House · District 29 candidate · Oregon Legislature · November 3, 2026
Susan McLain
Incumbent representative, former teacher and Metro councilor.
Reach the campaign
In their words
Said: Representative Susan McLain spent 42 years teaching students and raising her family in our community.
Voters’ pamphlet
Candidate statement · Filed for the November 2026 state voters’ pamphlet; extracted September 21, 2026
Oregon Secretary of State · filed candidate statement · PDF page 192 ↗First sentence of the filed statement; two heading lines are skipped.
The verbatim opening of their voters’ pamphlet statement, the same rule for every candidate. We chose nothing.
What they say they would do
Our summary of their platform, in our wordsSupports school investment, housing production, public transportation and environmental and reproductive protections.
- Invest in schools and pathways to homeownership.
- Improve roads, transit and walking and cycling infrastructure; replace the Interstate Bridge.
- Protect working lands and prevent data-center energy costs from shifting to residents.
Our reading
Our interpretation, not their wordsLarge infrastructure commitments (a new Columbia River bridge, transit, road maintenance) alongside conservation, schools and tax credits; funding and cost-overrun risk remain the central questions.
Where they stand
Housing and homelessness
Invest in production- What
- Said: Major state investment in housing production to bring prices down, and accessible pathways to homeownership.
- How
- Not in their sources
- Measured by
- Not in their sources
Crime, drugs and who responds
ICE, police accountability- What
- Said: Hold ICE and law-enforcement agents accountable, strengthen civil-rights protections and support gun-safety laws.
- How
- Not in their sources
- Measured by
- Not in their sources
Taxes, the kicker and the budget
Earned Income Tax Credit- What
- Said: Lower taxes for low- and moderate-income families through the Earned Income Tax Credit, and stop data centers from passing energy costs to consumers.
- How
- Said: Voted for the largest Earned Income Tax Credit increase in state history and sponsored a bill banning data centers from passing energy costs to consumers.
- Measured by
- Said: Says the credit increase lowered taxes for more than 200,000 low- and moderate-income families.
Roads, transit and climate
Transit and new bridge- What
- Said: More public transit, bike and pedestrian facilities, safety improvements and road maintenance; a new earthquake-ready Columbia River bridge; protect farmland, clean air and water.
- How
- Not in their sources
- Measured by
- Not in their sources
The choices this office faces
Every candidate in this race is asked the same 8 questions. Susan McLain is on record on 7, with 1 still open. A question without an answer is a research gap, not a position.
No answer we could findLet the state keep part of a future kicker refund for wildfire or other one-time needs?
Nothing on this exact choice in the sources we reviewed.
Vote for a 2027 transportation package that raises the gas tax and vehicle fees again?
Said: Carried HB 3991 on the House floor and voted yes on September 1, 2025; her site backs transit, road maintenance and a new earthquake-ready Columbia River bridge.
Close the 2027–29 budget gap with new revenue, or with cuts alone?
Said: Voted yes on SB 1507 on February 25, 2026; her site says she voted for the largest Earned Income Tax Credit increase in state history.
Make data centers pay their own way: separate power rates, an end to tax breaks, or a pause on new ones?
Said: Voted yes on HB 3546 on April 22 and June 5, 2025, and sponsored a bill banning data centers from passing energy costs to consumers.
Keep paying for state-funded shelter beds and the homelessness emergency after June 2027?
Said: Voted yes on HB 3644 on June 23, 2025, the bill creating the statewide shelter program.
Keep the 2024 approach of recriminalized possession plus county deflection programs, and fund them in 2027–29?
Said: Voted yes on HB 4002 on February 29, 2024, which recriminalized possession and created county deflection programs.
Spend more state money on wildfire prevention and firefighting?
Said: Voted yes on HB 3940 on June 23, 2025, the bill that taxes oral nicotine, raises the timber harvest tax and moves Rainy Day Fund interest to wildfire funds.
Keep adding state limits on federal immigration enforcement, on top of Oregon's sanctuary law?
Said: Voted yes on HB 4138 on February 24 and March 6, 2026; her site says she fought this year to hold ICE and law-enforcement agents accountable.
A question the evidence leaves open
What would you prioritize in the next transportation package, and how would you limit cost overruns?
Sources (4)
- McLain · prioritiesCandidate statement · Undated campaign page; reviewed September 18, 2026
- 2026 qualified filing · DemocratElection authority · Checked September 18, 2026
- McLain · Susan’s StoryCandidate statement · Website reviewed September 21, 2026Campaign position. Claimed results and numerical premises have not automatically been independently verified.
- Oregon Secretary of State · filed candidate statement · PDF page 192Candidate statement · Filed for the November 2026 state voters’ pamphlet; PDF printed September 9, 2026; reviewed September 21, 2026Written by the candidate or campaign for the state voters’ pamphlet, which is not published until September 29, 2026.