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Susheela Jayapal

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Susheela Jayapal
Member of the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners
from the 2nd district
In office
January 3, 2019 – November 1, 2023
Preceded byLoretta Smith
Succeeded byJesse Beason
Personal details
Born (1962-11-02) November 2, 1962 (age 62)
Coimbatore, India
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Bradley Miller
​
​
(m. 1988; div. 2014)​
Children2
RelativesMaya Jayapal (mother)
Pramila Jayapal (sister)
EducationSwarthmore College (BA)
University of Chicago (JD)

Susheela Jayapal (born November 2, 1962)[1] is an American politician. From January 2019 to November 2023, she served as a county commissioner for Multnomah County, Oregon, the state's most populous county. She was the first Indian American to hold an elected office at the county level in Oregon.[2]

She is the older sister of U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal and the daughter of Indian writer Maya Jayapal.[3] Jayapal was a candidate for Oregon's 3rd congressional district in the 2024 election, where she lost the Democratic primary to Maxine Dexter.[4][5]

Early life and education

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Jayapal was born in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. Growing up, her family frequently moved due to her father's job, and she lived in Bangalore as well as Jakarta and Singapore as a child. She graduated high school in Jakarta and came to the United States to attend Swarthmore College at the age of 16.[6] After graduating from Swarthmore with a degree in economics at age 20, Jayapal got a job working for Goldman Sachs. She quickly became disillusioned with the job and decided to get a Juris Doctor,[7] graduating from the University of Chicago Law School in 1988.[1]

Career

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Jayapal moved to San Francisco, where she worked as a litigator and started a family, and then to Portland in 1994, working at the law firm Ater Wynne.[8] She then moved to Adidas, leading its legal department. She worked for several Portland-area nonprofits after quitting Adidas.[1]

Multnomah County Commission

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Jayapal's sister, Pramila, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Washington in 2016. While Susheela was initially reluctant to get involved in politics, she was persuaded to run after Donald Trump took office as president, and won a seat on the Multnomah County Commission in May 2018 with 24,543 votes (61.63%), defeating three other candidates.[9]

In October 2023, Jayapal supported efforts to ban the use of leaded gasoline at Portland International Raceway due to its proximity to residential neighborhoods.[10] She also suggested that Portland Parks & Recreation, which owns the property, should consider alternative uses other than auto racing.[10]

2024 congressional candidacy

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On October 31, 2023, following Earl Blumenauer's decision not to seek reelection, Jayapal announced she would resign from the Multnomah County Commission to pursue the Democratic nomination for Oregon's 3rd congressional district in the 2024 election.[4] She officially launched her campaign the next day with endorsements from Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson and Oregon State Representative Tawna Sanchez.[4] Jayapal was replaced on the County Commission by her alternate, Jesse Beason.[11]

If elected, Jayapal planned to focus on federal investments in public housing, gun control, abortion access, LGBTQ rights, and climate change.[12] She has spoken in favor of environmentally-friendly public housing proposals akin to those proposed in the Green New Deal.[13] Amid the Israel–Hamas war, Jayapal has stated she is the "only candidate in this race who has called for a sustainable, humanitarian cease-fire", and supports ending "unconditional military, financial or diplomatic aid" to the Israeli government.[14]

In March 2024, Jayapal was endorsed by Senator Bernie Sanders, after previously receiving endorsements from Representatives Ro Khanna, Mark Pocan, and David Scott.[15] She lost the primary to Maxine Dexter.[16] Jayapal's opponent Dexter was the top recipient of independent expenditure spending in the primary, with 314 Action spending about $2.2 million in total on independent expenditures in support of her campaign.[17][18]

Personal life

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Jayapal married Bradley Stuart Miller in 1988 and divorced in 2014.[19] She has two children and lives in the Sabin neighborhood of Portland.[20]

Electoral history

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2018 Multnomah County Commission District 2 election[21]
Party Candidate Votes %
Nonpartisan Susheela Jayapal 24,543 61.63%
Nonpartisan Maria Garcia 5,883 14.77%
Nonpartisan Bruce Broussard 4,980 12.51%
Nonpartisan Sharon Y. Maxwell 4,336 10.89%
Other Write-ins 81 0.20%
Total votes 39,823 100.00%

References

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  1. ^ a b c Salazar, Monica (June 21, 2019). "There Is More Than One Way". The Immigrant Story. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  2. ^ Nakamura, Beth (January 3, 2019). "Jayapal sworn in as Oregon's first Indian American to hold elected county office". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  3. ^ Brunner, Jim (May 16, 2018). "Politics runs in the family: Rep. Pramila Jayapal's sister wins Multnomah County Commission seat". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on July 25, 2020. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Jaquiss, Nigel (October 31, 2023). "Commissioner Susheela Jayapal Will Resign Nov. 1 to Pursue 3rd Congressional District Nomination". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  5. ^ VanderHart, Dirk (May 22, 2024). "Maxine Dexter easily winning race to replace U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  6. ^ "Susheela Jayapal, '88: Former General Counsel at adidas America Elected as a Member of the Board of Commissioners of Multnomah County in Oregon". University of Chicago Law School. May 16, 2018. Archived from the original on December 18, 2019. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  7. ^ "Susheela Jayapal Profile | Portland, OR Lawyer | Martindale.com". www.martindale.com. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  8. ^ Sparling, Zane (February 26, 2019). "Susheela Jayapal: New politico settles in on county board". PortlandTribune.com. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  9. ^ "May 15, 2018 Primary Election". Multnomah County. June 1, 2018. Archived from the original on October 21, 2019. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  10. ^ a b Peel, Sophie (October 30, 2023). "Jayapal Pushes Ryan to Ban Leaded Gasoline at Portland International Raceway". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on October 31, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  11. ^ Staff, KATU (November 16, 2023). "Jesse Beason to fill Jayapal's seat on Multnomah County Commission". KATU. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  12. ^ Zielinski, Alex (November 1, 2023). "Susheela Jayapal steps down from Multnomah County Board to run for Congress". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Archived from the original on November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  13. ^ Baumhardt, Alex (April 24, 2024). "3 leading Democrats battle for Blumenauer's seat in Congressional District 3 race • Oregon Capital Chronicle". Oregon Capital Chronicle. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  14. ^ Jaquiss, Nigel (April 10, 2024). "We Asked the Three Leading Candidates to Succeed U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer About Gaza". Willamette Week. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  15. ^ Goldberg, Jamie (March 12, 2024). "Bernie Sanders endorses Susheela Jayapal in Oregon's 3rd Congressional District primary". The Oregonian. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  16. ^ VanderHart, Dirk (May 22, 2024). "Maxine Dexter easily winning race to replace U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
  17. ^ Shumway, Julia (May 22, 2024). "Dexter, Bynum clinch Democratic nods in Oregon congressional primaries • Oregon Capital Chronicle". Oregon Capital Chronicle. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  18. ^ "A closer look at Maxine Dexter's primary election win over Susheela Jayapal". KOIN.com. May 23, 2024. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  19. ^ Sparling, Zane (February 26, 2019). "Susheela Jayapal: New politico settles in on county board". Portland Tribune. Archived from the original on August 30, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  20. ^ "Susheela Jayapal". Multnomah County. December 19, 2018. Archived from the original on August 16, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  21. ^ "Multnomah County Commissioner - District 2 2018". Our Campaigns. Archived from the original on August 5, 2021. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
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