[Portland, OR] – Today, Oregon House Speaker and Democratic candidate for governor Tina Kotek announced the endorsement of the Oregon Nurses Association, the state’s largest union of professional nurses. The organization represents more than 15,000 frontline health care workers in Oregon.
Leaders of the Oregon Nurses Association indicated they chose to back Tina in the Democratic primary because of her extensive leadership on health care and public health issues. As House Speaker, Tina has demonstrated her passionate support of Oregon’s unique nurse staffing law, efforts to address workplace violence in health care settings, and achieving payment parity for nurse practitioners.
“The Oregon Nurses Association is proud to endorse Speaker Kotek in her campaign for Governor in the Democratic primary because we know nurses can count on Tina,” said Bruce Humphreys, RN, President of the Oregon Nurses Political Action Committee Board of Directors. “Particularly now, with the impact of the pandemic on our passionate nursing professionals, it is crucial that our elected officials understand health care and nursing policy. Speaker Kotek has that knowledge and understanding and has stood by our side time and time again.”
“I’m honored to receive the endorsement of the frontline health care heroes of the Oregon Nurses Association,” said Tina Kotek, candidate for Governor. “Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and long before it, Oregon’s nurses have worked tirelessly to care for our communities, putting their health and safety on the line to ensure that our loved ones received the care that they deserved. I am committed to ensuring that the nurses and health care professionals who care for us are treated like the heroes that they are.”
House Speaker Tina Kotek has led the state in expanding access to health insurance for all Oregonians, passing legislation to lower health care costs, ensuring access to reproductive health care, and protecting Medicaid coverage for Oregon’s most vulnerable communities, including 400,000 children.