Janelle S. Bynum (born 1974/75) is an American Democratic politician currently serving 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 ...

. She represents the 51st district, which covers southern

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 ...

and northern

Clackamas County Clackamas County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 421,401, making it Oregon's third-most populous county. Its county seat is Oregon City. The county was named after the Native ...

, including the southeasternmost part of

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, most of Happy Valley and

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

, and the surrounding area.

Early life and education

Bynum grew up in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

She graduated with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from

Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the U ...

in 1996 and with a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 2000.

Career

Bynum won the Democratic primary for the

in 2016 over Randy Shannon, a former member of the Damascus City Council, receiving 66% of the vote. In the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

, she defeated

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

candidate Lori Chavez-Deremer, the mayor of Happy Valley, with 51% of the vote in what was considered one of the most competitive House races for the 2016 cycle. In February 2022, Bynum was the first Black person in Oregon's history to receive votes for Speaker of the House. Bynum, who is Black, was reported to the police as a "suspicious person" while canvassing a neighborhood in her district in 2018.

Personal life

Bynum and her husband, Mark, have four children. They own two restaurants in the area. She is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

References

External links

Campaign website

Legislative website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bynum, Janelle 1970s births Living people People from Happy Valley, Oregon Democratic Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives Politicians from Washington, D.C. 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Women state legislators in Oregon African-American state legislators in Oregon African-American women in politics University of Michigan alumni Florida A&M University alumni 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women