“My husband would tell you I’m courageous. My best friend, that I’ve known since we were sophomores in college, would tell you I’m honest. My son would tell you I’m annoyingly optimistic. I’m just going to tell you I’m determined,” said Dr. Maxine Dexter.
Dexter (D), State Representative for District 33 since 2020, is running for Congress to represent District 3. She is running against two other Democratic candidates to see who will replace Earl Blumenauer after he announced his retirement on Oct. 30, 2023.
District 3 encompasses most of Multnomah County and the general Portland area east of the Willamette River. For the past 26 years, this district has been represented by Blumenauer who has been viewed as one of Oregon’s “innovative leaders.” Making advancements in transportation, infrastructure, protecting public land and criminal justice reforms, Blumenauer has made his impact serving Oregon throughout his near 50-year career.
While Dexter’s current district encompasses parts of North and Northwest Portland, according to Willamette Week, Dexter’s home in Northwest Portland is outside the borders of District 3, which she’s running to represent. According to the U.S. Constitution, house representatives only need to live within the state they are representing; there are no rules that require one to live in the district they wish to represent.
The day after Blumenauer announced his retirement, Susheela Jayapal entered the race to fill his seat. Jayapal was the Multnomah County Commissioner but she resigned in November 2023 to focus on her campaign. On Nov. 1, 2023, Gresham City Councilor Eddy Morales, entered the race. Dexter joined the race on Dec. 5, 2023.
On Feb. 25, at a brunch party hosted by Faith Galderisi and Virginia La Forte, Dexter said that this was a race between friends. “These are good people. And, I am the only person in this race that has proven I can do this work,” she said. “Do you want someone that you know can do the job and do it well, or someone you hope can do the job and do it well? And I’m the only person you know can do it, so I hope you’ll support me.”
Dexter is a lung and critical care doctor at Kaiser, and she says that this gives her an advantage in the race. There are currently no medical doctors serving in Congress House of Representatives and, according to Dexter, this is a needed perspective in order to get effective nationwide healthcare. “It’s a privilege to have my job, that I get to see what needs to get done, then pivot and be in the legislature where I can get it done,” Dexter said.
While Dexter is still a practicing physician, she sees her work in the legislature as a way to make a bigger impact on the community. “I make far more impact making policies and working in the legislature than I ever will in a lifetime of caring for patients,” she said.
During her time as state representative, Dexter has done a lot for public health and safety at a local level. She championed a bipartisan Opioid Harm Reduction Package that increases access to naloxone in public places such as restaurants, grocery stores, schools and fire and police departments. The bill passed on Aug. 21, 2023. Dexter said that this is something she would like to bring to a national level if elected. “I think, without question, we need Narcan everywhere,” she said. “It’s taken 5-8 vials of Narcan to resuscitate people who are found down. I mean, this is not just an issue in our city, it’s an issue in our country.”
Dexter is also passionate about proving that government does work.“I believe that our country has the foundation to be successful to be great again, and I don’t mean make America great again,” Dexter said. “We have the capacity to do amazing things and it’s a vision and the ability to lead that will get us there.”
For the past 69 years, the seat for District 3 has been held by the Democratic Party, and there have only been two women elected to hold the seat. The first woman to be elected to this position was Nan Wood Honeymoon who served one term from 1937 to 1939, and the second was Eden Green who served ten terms from 1955 to 1974. If either Dexter or Jayapal wins the election, they will be only the third woman to serve as House Representative for District 3.
“Frankly, I think we need more women in power,” said Dexter. “And we need to do a lot more in reproductive rights and I think we need an equal rights amendment and having more women in power will help us do that. Representation matters, and if there’s more of us there I think we can leverage that.”
On May 21, 2024, anyone in District 3 registered to vote will be able to choose between Dexter, Jayapal and Morales to represent the democratic party in the November election.
Dexter said, “At the end of the day, people don’t trust politicians very much, but most of them trust doctors.”
