Rep. Raquel Moore-Green, R-Salem, takes a seat at her House desk for the first time. (Aubrey Wieber/Salem Reporter)
Oregon’s newest state representative has taken office.
Rep. Raquel Moore-Green, R-Salem, was sworn in Thursday by Oregon Supreme Court Justice Meagan Flynn in the Oregon House. Among the crowd were dozens of friends and family, as well as a handful of lawmakers.
“It’s an honor and a privilege to be trusted to serve those people,” she said.
Moore-Green was appointed unanimously by the Marion County Commission on Tuesday to fill the void left by Sen. Denyc Boles. Boles, formerly a representative, was picked to fill the late Jackie Winters’ seat in June. Winters died of lung cancer in May.
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Rep. Raquel Moore-Green, R-Salem, is sworn in by Oregon Supreme Court Justice Meagan Flynn. (Aubrey Wieber/Salem Reporter)
Moore-Green said it’s too early to characterize her approach to the job or say what issues she wants to champion.
“I need to get my bearings. There are a lot of moving pieces,” she said. “I certainly want to hear from constituents.”
Moore-Green said she’s been entrenched in the Salem community for 24 years. She works as a consultant but has also been a legislative staffer. She plans on leaning on those connections in the coming weeks and months to better understand the issues of her district.
“I’m going to go on a listening tour,” she said. “I am going to be out in the communities, city council meetings, events and hopefully meeting people and hearing from them.”
Rep. Raquel Moore-Green’s name is added to the voting board. (Aubrey Wieber/Salem Reporter)
In explaining their appointment, Marion County commissioners said they picked Moore-Green primarily because they felt she would run the best campaign in the fall to keep the seat. Moore-Green said she’s already working to that end. Her chief of staff, Pam McClain, who was Winters’ chief of staff and daughter-in-law, said she sees the drive in Moore-Green.
She’s hit the ground running and hasn’t taken a breath yet, McClain said.
“She’s ready to work,” McClain said. “She’s going to be out there, so expect to see her.”
Moore-Green said becoming a state lawmaker wasn’t a lifelong goal. It just happened to be the right thing at the right time.
“It just happened,” she said. “The time was right. I just feel there were many, many puzzle pieces that fell into place.”
Reporter Aubrey Wieber: [email protected] or 503-575-1251.
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