Jessica Vega Pederson is a Democratic politician in the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

. She served in the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 65,000. The House meets in the west wing of the ...

, for two two-year terms, from January 2013 through 2016. From 2017 to 2022, Vega Pederson served as a county commissioner for

Multnomah County Multnomah County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland–Vancouver– Hillsboro, OR–WA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Thou ...

, the state's most populous county. In 2022, Vega Pederson was elected to serve as county chair, and took office in 2023.

Early life and education

Vega Pederson was born in

Crown Point, Indiana Crown Point is a city in and the county seat of Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 33,899 at the 2020 census. The city was incorporated in 1868. On October 31, 1834, Solon Robinson and his family became the first settlers to ...

, a small town near

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, and raised in a Mexican-American family. Vega Pederson graduated from

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Cathol ...

, where she majored in informational systems management and technology.

Career

Prior to running for political office, Vega Pederson was a project manager for a tech company. Her listing within the Voter's Pamphlet read: "I am not a politician. I'm a mom and a professional. My husband has his own small business. We work hard and we want a better future for our kids." She and her husband have two small children and live in East Portland. In November 2013, she was elected to the

, for District 47, for a two-year term starting in January 2013. She was re-elected two years later. In September 2015, Vega Pederson announced that she would not seek re-election to the House, and would instead run for election to the

Commission, for a seat that was due to become open as a result of term limits requiring its then-holder Judy Shiprack to leave the seat. She won election to the commission in the May 2016 primary, representing county District 3, for a four-year term to begin in January 2017. She was sworn in on January 3, 2017. On May 19, 2020, Jessica Vega Pederson was re-elected to a four-year term on the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners. On November 8, 2022, Vega Pederson was elected Multnomah County Chair, defeating fellow commissioners Lori Stegmann (in the primary) and Sharon Meieran (in the general election), for a four-year term to begin in January 2023.

Electoral history

References

External links

Website
at Multnomah County
Project VoteSmart biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vega Pederson, Jessica 1975 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians American politicians of Mexican descent Democratic Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Oregon Hispanic and Latino American women in politics Living people Loyola University Chicago alumni Multnomah County Commissioners People from Crown Point, Indiana Politicians from Chicago Politicians from Portland, Oregon Women state legislators in Oregon