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Rep. Janelle Bynum (D-Clackamas) will seek to become Oregon House Speaker by waging a battle on the floor of the House.
Calling for a break with precedent, Bynum said she would not agree to go along with the choice of her party's caucus, current House Speaker Tina Kotek (D-Portland).
"For too long, old 'traditions' and 'customs' have prevented people who don't come from traditional political backgrounds or communities of color from successfully challenging the status quo and leading with their truth," says Bynum in a statement.
The role of House speaker is usually decided in private by the majority party's caucus. And Democrats have again nominated House Speaker Tina Kotek, who has held the role longer than anyone in Oregon history. But while Kotek won the majority of her caucus, it's not clear that she has the votes to win the majority of the overall House—both Democrats and Republicans.
It might be possible for Bynum to put together a coalition of Republicans and Democrats who did not vote for Kotek in the caucus meeting.
In the past, Kotek has set a left-leaning agenda, including raising the minimum wage and capping rent increases statewide. Bynum is an advocate for criminal justice reform, but more moderate on other issues, which might make for a possible though uneasy coalition with Republicans.
Bynum says she does not have a commitment from any Republicans at this point.
"Ideally, I'd earn my caucus's full vote and perhaps those of my colleagues across the aisle," Bynum tells WW. "It will take a lot of work to build that coalition. But I believe it is what Oregonians want—a courageous leader who is driven by her values and wants what is best for our entire state."
Bynum says her bid for leadership is a fight for civil rights and equality.
"Whether running for office for the first time or attempting to ascend internal leadership ladders, we are often told to wait, are brushed aside, or made to feel that we don't pass a particular litmus test," Bynum adds in her statement. "It should not be lost on us that no person of color has ever had their name spoken on the floor of the House in the election for speaker. This would be a first, and the moment in our history calls for it. Just as it was historic to hear the first openly lesbian speaker's name called during the vote, it will be equally as compelling to hear the first Black woman's name."