Former state lawmaker Akasha Lawrence Spence announced Friday she is interested in filling the seat being vacated by longtime state Sen. Ginny Burdick.
Lawrence Spence, D-Portland, served most of 2020 in the House after being appointed to fill the seat vacated by former House Majority Leader Jennifer Williamson, D-Portland. Williamson stepped down to run for secretary of state.
Lawrence Spence did not run for Williamson’s seat after filling out the remainder of her term, but said she would be interested in keeping Burdick’s seat after the term expires in 2025.
“During my previous appointment, there were already four candidates in the field, canvassing and meeting people at their doors, it was critical to allow the people of the district to vote in an election that was already very much underway,” Lawrence Spence said in a message, adding “the circumstances are completely different this time.”
Former lawmaker Akasha Lawrence Spence is vying for appointment to seat in state Senate. The seat is currently held by longtime lawmaker Sen. Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, who is vacating it at the end of the 2021 session.
Akasha Lawrence Spence / submitted
Burdick is stepping down after this year’s legislative session ends. Gov. Kate Brown selected Burdick to serve on the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. Multnomah and Washington county commissioners will pick Burdick’s successor this fall.
“I am running because the issues that keep families up at night — economic instability, lack of affordable health care, housing insecurity, insufficient child care, carceral system reform, and gun violence — require collaborative and community-centered leaders who will put community led solutions first,” Lawrence Spence said in a statement.
If elected, she would be the fourth Black lawmaker serving in the state Senate.
While serving in the House, she became a strong advocate for a $62 million COVID relief fund for Oregon’s Black community.
At the time, she told the New York Times specifically targeting Black Oregonians for help was crucial.
“This fund says that we understand that for no other reason than the color of your skin, you have been restricted and prohibited from accessing the tools to economically mobilize,” Lawrence Spence said at the time. “For that reason, we’re not going to create any veiled language. We as the Black community are tired of that.”
Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty reacted positively to the news, saying in a statement, “We need more racial justice centered policy making, so I enthusiastically support Rep. Lawrence Spence returning to the legislature.”
Lawrence Spence, 32, runs a real estate development company that helps small businesses own their own commercial real estate.