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To contact me, please click here: Rep.Farrah.Chaichi@oregonlegislature.gov
RSVP to our End of Session Town Hall on August 12th with Senator Campos and Representative Hai Pham
It’s Pride month, and that means marches, parades, and celebrations fill up this month’s calendar. But let us not forget that Pride is not just a celebration, it is resistance against ongoing attacks on the queer community, many of which have been targeted at our Trans siblings lately. I’m sure you’ve heard about Stonewall and Marsha P Johnson, so let’s get into some more local queer history. Records of queerness in Oregon go all the way back to the Lewis and Clark expedition.
In Oregon, and the rest of what is now the United States, queerness has existed well before European colonization. In 1805, guided by a Lemhi Shoshone girl named Sacagawea, Lewis and Clark arrived in Oregon. According to the Oregon Queer History Collective, as they looked for the Willamette River, they were directed by indigenous locals to a place where two indigenous men lived together, presumably as a gay couple. Records indicate that gay, queer, and trans people have always existed on these lands, long before the State of Oregon even existed.
In 1843, 16 years before Oregon officially became a state, a group of settlers gathered to establish a code of laws for territory. These laws, modeled after Iowa's, did not include an explicit ban on homosexuality like many other states and territories did at the time. Oregon did eventually adopt anti-gay laws in 1853, which would remain on the books until 1971. Despite having these laws, Oregon had a thriving queer community. Marie Equi was one of the first documented out lesbians to move to the state. Equi moved to help her girlfriend establish a homestead. She went on to become one of the first women doctors in the state, and was ultimately recognized for her work in helping to treat victims of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Marie served the Portland area in many capacities, as a suffragette, a doctor, an involved member of local government, a labor activist, and as a leader in the queer community. She died in 1952, 19 years before the first ever Gay Pride celebration in Oregon.
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Grainy black and white photo of Marie Equi wearing graduation cap and gown
This Pride month, Pride Beaverton has some pretty exciting stuff planned. Full disclosure, some of these are not technically in the district, but they’re close by! There’s a Family Karaoke Night at Nebulous Taproom on Thursday, June 12th. You can decorate a “beard” with Queen Pluto at Central Station Taps on June 23rd. Concluding Pride month is Pride in the Park on Sunday, June 29th. There will be vendors, speakers, and a parade. I hope to see you there!
Oregon officially legalized same sex marriage in 2014. While same sex marriages did happen in Oregon prior to 2014, Measure 36 passed in 2004, which defined marriage as “between one man and one woman.” In 2014, Oregon codified that same sex “domestic partners” would have the same legal rights as straight married couples, including filing joint taxes and joint parentage for adopted children or children born to one parent during the marriage. Unfortunately, Measure 36’s language still exists in Oregon’s constitution, and should Obergefell v Hodges get overturned at the federal level, gay marriage could be at risk in Oregon once again. Organizations like the ACLU are working to change that. While Oregon remains a state with a lot of laws on the books to protect queer folks, it does not mean that the attacks on the LGBTQ+ community haven't reached us. This Legislative Session, House Republicans introduced an anti-trans bill that sought to prohibit trans youth from participating in sports. The bill immediately failed, in part because it violates the Oregon Equity Act, which prohibits discrimination based on a number of protected identities, gender identity being one. Despite attempts on many levels, Oregon’s lawmakers and courts have refused to allow discrimination against trans people. I am committed to using my office to continue to protect queer Oregonians from hate and bigotry. Below are some resources for the queer community:
Senate Bill 1098 has passed the House and will now go to Governor Kotek for her signature. This bill prohibits banning or removing books based on the identity of the author, or content pertaining to classes protected under Title IX. Book bans are inherently anti-democratic and detrimental to a free society, and I am proud to have sponsored and cast my vote in favor of this bill.
Rep. Chaichi at Pride in 2024, wearing a Basic Rights Oregon shirt that reads, "They might ban our bills, but we own our stories."
Back in April, the House and Senate Majority Offices released the Transportation ReInvestment Package (TRIP), as a first draft to address the critical needs present in our transportation infrastructure. This plan included $1.9 Billion every two years for the State Highway Fund, paid for by a number of revenue-raising mechanisms including the gas tax, registration fees, and a one-time, 1% of sale price fee on all vehicles at time purchase. Under this plan, most of the revenue ($1.7B) would go toward cities, counties, and the State of Oregon to maintain roads, bridges, sidewalks, and bike lanes. The rest ($250M) would go toward finishing a variety of infrastructure projects around the State.
Unfortunately, this plan falls short of the extreme need we have in Oregon to maintain and update our transportation infrastructure. Many of my colleagues and I have expressed that this plan will not address the critical needs of our districts. I have heard from many of you how important safety improvements like sidewalks and bike lanes are in a transportation package. That’s why I am supporting a more progressive alternative Representative Gamba and Senator Pham have put forward that prioritizes immediate repair and replacement needs, reduced emissions from transportation-related projects, and accountability for the Department of Transportation (ODOT).
Under this plan, the largest expenditure ($300M) will be the Great Streets Program, which works to transform notoriously dangerous ODOT-owned thoroughfares into safe, accessible, city streets. The Safe Routes To School program would see a $60M increase building safer sidewalks and bike paths connecting neighborhoods to their local schools. This program has too many benefits to list, but most important among them are peace of mind for parents and children who walk or bike to school, reduced dependency on car transportation, and less vehicle traffic near our schools. This alternative proposal includes money for electric vehicle rebates, cleaner commercial vehicles, high speed rail, ebike subsidies, and parks and trails. I believe this is the only way forward. We cannot continue to let our transportation infrastructure fail and we cannot continue to do nothing to reduce our emissions and dependency on single occupancy gas-powered vehicles.
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The Central Max Station in Beaverton, beavertonoregon.gov
As we near the end of the 2025 Legislative Session, most policy Committees, like the two I am assigned to, are mostly closed for the Session, meaning we are no longer moving bills out of committee or having hearings. There are a few exceptions to this however, both the House and Senate Committees on Rules, the House and Senate Committees on Revenue, and the Joint Ways and Means Committee can continue to move legislation.
Please reach out to my office at any time for legislative or constituent matters. My staff and I are committed to serving the constituents of HD 35 and you can reach us at: Rep.FarrahChaichi@oregonlegislature.gov, or 503.986.1435. To keep up with my office, consider following me on Facebook or Instagram.
Thank you for taking the time to subscribe to and read my newsletter. I am honored and grateful for the opportunity to represent HD 35 in the Oregon State Legislature.
In Solidarity,
 Representative Farrah Chaichi
House District 35
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1435
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-478, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.Farrah.Chaichi@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/chaichi
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RepresentativeFarrahChaichi/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FarrahChaichi
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