Christina Stephenson

Christina Stephenson

Nonpartisan

Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries

Tenure

2023 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

2

Predecessor

Val Hoyle

Compensation

Base salary

$77,000

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 8, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

American University, 2005

Law

University of Oregon, 2009

Personal

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Official website

Official Facebook

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign X

Campaign Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Christina Stephenson is the Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries. She assumed office on January 2, 2023. Her current term ends on January 4, 2027.

Stephenson ran for election for Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries. She won in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Stephenson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Christina Stephenson earned a B.A. in international studies from American University in 2005 and a J.D. from the University of Oregon in 2009. Stephenson's career experience includes owning a business and working as a civil rights attorney.

Elections

2022

See also: Oregon Labor Commissioner election, 2022

General election

General election for Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries

Christina Stephenson defeated Cheri Helt in the general election for Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Christina Stephenson (Nonpartisan)	60.7	916,455
		Cheri Helt (Nonpartisan)	38.6	582,609
		Other/Write-in votes	0.7	9,826

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,508,890
= 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.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries

The following candidates ran in the primary for Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries on May 17, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Christina Stephenson (Nonpartisan)	47.2	421,619
✔		Cheri Helt (Nonpartisan)	19.2	171,168
		Casey Kulla (Nonpartisan)	14.1	126,036
		Brent Barker (Nonpartisan)	11.4	101,576
	Submit photo	Robert Neuman (Nonpartisan)	3.6	32,331
		Chris Henry (Nonpartisan)	2.6	22,936
	Submit photo	Aaron Baca (Nonpartisan)	1.6	14,217
		Other/Write-in votes	0.4	3,922

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 893,805
= 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.

Endorsements

To view Stephenson's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.

2020

See also: Oregon House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Oregon House of Representatives District 33

Incumbent Maxine Dexter defeated Dick Courter in the general election for Oregon House of Representatives District 33 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Maxine Dexter (D / Working Families Party)	75.6	33,707
	Submit photo	Dick Courter (R)	24.2	10,796
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	59

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 44,562
= 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.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Oregon House of Representatives District 33

Incumbent Maxine Dexter defeated Christina Stephenson, Serin Bussell, and Andy Saultz in the Democratic primary for Oregon House of Representatives District 33 on May 19, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Maxine Dexter	39.6	5,483
		Christina Stephenson	28.4	3,938
	Submit photo	Serin Bussell	16.5	2,280
	Submit photo	Andy Saultz	15.4	2,134
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	23

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 13,858
= 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 Oregon House of Representatives District 33

Dick Courter advanced from the Republican primary for Oregon House of Representatives District 33 on May 19, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Dick Courter	98.0	2,976
		Other/Write-in votes	2.0	61

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,037
= 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.

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Christina Stephenson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Stephenson's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Born and raised in Oregon, I am a mom, a small business owner, and a civil rights attorney. I’m running because I fundamentally believe Oregon should be the best place to live and work in this country. My day job is representing workers whose employers don’t follow the rules enshrined by Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries. My tiny law firm has gone toe-to-toe with Wall Street’s biggest banks and enormous multinational companies on behalf of workers and we’ve won. I also understand the challenges businesses face in today’s economy. I own and operate a small business that I started at the kitchen table when my son was three months old. I know what it means to run payroll for my employees before I pay myself – whether it’s March of 2020 or a banner year. Whatever industry you work in, whether it’s ranching, tourism, or healthcare, Oregon makes you a promise: if you work hard and play by the rules, there’s someone who’s looking out for you, who wants you to win. That’s a promise I want to uphold as Oregon’s next Labor Commissioner.

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?

• 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?

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.

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.

2020

Christina Stephenson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Stephenson's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I'm a civil rights attorney, small business owner, and mother, born and raised in Washington County. As a civil rights attorney, I've had years of experience taking on big special interests -- and winning on behalf of Oregon working families. As an advocate, I've been active in Salem where I helped negotiate and draft groundbreaking policies for workers and families, including Oregon's landmark Paid Family Medical Leave and Equal Pay laws. Now, I'm running for State Representative to stand up to powerful interest groups and create a more fair and just Oregon for all. The recent Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted so many inequities within our current systems, so we need elected leaders who will bring action and results for Oregonians, rather than rattling off talking points. I'm ready to do just that.

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?

• I will prioritize affordable and equitable access to housing, education, and care (healthcare, childcare, eldercare).
• I will be a leader in our transition to a climate-resilient economy that works for all and where we can level the playing field for small businesses.
• I am committed to protecting the rights of working people and will fight for workplace safety and healthcare for all workers - including gig and contract workers.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am passionate about finding efficiencies in our systems so that we can best utilize scarce resources.

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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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Val Hoyle	Oregon Commissioner of Labor and Industries 2023-Present	Succeeded by -