick's firm, Northwest Ideas LLC, conducted a community survey in the run-up to the current PDC campaign.  He interviewed dozens of locals, including yours truly, and ask them what they thought of the PDC and urban renewal areas (don’t get me started).  Those findings should be released publicly in the near future.
When I spoke with Frederick he was in Eugene doing some press work for the U.S. Census’ 2010 awareness campaign.
“I’ve been getting great response [from people],” said Frederick, who made the decision to run this past Monday. “I think I can help people in the community, not just ethnic people, but all neighbors in North and Northeast.”
Frederick explained the Senate shuffle like this: Carter is scheduled to leave her post on August 31.  That means that the Multnomah County commissioners could select a replacement for her as early as mid-September.  If that appointment is Shields, then he will move to the Senate and Frederick can toss his hat into the ring. It’s possible that the appointment could be made by mid-October.
His campaign is mostly word of mouth at the moment, so if you want to help out or if you like and support Lew, let him know by emailing him at lrfdg@aol.com.