Shemia Fagan

Shemia Fagan (born September 20, 1981)[1] is an American lawyer and politician who is the Oregon Secretary of State. She previously served as a Democratic member of the Oregon Senate, representing Senate District 24 from in 2019 to 2021. She also represented House District 51 from 2013 to 2017.[2] In 2020, Fagan secured the Democratic nomination for Oregon Secretary of State in a close three-way race[3] and went on to defeat Republican Kim Thatcher in the general election.

Shemia Fagan
28th Secretary of State of Oregon
Assumed office
January 4, 2021
GovernorKate Brown
Preceded byBev Clarno
Member of the Oregon Senate
from the 24th district
In office
January 14, 2019 – January 4, 2021
Preceded byRod Monroe
Succeeded byKayse Jama
Member of the Oregon House of Representatives
from the 51st district
In office
January 14, 2013 – January 9, 2017
Preceded byPatrick Sheehan
Succeeded byJanelle Bynum
Personal details
Born (1981-09-20) September 20, 1981
Dufur, Oregon, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationNorthwest Nazarene University (BA)
Lewis and Clark College (JD)
WebsiteCampaign website

Early life and education

Fagan was born in Dufur, Oregon. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho, in 2003.[4] She then started law school at Willamette University College of Law in Salem, Oregon, before earning her Juris Doctor from Lewis & Clark Law School in 2009.[4]

Career

After graduating from law school, Fagan became an associate at the Ater Wynne law firm in Portland, Oregon.[4] She is an employment law attorney with HKM Employment Attorneys.[5]

In 2011, Fagan was elected to the David Douglas School Board in eastern Portland, serving for three years before running for 51st District of the Oregon House of Representatives. During her time within the State House, she served as the chair of the House Committee on Consumer Protection and Government Effectiveness. Fagan was elected to the 24th District of the Oregon State Senate during the 2018 elections; she chaired the Committee on Housing and Development and served on the Committee On Healthcare.[6]

Positions

Economy and labor

During the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States including Oregon, Fagan voted to authorize unemployment benefits for employees working less than full time.[7] Fagan also supported a bill in 2019 that would establish 12 weeks of paid medical leave for workers.[8] During the same year, Fagan supported HB 2016, which provided additional privileges to labor unions in bolstering worker participation.[9]

Environment

During her time within the Oregon House, Fagan was supportive of several key environmental bills, receiving a 100% rating from the Oregon League of Conservation Voters (OLCV). She supported SB 1547 Coal Transition and Clean Electricity Plan which set goals for Oregon to go coal-free by 2030. [10] In 2020, the Oregon League of Conservation Voters endorsed Shemia Fagan during the Secretary of State race.[11]

Health care

In 2019, Fagan supported HB 3076 which established standards for non-profit hospitals in Oregon, demanding non-profit hospitals to adjust patients' costs on the basis of federal poverty guidelines and prohibiting non-profit hospitals from charging interest on medical debt. [12]

Elections
  • 2012: Challenging incumbent Republican Representative Patrick Sheehan for the District 51 seat, Fagan was unopposed for the May 15, 2012 Democratic primary, winning with 2,765 votes,[13] and won the November 6, 2012 general election with 12,584 votes (52.8%) against Representative Sheehan.[14]
  • 2014: Fagan won re-election to the House, defeating Republican Jodi Bailey with 52 percent of the vote.[15] In 2016, she declined to run for re-election, citing "business and family reasons."[16]
  • 2018: Fagan won the Democratic primary for state Senate after challenging incumbent Rod Monroe in a race dominated by housing issues.[17] Fagan won the three-way race with 62 percent of the vote,[18] and went on to an unopposed victory in the November general election.[19] After winning election as Oregon Secretary of State, Fagan resigned her Senate seat. She was succeeded by Kayse Jama.[20]
  • 2020: Fagan won the Democratic primary for Secretary of State in a tough three-way race. She went on to win the general election, defeating Republican state senator Kim Thatcher.[21]

