Palisades-Grown Women Dominate Politics

By CHRISTIAN MONTERROSA | Reporter

At least three Palisades Charter High School alumni entered or continued their political careers in the Pacific Northwest.

In Washington’s 41st Legislative District, Tana Senn was re-elected as State Representative. Senn was also named Chair of Human Services and Early Learning Committee and helped pass an update to the state’s equal pay law after not being revisited for 75 years. She is also fighting for local schools to get the proper funding.

“This past year, we finally officially met the requirements of the McCleary decision to fully fund our public schools,” Senn wrote on her website. “However, I know we are still underfunding special education, school counselors and nurses, arts, and other critical services for our students. There is still more work to do.”

A board member of the National Association of Jewish Legislators, Senn has won several awards for her work, including the 2017 National Child Health Advocate Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Dr. Kim Schrier won a Congressional seat in Washington’s 8th Congressional District, turning the district blue for the first time ever.

Schrier grew up on West Cove Drive in The Riviera, and attended Paul Revere Charter Middle School and Pali High. She is now facing her first political battle in Washington, D.C., as she fights to reopen the government.

“Our government should not be used as a bargaining chip,” Schrier said in a recent Facebook post. “Americans have had enough of dysfunction and reckless decisions that put their livelihoods and access to critical services at risk.”

In Oregon, Pali High alum Julianna Walters was elected to the city council of West Linn—a city just outside of Portland.

“In many hours attending city meetings, one thing that stuck out to me is the lack of representation on the city council for residents like me,” Walters wrote in  a statement. “I will be the voice for the hard-working families of West Linn—with kids in our schools, busy with extracurricular activities and volunteering in our community.”