2022 Candidate Endorsements
With its candidate endorsements, the North Clackamas Chamber of Commerce has worked to be fair-minded, supporting leadership qualities over individual positioning. Over the years, we have earned the reputation of a chamber which will endorse candidates from across the political spectrum when they show the stronger personal and professional attributes and the all-too-rare willingness and ability to set aside dogma and work with those with divergent views.
Our Candidate Endorsement Team is made up of members who are representative of the demographics of our chamber’s membership. Each is selected due to their political expertise and some have experience in local and/or State government, which lends to a broader understanding of process which helps this committee to make better, more informed decisions. No endorsement is final until thoroughly vetted and voted on by our Board of Directors.
In our thorough process of interviewing and evaluating candidates we stay true to our business platform in supporting candidates that are pro-business and who will take seriously the decisions they make on legislative issues that will effect business in Clackamas County and in our State.
Current endorsements:
US Congress, District 5, Republican Primary
“Lori Chavez-De Remer’s track record of supporting the North Clackamas Chamber priorities is long, reliable
and consistent. We believe she transitions easily to Federal office from her service on the US Conference of
Mayors, to her experience with Medicare as an owner of several medical practices. If successful, she plans to
serve on committees that directly impact this Chambers mission in transportation and infrastructure. From a
campaign perspective, she was named “on the radar” of the prestigious GOP “Young Guns” program of
candidates to watch, which will bring national resources to her campaign. This chamber is grateful to offer Lori
Chavez-DeRemer our endorsement.”
Governor
Christine Drazan has served Clackamas County in the Legislature since 2019. Drazan is an unshakable advocate
for businesses and has always been quick to champion the Chamber’s priorities. Her business legislation track
record is well-defined and flawless. The Chamber is proud to grant our endorsement for the next Governor of
Oregon to Christine Drazan.
Senate District 26
The new boundary for Senate District 26, currently occupied by long-time friend of the Chamber, Chuck
Thomsen, now extends to the Dalles where Daniel Bonham has served as State Representative since 2017.
Daniel Bonham has been a staunch advocate of small business, earning a 100% rating on the State Chamber
Legislative Scorecard. He owns and operates a stove and spa retail business and aligns well with the
Chamber’s priorities. The North Clackamas Chamber is proud to endorse Daniel Bonham for SD 26.
Senate District 20
Senator Bill Kennemer has earned the endorsement of the Chamber of Commerce for his decades of
leadership and support of all our priorities. There has been no better friend and advocate for our agenda than
Senator Kennemer, and we are delighted he is running for another term.
County Commission: Position 2
Paul Savas has been a friend of the North Clackamas Chamber since his first election to the seat more than a
decade ago as a staunch supporter of business and infrastructure. He lauded specific projects like the new
county wastewater plant and digester that he held a crucial role in building. He tirelessly serves on more joint
governmental committees than he could easily recall – all of which have served our county well. He described
his focus as being on partnerships, experience, and where the touch points are. He has ambitious goals for the
sunrise corridor which we share and spoke more competently about tolling and transportation funding than
anyone we interviewed. We recognize how critical it is to have a veteran County Commissioner with
established relationships and institutional history in place. He has earned endorsements from all the major
public safety organizations – and we join them in asking voters to send Paul Savas back to his County
Commission seat.
County Commission: Position 5
The North Clackamas Chamber supports Ben West. Wilsonville City Councilor Ben West provided an
impressive and refreshing common-sense approach to governance. The cardiovascular nurse with a graduatelevel education in health policy said that “his perspective as a health care provider could be a tremendous
asset to the county, which distributes more of those services directly than does state or city government.” He
has a strong record of supporting small business during the pandemic at the city level, and his views on
Metro’s role in our county aligned well with the Chamber’s past positions. West’s principled stances and
contemplative tone addressing complicated issues impressed the committee at every turn, and earned our
endorsement for Board of County Commissioners, position 5.
Approved by the North Clackamas Chamber Board of Directors February & August 2022.