Lew Frederick (born December 1951) is an American Democratic politician, currently representing District 22 in the

Oregon Senate The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 30 members of the state Sena ...

Early life and education

Born in Pullman, Washington, Frederick grew up in

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

, and

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. Frederick is the son of botanist Dr. Lafayette Frederick, Professor Emeritus

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

, and his wife Antoinette Reed Frederick. Frederick has lived in northeast

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

since 1974.

Career

Throughout his career, he was a teacher at the Metropolitan Learning Center for two years, a radio and television reporter with

KGW KGW (channel 8) is a television station in Portland, Oregon, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Tegna Inc. The station's studios are located on Jefferson Street in southwestern Portland, and its transmitter is located in the city's ...

for seventeen years, Director of Public Information at Portland Public Schools for thirteen years, Assistant to the President at

Portland Community College Portland Community College (PCC) is a public community college in Portland, Oregon. It is the largest post-secondary institution in the state and serves residents in the five-county area of Multnomah, Washington, Yamhill, Clackamas, and Colu ...

, and held a position on the State Board of Education. In October 2013, Frederick was awarded the Outstanding Alumni Award at

Earlham College Earlham College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Richmond, Indiana. The college was established in 1847 by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and has a strong focus on Quake ...

. Frederick was sworn into the Oregon House of Representatives in October 2009 and began serving on the House Interim Human Services Committee and House Interim Sustainability & Economic Development Committee. According to the ''

Portland Tribune The ''Portland Tribune'' is a weekly newspaper published every Wednesday in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is part of the Pamplin Media Group, which publishes a number of community newspapers in the Portland metropolitan area. Launched i ...

'', he was Oregon's "highest-ranking black leader and the only black man serving in the Oregon Legislature" as of 2010. Commissioner Amanda Fritz and ''

The Skanner ''The Skanner'' or ''The Skanner News'' is an African-American newspaper covering the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Its head office is in Portland, Oregon, with an additional office in Seattle, Washington. It discontinued its regular p ...

'' endorsed Frederick during his campaign for District 43. Frederick, formerly a member of the House Joint Committee on Legislative Audits, Information Management and Technology, has moved into the leadership ranks through his new Committee assignments. Frederick's 2013 Regular Session assignments are as Vice-Chair, Land Use Committee; and both the Ways and Means Committee, per se, as well as the Ways and Means Subcommittee On Education. Lew Frederick maintains a research and strategy affiliation with the California and

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

–based company, The Rand Reed Group, an applied anthropological consultancy run by Kathleen Rand Reed.Link text
, Cultural Systems Analysis Group (CUSAG), University of Maryland, College Park. Frederick supports reparations for the descendants of slaves, and on January 11, 2021, proposed Oregon State Bill 619 to direct the Oregon Department of Revenue to pay individuals who could demonstrate heritage in slavery $123,000 as an annual annuity. Despite misreporting and misreading to the contrary, SB 619 would create an annuity of $123,000 which is paid annually, rather than a sum of $123,000 paid annually. His Chief of Staff is

Nathan Soltz Nathan Joseph Soltz is an American politician serving as the Chair of the Democratic Party of Oregon. Before becoming party chair, Soltz ran for Salem City Council in 2024 but lost to real estate broker Shane Matthews by 42 votes. He also worked ...

, Chair of the Democratic Party of Oregon.

Electoral history

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick, Lew 1951 births Living people African-American state legislators in Oregon Journalists from Portland, Oregon Democratic Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives Democratic Party Oregon state senators 21st-century members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly Portland Community College faculty 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American politicians African-American history in Portland, Oregon

Early life and education

Career

Electoral history

See also

References

External links