Rep. Anna Williams resigns from Legislature for new policy role

Hood River Democrat Anna Williams, who spent the past four years in the Legislature focused on human services policy, will soon trade the state House for a new policy job.

Williams, who was first elected in 2018, will be the new executive director of Oregon’s System of Care Advisory Council starting Monday.

The statewide council created in 2019 develops health care policy and coordinates with a range of state, local and federal programs that provide mental, behavioral and physical health services, educational support and juvenile justice for young people.

Williams told the Capital Chronicle the job is the “perfect fit” after her legislative focus on laws addressing child abuse, homeless youth and pay rates for providers.

“There’s on-the-ground agency policy work to be done,” she said. “There’s system-level statewide policy work to be done. There’s community organizing and capacity development work to be done. Those are the things that I really love doing. And to be frank, I don’t have to run for office every two years to be able to do this.”

The new position, which Williams said pays about $150,000 annually, is also much higher paying than the $33,000 or so plus per diems that legislators make. Williams and fellow Democratic Reps. Karin Power of Milwaukie and Rachel Prusak of Tualatin announced this spring that they wouldn’t seek re-election because they couldn’t keep juggling the demands of often-unpredictable legislative schedules, parenthood and day jobs.

‘BACK AND FORTH’ DAILY

Williams will now be able to do much of her work remotely from her home in Hood River, and she expects to have plenty of warning when her job requires her to travel to Salem or other parts of the state. That’s a difference from the Legislature, where she said lawmakers sometimes would only learn about late nights a few hours ahead of time.

Along with Rep. Jason Kropf, D-Bend, Williams is one of only two legislative Democrats from the east side of the Cascades. Hood River is about 90 miles from the Capitol in Salem, and Williams said she tried all kinds of strategies to make legislating work for her family’s budget but was unable to figure out a sustainable way to balance finances and the time commitment.

“I sublet a room in someone’s apartment for my first long session,” she said. “I did Airbnb sometimes when I knew we would be there for a week. I did hotel rooms sometimes. For this last short session, I drove back and forth every day.”

Williams and other critics say Oregon needs to raise legislative salaries to make legislative service more accessible to a broader swath of Oregon’s population. Women and people of color have gained representation in recent years, but the Legislature as a whole is still older, whiter and richer than the state’s population.

Beyond salaries, Williams said set schedules or assistance with child care could make legislating easier, especially for parents and lawmakers who don’t live in the Willamette Valley.

“Most of the Democrats can drive home in the evenings, so they’re not as concerned about things like how much it costs to get a hotel when it’s a last-minute thing that really eats into…