This article originally appeared in Willamette Week
State Rep. Ken Helm (D-Beaverton), a mild-mannered land use whiz, has opted not to seek reelection in this deep blue House district, which forms a “V” down from West Slope into Cedar Hills and much of Beaverton. Two qualified competitors vie to succeed him on the Democratic ticket.
One is Tammy Carpenter, 55, whose Beaverton School Board seat, which she’s held since 2023, is her only position in public office (she ran unsuccessfully against Helm in 2022). Her name took a turn through the news last year, when school district investigators looked into social media posts she’d made—on a personal account—condemning Israel’s war in Gaza. The investigation cleared her of any wrongdoing. But some in her orbit haven’t done her any favors: “I am Hamas, we are all Hamas,” said a Portland State University professor at a rally organized for Carpenter’s cause. (The professor contends this was meant as sarcasm.)
Of course, Carpenter’s politics run far broader. An anesthesiologist for two decades—her residency was at Oregon Health & Science University—she formed her political proclivities not just by working within our contorted health care hellscape, but as a mother whose children’s rents are higher than her mortgage. After Trump’s first presidency, she joined the Democratic Socialists of America, she tells us, as a way to organize against fascism, and for programs like universal health care and as a serious response to the climate crisis.
Carpenter’s opponent is Ashley Hartmeier-Prigg. A current Beaverton City Council member and former member of the Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District board, Hartmeier-Prigg, 41, centers a liberal platform of affordability. She offers a grounded take on housing. “No one’s going to build the housing if they can’t make a profit out of it,” she says. Unsurprisingly, she has the support of the Democratic establishment, not to mention several trade unions that, we imagine, whether through data centers or housing developments, think she will get them more work soon.
Carpenter lacks Hartmeier-Prigg’s experience as a politician. She also lacks her polish. Yet we are endorsing her for two main reasons. One is simple: We think the statehouse would benefit from the presence of a physician who speaks fluently and sober-mindedly about health care. (When we asked whether she’d prefer the Oregon Health Plan to cull members, cut provider pay, or offer fewer services, Carpenter matter-of-factly answered option 3 and offered compelling reasons why.)
Second, just as Republicans at their best add productive tensions to an Oregon Legislature dominated by Democrats, we think Carpenter’s left-wing presence would make it more of a thinking place. We don’t say this naively—she’s backed by unions like SEIU that already wield considerable power, and asked about DSA’ s reputation for dogmatism, Carpenter acknowledges some members can be “a little much.” But Carpenter is no caricature; her values are sound and she sees building relationships within her caucus—and across the aisle—as paramount to her success in the Legislature. We recommend you go out on a limb and give her your vote.
Carpenter’s biggest kitchen fail: She and her husband tried to make black bean dip, but added too much cumin. They added four cans of black beans to try to balance out the mistake, to no avail. “The lesson learned there is that sometimes you’ve just got to eat the fact that that’s going in the garbage,” she says.
Watch the full endorsement interview below: