Carmen Rubio (born 1973) is an American politician and non-profit executive in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

who served as a Portland City Commissioner from December 2020 to December 2024.

Early life and education

Rubio was born and raised in

Hillsboro, Oregon Hillsboro ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County, Oregon, Washington County. Situated in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city hosts many High tech, high-te ...

. She is of Mexican descent. Rubio graduated with a degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

in 1999.

Career

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Rubio worked as a

policy advisor Political consulting is a form of consulting that consists primarily of advising and assisting political campaigns. Although the most important role of political consultants is arguably the development and production of mass media (largely televis ...

for Portland Commissioner

Nick Fish Nicholas Stuyvesant Fish (September 30, 1958 – January 2, 2020) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a Commissioner of Portland, Oregon from 2008 to 2020. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, Fish worked with Portland P ...

and Multnomah County Commissioner Serena Cruz, and as director of community affairs for Portland Mayor

Tom Potter Thomas Jay Potter (born September 12, 1940) is an American politician and law enforcement officer in the U.S. state of Oregon. He served as Mayor of Portland from 2005 to 2009, and had been the chief of the Portland Police Bureau from 1987 to 19 ...

. In 2009, she became the executive director of the Latino Network. Rubio ran for Portland City Council in spring 2020, in a race to fill the seat then held by Amanda Fritz. In the May primary election, she defeated Candace Avalos, an administrator at

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the next ...

, to win election to a term that was officially to begin in January 2021. She was sworn into office a few days before that, on December 28, 2020. On January 9, 2024, Rubio announced her candidacy for Mayor of Portland in the 2024 election. She was endorsed by Oregon Governor

Tina Kotek Christine Kotek ( ; born September 30, 1966) is an American politician serving as the 39th governor of Oregon since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, Kotek served eight terms as the state representative from the 44th district in the Ore ...

in June. In September 2024, ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...

'' reported that Rubio had received over 150 parking and traffic citations in Multnomah County since 2001, with her driver's license being suspended six times between 2001 and 2016 due to unpaid fines and failure to appear in court. Rubio lost an endorsement from labor union

Laborers' International Union of North America The Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA, stylized as LiUNA!), often shortened to just the Laborers' Union, is an American and Canadian labor union formed in 1903. As of 2017, they had about 500,000 members, about 80,000 of whom ...

Local 737 following the report. Several days later, after ''The Oregonian'' reported that Rubio had hit a parked car in a parking lot, transportation non-profit The Street Trust Action Fund rescinded their endorsement as well. Rubio finished second in the November general election, winning 40% of the final vote in the instant-runoff election. After leaving public office Rubio was hired as executive director of Janus Youth Programs, a non-profit that runs programs for

at-risk youth An at-risk student is a term used in the United States to describe a student who requires temporary or ongoing intervention in order to succeed academically. Richardson, Val, comp. "At-Risk Student Intervention Implementation Guide." The Education ...

, in summer 2025.

References

External links

Commissioner Carmen Rubio
on City of Portland website {{DEFAULTSORT:Rubio, Carmen 1973 births Living people 21st-century American women politicians American politicians of Mexican descent Candidates in the 2024 United States elections Hispanic and Latino American city council members Hispanic and Latino American people in Oregon politics Hispanic and Latino American women in politics Politicians from Hillsboro, Oregon Portland City Council members (Oregon) University of Oregon alumni Women city councillors in Oregon

Early life and education

Career

See also

References

External links