Amanda Siebe

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Amanda Siebe

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

May 19, 2020

Personal

Birthplace

Beaverton, Ore.

Religion

Atheist

Profession

Disabled activist

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

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Campaign YouTube

Personal Facebook

Amanda Siebe (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Oregon's 1st Congressional District. She lost in the Democratic primary on May 19, 2020.

Siebe completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Amanda Siebe was born in Beaverton, Oregon. She attended Western Oregon University for international relations, sociology, and Spanish, La Universidad Latina de America for Spanish and immigration studies, and Chemeketa Community College for emergency medical services. Her career experience includes managing small businesses, as a station manager, and as a restaurant manager.

While working to get her paramedic certificate, she fell at work and became permanently disabled from reflex sympathetic dystrophy.

Elections

2020

See also: Oregon's 1st Congressional District election, 2020

Oregon's 1st Congressional District election, 2020 (May 19 Republican primary)

Oregon's 1st Congressional District election, 2020 (May 19 Democratic primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Oregon District 1

Incumbent Suzanne Bonamici defeated Christopher Christensen in the general election for U.S. House Oregon District 1 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Suzanne Bonamici (D / Working Families Party)	64.6	297,071
		Christopher Christensen (R)	35.2	161,928
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	900

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 459,899
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Oregon District 1

Incumbent Suzanne Bonamici defeated Heidi Briones, Amanda Siebe, and Ricky Barajas in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Oregon District 1 on May 19, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Suzanne Bonamici	83.6	100,733
		Heidi Briones	6.9	8,260
		Amanda Siebe	6.7	8,055
		Ricky Barajas	2.4	2,948
		Other/Write-in votes	0.4	523

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 120,519
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Oregon District 1

Christopher Christensen defeated Army Murray in the Republican primary for U.S. House Oregon District 1 on May 19, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Christopher Christensen	55.9	27,417
	Submit photo	Army Murray	41.8	20,509
		Other/Write-in votes	2.4	1,162

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 49,088
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Bryan Tatum (R)

Campaign themes

2019

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Amanda Siebe completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Siebe's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Amanda was raised in Beaverton, OR where she lived with her parents and three siblings. She attended Jesuit High School in Portland, OR and was received the President's Award for Community Service. After high school, Amanda attended Western Oregon University (WOU) where she studied International Relations, Spanish, and Sociology, focusing on Community Organizing and Immigration. In 2009, she was awarded WOU's Saul Alinsky Community Organizing Award for her work with the Monmouth-Independence Tenants Union. Amanda volunteered for the Boy Scouts of America, the Girl Scouts, and as an EMT at Polk County Fire District No. 1. In 2012, Amanda was diagnosed with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) following a work-related injury. Since diagnosis, she has become a relentless advocate for chronic pain, patients, and disability rights.

Amanda has dedicated her life to improving her community and tries to teach her son, Keagan, to do the same. Since high school, she has been marching for police reform, immigrant rights, LGBTQ rights, government reform, women's rights, and more. In 2016, she traveled to Standing Rock to stand with Water Protectors against the Dakota Access Pipeline. In her free time, Amanda tutors and mentors local kids.

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?

• Healthcare, patient rights, and disability rights are human rights
• End systematic oppression & mass incarceration through top-down government reform
• The people should be the focus of our government, not profits and personal wealth. We need representatives who practice what they preach

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Medicare For All

Green New Deal
Disability Rights
Pain Management
End Mass Incarceration
Ensure workers have protections, benefits, & a living wage
Improve our education system
Tuition-Free College
Federal Jobs Guarantee
End the Military-Industrial Complex and our massive war machine
Cut military funding
Increase SS, SSDI, & SSI to a living wage
Update the ADA
Ensure Workers Protections
End the War on Drugs
Legalize Marijuana nationwide
Publicly Funded elections
Term limits for all elected offices
Immigration reform
Protect DACA & Temporary Protected Status
Debt forgiveness

and more!!

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley, Saul Alinsky, Greta Thunberg, Martin Luther King Jr, Emmeline Pankhurst, Martha Sharp, Malala Yousafzai, Matilda Joslyn Gage, and so many more

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Reveille for Radicals by Saul Alinsky

This is a movement for, of, and by The People.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Open, honest, willing to admit when they make a mistake.

Someone who will lead by example and put their money where their mouth is.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I am committed to leading by example. My priority is the people and bettering the lives of everyone in our community and country. We need to realize we're all inter-dependent and we need each other to survive. I am not perfect and I will be the first to admit that, but that's the quality of a good leader. We all have more to learn and more to grow, but given the opportunity I promise to do the best I can for The People.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

To listen and represent their constituents and give the people the biggest platform they can get.

What legacy would you like to leave?

One of social justice and lasting change

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I remember the Bush/ Clinton election and realizing that there were people who believed differently from my family and that my family was wrong about some things and I needed to make sure to find out what I was missing in my small little bubble.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I worked at a daycare starting at 14 years old and worked there through my first year in college.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Reveille for Radicals by Saul Alinsky. It's my how-to guide for community organizing

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Arya Stark. Talk about someone who makes change happen. Smart, strong, and independent but still cares. She will do whatever she needs to to protect those she loves.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

So Much Better from the Legally Blonde: The Musical Soundtrack...

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Just surviving on $735/month after becoming disabled is a struggle. I know how humiliating it is to try to survive while poor. It's time to stop the indignity & give people the respect and quality of life we all deserve.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

It's The People's House. It's a direct representation of different areas of the country & the people who live there. Therefore, the US House should look like the people. Our diversity is our strength

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

No.

I believe that we learn by doing. All working in Congress is, is large scale community organizing. If you can work with people, have a passion for change, and a desire to make that happen then you should qualify. Our founding fathers had no background in politics yet they founded our country.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Climate change!

We are running out of time and we need to make it a national priority

If you are not a current representative, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

I want to be part of the healthcare debate. No one understands healthcare and how it impacts the people like a patient does!

I also want to start a committee on Disability Rights & Accessibility.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

No. It should be 4. But after two 4-year terms you should be done in that office. Campaigning every 2 years makes it so all they are doing is campaigning and no work can get done.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

We need them for every elected office. We need to embrace change.

If you are not currently a member of your party’s leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives, would you be interested in joining the leadership? If so, in what role?

No. I am there to represent The People. Not the DNC.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

Bernie Sanders. He practices what he preaches and leads by example.

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

So many!!

The whole reason I'm running is because of those personal stories people have taken the time to tell me.

Patients who have lost pain management or don't qualify for benefits
Benefits that are too low and lead to homelessness
Patients suffering without care
Workers struggling to find a job

I'm listening and hear them all. They all impact me.

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.

See also

2020 Elections

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Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

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External links

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Footnotes

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Oregon's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Jeff Merkley (D)

Ron Wyden (D)

Representatives

District 1

Suzanne Bonamici (D)

District 2

Cliff Bentz (R)

District 3

Maxine Dexter (D)

District 4

Val Hoyle (D)

District 5

Janelle Bynum (D)

District 6

Andrea Salinas (D)

Democratic Party (7)

Republican Party (1)