# Jessica Vega Pederson

Jessica Vega Pederson is a Democratic politician in the U.S. state of Oregon. She served in the Oregon House of Representatives, for two two-year terms, from January 2013 through 2016. From 2017 to 2022, Vega Pederson served as a county commissioner for Multnomah County, the state's most populous county. In 2022, Vega Pederson was elected to serve as county chair, and took office in 2023.

## Early life and education

Vega Pederson was born in Crown Point, Indiana, a small town near Chicago, and raised in a Mexican-American family. Vega Pederson graduated from Loyola University Chicago, where she majored in informational systems management and technology.

## Career

Prior to running for political office, Vega Pederson was a project manager for a tech company. Her listing within the Voter's Pamphlet read: "I am not a politician. I'm a mom and a professional. My husband has his own small business. We work hard and we want a better future for our kids." She and her husband have two small children and live in East Portland.
In November 2013, she was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives, for District 47, for a two-year term starting in January 2013. She was re-elected two years later.
In September 2015, Vega Pederson announced that she would not seek re-election to the House, and would instead run for election to the Multnomah County Commission, for a seat that was due to become open as a result of term limits requiring its then-holder Judy Shiprack to leave the seat. She won election to the commission in the May 2016 primary, representing county District 3, for a four-year term to begin in January 2017. She was sworn in on January 3, 2017. On May 19, 2020, Jessica Vega Pederson was re-elected to a four-year term on the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners. On November 8, 2022, Vega Pederson was elected Multnomah County Chair, defeating fellow commissioners Lori Stegmann (in the primary) and Sharon Meieran (in the general election), for a four-year term to begin in January 2023.
Pederson made her residency in far East Portland a part of her political appeal, however she moved to a $1.2 million, 5 bedroom house in Southwest Portland in April 2024.
Pederson failed to notify fellow Multnomah County Commissioners, Portland City Council, Metro, and Governor Tina Kotek before announcing her mismanagement of $104 million deficit for homeless services, resulting in calls by public officials to audit homeless services.

## Electoral history

2022 Multnomah County Commission Chair election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Nonpartisan | Jessica Vega Pederson | 164,914 | 54.03% |
| | Nonpartisan | Sharon Meieran | 138,034 | 45.23% |
| | Other | Write-ins | 2,263 | 0.74% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 305,211 | 100.00% |
2022 Primary for Multnomah County Commission Chair :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Nonpartisan | Jessica Vega Pederson | 77,529 | 41.95% |
| | Nonpartisan | Sharon Meieran | 33,651 | 18.21% |
| | Nonpartisan | Sharia Mayfield | 27,713 | 14.99% |
| | Nonpartisan | Lori Stegmann | 23,210 | 12.56% |
| | Nonpartisan | Bruce Broussard | 12,895 | 6.98% |
| | Nonpartisan | Joe Demers | 9,544 | 5.16% |
| | Other | Write-ins | 290 | 0.16% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 184,832 | 100.00% |
2020 Primary for Multnomah County Commission District 3 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Nonpartisan | Jessica Vega Pederson | 37,244 | 98.42% |
| | Other | Write-ins | 596 | 1.58% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 37,840 | 100.00% |
2016 Primary for Multnomah County Commission District 3 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Nonpartisan | Jessica Vega Pederson | 29,986 | 97.96% |
| | Other | Write-ins | 623 | 2.04% |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 30,609 | 100.00% |
2014 Oregon State Representative, 47th district :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Jessica Vega Pederson | 10,379 | 95.4 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 505 | 4.6 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 10,884 | 100% |
2012 Oregon State Representative, 47th district :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Democratic | Jessica Vega Pederson | 12,662 | 64.8 |
| | Republican | Maggie Nelson | 6,773 | 34.7 |
| | Write-in | Write-in | 93 | 0.5 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 19,528 | 100% |