Electoral history

2012
Oregon's State House 51st District Democratic Primary Election, 2012[22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Shemia Fagan 2,765 98.18%
Misc. 51 1.81%
Total votes 2,816 100%
Oregon's State House 51st District Election, 2012[23]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Shemia Fagan 12,584 52.8% N/A
Republican Patrick Sheehan (Incumbent) 11,199 47.2% N/A
Democratic gain from Republican

2020
Democratic primary results[24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Shemia Fagan 209,682 36.23%
Democratic Mark Hass 205,230 35.46%
Democratic Jamie McLeod-Skinner 159,430 27.55%
Democratic Write-ins 4,395 0.76%
Total votes 578,737 100.0%
2020 Oregon Secretary of State election[25]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Shemia Fagan 1,146,370 50.31% +6.84%
Republican Kim Thatcher 984,597 43.21% -3.85%
Pacific Green Nathalie Paravicini 82,211 3.61% +1.06%
Libertarian Kyle Markley 62,985 2.77% +0.29%
Write-in 2,340 0.10% -0.09%
Total votes 2,278,503 100.0%
Democratic gain from Republican

References
  1. "Shemia Fagan's Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  2. "Representative Shemia Fagan". Salem, Oregon: Oregon Legislative Assembly. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  3. "Shemia Fagan wins Democratic primary for Oregon secretary of state, Mark Hass finishes second: Election results". Salem, Oregon: The Oregonian. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  4. "Shemia Fagan". Attorneys. Ater Wynne. Retrieved 20 December 2013.
  5. "Lawyer Shemia Fagan". HKM Attorneys. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  6. "Shemia Fagan". Senator Shemia Fagan. Oregon State Legislature.
  7. https://justfacts.votesmart.org/bill/28687/74392/135209/authorizes-unemployment-benefits-for-employees-working-less-than-full-time#74392
  8. https://justfacts.votesmart.org/bill/26746/67945/135209/requires-12-weeks-of-paid-medical-leave#67945
  9. https://justfacts.votesmart.org/bill/26827/68606/135209/establishes-a-workers-right-to-participate-in-labor-unions#68606
  10. http://scorecard.olcv.org/2015/house/fagan/
  11. https://www.givegreen.com/candidate/shemia-fagan
  12. https://justfacts.votesmart.org/bill/26853/68699/135209/establishes-standards-for-non-profit-hospitals#68699
  13. "May 15, 2012, Primary Election Abstracts of Votes" (PDF). Salem, Oregon: Oregon Secretary of State. p. 21. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  14. "November 6, 2012, General Election Abstract of Votes" (PDF). Salem, Oregon: Oregon Secretary of State. p. 20. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  15. "Official results Nov. 4, 2014 General Election" (PDF). Salem, Oregon: Oregon Secretary of State. p. 19. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
  16. https://www.wweek.com/news/2016/03/08/rep-shemia-fagan-wont-seek-re-election-will-try-to-annoint-successor/
  17. https://www.wweek.com/news/2018/05/15/former-rep-shemia-fagan-has-enormous-lead-on-state-sen-rod-monroe-in-early-returns/
  18. https://sos.oregon.gov/elections/Documents/results/May-2018-results.pdf
  19. https://sos.oregon.gov/elections/Documents/results/november-2018-official-results.pdf
  20. https://www.opb.org/article/2021/01/06/kayse-jama-oregon-senate-multnomah-clackamas-counties/
  21. Borrud, Hillary (2020-11-04). "Oregon secretary of state's race: Shemia Fagan defeats Kim Thatcher". oregonlive. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
  22. "May 15, 2012, Primary Election Abstracts of Votes" (PDF). Salem, Oregon: Oregon Secretary of State. p. 21. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  23. "November 6, 2012, General Election Abstract of Votes" (PDF). Salem, Oregon: Oregon Secretary of State. p. 20. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  24. "May 19, 2020, Primary Election Abstract of Votes" (PDF). Oregon Secretary of State. 2020-05-19. Retrieved 2020-08-26.
  25. "November 3, 2020, General Election Abstract of Votes" (PDF). Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
Political offices
Preceded by
Bev Clarno		 Secretary of State of Oregon
2021–present		 Incumbent
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