Christina Erin Stephenson is an American attorney and politician from

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 ...

. She currently serves as the

Oregon Commissioner of Labor The Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries is an elected government position in the U.S. state of Oregon. The commissioner is the chief executive of Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries and serves a four-year term. The commissioner is als ...

. She previously ran as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

for a seat in the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, the upper house being the Oregon State Senate. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of ...

Early life and career

Stephenson was born and raised in

Washington County, Oregon Washington County is one of Oregon counties, 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon and part of the Portland metropolitan area. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded the population as 600,372, making it the second most populous c ...

. She graduated from Hillsboro High School. She earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

from

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

in international politics in 2005 and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

University of Oregon School of Law The University of Oregon School of Law is a public law school in the U.S. state of Oregon. Housed in the Knight Law Center, it is Oregon's only state funded law school. The school, founded in 1884, is located on the University of Oregon campus i ...

in 2009. She co-founded the

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

Meyer Stephenson where she was a partner.

Political career

In the

2020 elections The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2020. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems maintains a comprehensive list of upcoming elections on its E-Guide Platform. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calend ...

, Stephenson ran for the open seat in the 33rd district of the

. She lost in the Democratic Party primary election to

Maxine Dexter Maxine Elizabeth Dexter (née Johnson, born December 5, 1972) is an American physician and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Oregon's 3rd congressional district since 2025. The district includes most of Portland east of the Wil ...

. With

Val Hoyle Valerie Anne Hoyle (née Toomey; born February 14, 1964) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2023. Until 2023, she served as the commissioner of Oregon's Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) (commonly called ...

not running for reelection, Stephenson ran for Oregon Labor Commissioner in the 2022 election. In the May

nonpartisan blanket primary A nonpartisan primary, top-two primary, or jungle primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of political party. This distinguishes them from partisan primaries, w ...

, she advanced to a runoff against

Cheri Helt Cheri Helt (born 1970/1971) is a restaurateur, an American politician and former Republican member of the Oregon House of Representatives who was elected on November 6, 2018, to replace Republican Knute Buehler who left his legislative seat to r ...

. She won in the November 8 general election.

Personal life

Stephenson's husband, Eric Wasik, is also an attorney. They have a son together.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephenson, Christina 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American women lawyers 21st-century American women politicians American University alumni Living people Oregon lawyers Women in Oregon politics University of Oregon School of Law alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Hillsboro High School (Oregon) alumni Lawyers from Hillsboro, Oregon