Representative Andrea Salinas: A Politic of Plenty
Reported By: Benny Schorie
Photo Courtesy: salinas.house.gov
Representative Andrea Salinas started her first term representing Oregon’s 6th District in Jan. After serving as the State Representative for Oregon’s 38th District for five years, Rep. Salinas ran a tough campaign with a tight lead over Republican candidate Mike Erickson. Now, she is looking towards new goals as she steps into her role as congresswoman.
Rep. Salinas has joined the House Agriculture and Science, Space, and Technology Committees which she sees as a great opportunity to serve her rural constituency through farm and climate legislation. With District 6 covering many rural areas, she has made reinvestment a central objective.
“We've seen disinvestment in rural communities with lacking infrastructure and clean water. Some of our communities still have wooden pipes; we don't want to be the next Flint, Michigan,” said Rep. Salinas.
Her constituents are also concerned about increasing homelessness and lack of healthcare access. “It shows up differently in our district; it’s not as visible. In rural areas, it shows up with people living in their cars and couch-surfing. It makes it hard to build an economic life and take care of their kids,” said Rep. Salinas.
She received positive, heartfelt responses while campaigning about her stances on healthcare. To her, healthcare “means reproductive healthcare and giving women access to their reproductive decisions, which includes childcare, prenatal and postnatal care, and abortion. For them, it’s about money and economic stability,” said Rep. Salinas.
Listening to these communities and approaching them with empathy is integral to Rep. Salinas’s mission, especially since she isn’t from District 6. Approaching political conversations with a foundation of common ground and empathy is the starting point for connecting across differences.
“I continually hear people want to work in a bipartisan fashion, which always sounds great until rubber hits the road and we start having discussions. We have to start with common ground,” said Rep. Salinas. She believes there is power in learning to understand one another’s challenges and encouraging every person to live according to empathy.
This understanding starts with more dialogue and changing how we approach issues, according to Rep. Salinas. “Problems and solutions should not be presented as a zero-sum game. What if we thought about society as plentiful? We won’t lose something if someone else gains,” said Rep. Salinas. Our issues have a diverse selection of solutions; when we avoid jumping to partisan conversations, we open ourselves to these possibilities.
Amidst difficult times for minority communities, speaking up matters just as much as listening. “It's incumbent on leaders, parents, and others with power to speak up and flex that power. If the majority stays silent, they are complacent. We need to let our minority population know they have allies and make sure they have a voice,” said Rep. Salinas.
An individual initiative for Rep. Salinas is something she’s titled “Mental Health Monday,” a project focused on reducing mental health stigma in Oregon while also pushing to improve resource accessibility. Resources are becoming more accessible, but she does hope to see improvement, especially for young people still suffering from the pandemic’s harms. Due to the shortage of providers, Rep. Salinas also encourages George Fox University (GFU) and other colleges to start peer support programs, a type of program started by harm reduction facilities to be transferred to mental health resources.
“Peer supports are people who can reach out and be a listening ear; it can help de-escalation to have someone with the same lived experiences and create support networks,” said Rep. Salinas. These resources are especially critical for LGBTQ+ young people considering how they are under attack by politicians nationwide.
Rep. Salinas hopes to create a better world for college students and Gen Z by encouraging and uplifting them. Politics can be changed for the better when we carry our shared humanity within us and let ourselves be changed.