2021 Year in Review - Emerge Oregon

This year, Emerge Oregon women shattered expectations by lifting each other up to achieve a record-setting year in 2021. Here’s a look under the hood at some numbers Emerge Oregon women hit in 2021 thanks to your support.

86
With 22 women on the ballot from 10 Oregon counties in the May 2021 Special District Election, Emerge Women won 19/22 races for a win rate of 86%

64
Women from the New American Majority led the way to countless wins and upsets in 2021 — 64% of Emerge Oregon’s candidates on the ballot in 2021 were women of color.

256
Ashley Hartmeier-Prigg (2019) won a hotly-contested special election against a self-funded opponent by just 256 votes to fill the Beaverton City Council seat vacated after Mayor Lacey Beaty’s 2020 victory.

67
Oregon Women applied to Emerge’s training programs in 2021, setting a new record.

132
Guests safely attended the Emerge Oregon graduation party, where we celebrated 31 women from the class of 2021.

Ashley Carson Cottingham (2020) survived a hand recount, ultimately winning by 70 votes to become the vice-chair of the Salem-Keizer School Board.

**1**

Emerge Oregon FIRSTS

With 11 seats held by our alumnae, Emerge Oregon women turned the Oregon House of Representatives majority female for the first time in history.
Director Hoa Nguyen (2020) became the 1st Vietnamese American to serve on the David Douglas School Board, providing a long-overdue voice for thousands of Vietnamese American families in the district.
Chairwoman Michelle DePass (2017) became the 1st Black woman to lead the Portland Public Schools board of directors.
Oregon’s once-a-decade redistricting process was led entirely by women — Emerge alumnae Senator Kathleen Taylor (2009) and Representative Andrea Salinas (2012) — for the 1st time in history.
Following the 2021 election of Karen Perez Da Silva (2021) and Ugonna Enyinnaya (2020), for the 1st time, there are more women of color than men on the Beaverton School District Board of Directors.
Chairwoman Erika Lopez (2017) became the 1st Latina to serve as Chair of the Hillsboro School District Board of Directors.
Gabriela Saldana Lopez (2021) is the first graduate of David Douglas’ schools to serve on the David Douglas Schools Board of Directors. At 27, she is also among the youngest elected leaders in the state.

**12**

When the stakes were high, Emerge Oregon women were at the table, leading the way.

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Thank you for supporting Oregon’s premier training program for Democratic women. We have BIG plans in 2022 and can’t wait to run through this exciting election year with you.