Oregon Labor Commissioner election, 2022

Elections in Oregon, 2022

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2026 → ← 2018
Oregon Labor Commissioner
Election details
Filing deadline: March 8, 2022
Primary: May 17, 2022 General: November 8, 2022 Pre-election incumbent(s): Val Hoyle
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voting in Oregon
Ballotpedia analysis
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Oregon executive elections
Governor Labor Commissioner

Oregon held an election for labor commissioner on November 8, 2022. The primary was scheduled for May 17, 2022. The filing deadline was March 8, 2022.

Christina Stephenson won election in the general election for Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries.

Candidates and election results

General election candidates

• Cheri Helt  (Nonpartisan)
• Christina Stephenson  (Nonpartisan) ✔ 

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= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey
Primary candidates

• Aaron Baca  (Nonpartisan)
• Brent Barker  (Nonpartisan) 
• Cheri Helt  (Nonpartisan) ✔
• Chris Henry  (Nonpartisan)
• Casey Kulla  (Nonpartisan) 
• Robert Neuman  (Nonpartisan)
• Christina Stephenson  (Nonpartisan) ✔ 

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= candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey

Voting information

See also: Voting in Oregon

Election information in Oregon: Nov. 8, 2022, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

• In-person: Oct. 18, 2022
• By mail: Postmarked by Oct. 18, 2022
• Online: Oct. 18, 2022

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

• In-person: N/A
• By mail: N/A by N/A
• Online: N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

• In-person: Nov. 8, 2022
• By mail: Postmarked by Nov. 8, 2022

Was early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What were the early voting start and end dates?

N/A to N/A

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

N/A

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Christina Stephenson (Nonpartisan)

Working families and small businesses are struggling with rising costs and workforce shortages. In some of our high-skill industries, the worker shortage is already a worker crisis – industries like healthcare, construction, and high-tech manufacturing. This is why my top priority will be developing the skilled workforce we need by expanding our apprenticeship model to remove barriers and incorporate more industries. Through this workforce training, we can help Oregonians gain the skills they need to earn a raise, whether or not they have a college degree. And, I will work to keep people employed in good jobs by enforcing the laws that protect them at work.

When it comes to enforcement, by taking a more strategic approach to the cases and violations that come before the agency, we can better utilize the scarce resources of the agency to root out discrimination and wage theft. This approach will also free up resources to ensure that our small businesses can get the support they need to navigate the workplace rules that they have to follow. Through strategic enforcement, BOLI can serve as an important resource to those employers who want to do the right thing but are struggling to just keep their doors open.

I have over a decade of experience working with the Bureau of Labor and Industries and the laws that it enforces. I have dedicated my life to being a champion for working families and small businesses. The broad support I have built, including the five previous Labor Commissioners, is a reflection of the hard work and dedication I will bring to this role.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Christina Stephenson (Nonpartisan)

As a small business owner, I am deeply invested in career readiness. As Oregon’s next Labor Commissioner, I am eager to expand Oregon’s great apprenticeship programs to provide a pathway to economic stability, address our workforce shortages, and, frankly, by meeting workers where they are at. That means increasing flexibility in how workers can participate in paid apprenticeships; obtaining funding for childcare, transportation, and other tools that are vital to successfully completing apprenticeships; and expanding into industries like healthcare, education, and childcare. I believe this model can be used effectively to make many family-wage careers more accessible and help diversify our workforce.

As a civil rights attorney, I have dedicated my career to making sure that Oregon workers maintain their dignity and their economic stability. As Labor Commissioner, I will address the issues of wage theft, discrimination, and harassment by pursuing and rapidly scaling Strategic Enforcement – proactively investigating workplaces with a history of not doing right by workers, instead of only reacting to complaints.

Past elections

2018

See also: Oregon Labor Commissioner election, 2018

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries

Val Hoyle won election outright against Lou Ogden and Jack Howard in the primary for Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries on May 15, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Val Hoyle (Nonpartisan)	52.5	375,762
		Lou Ogden (Nonpartisan)	35.5	253,977
		Jack Howard (Nonpartisan)	12.1	86,477

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 716,216
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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2014

Avakian won the election without opposition.

Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Brad Avakian Incumbent	98.3%	406,798
	Nonpartisan	Write-ins	1.7%	7,153
Total Votes				413,951
Election results Oregon Secretary of State

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Oregon labor commissioner official website