Latinos building political muscle across Oregon
Juan Carlos Gonzalez is the first Hispanic elected to Metro’s council in Portland. (Portland Tribune/Jaime Valdez)
Juan Carlos Gonzalez was a high school junior from Forest Grove when he encountered President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C., through the Boys Nation leadership program.
Meeting the nation’s first black president made a lasting impression on Gonzalez, the son of Mexican immigrants.
“His campaign slogan was hope. He just activated so many people in the country to think…
