Praying for Oregon Counties: Washington

Tualatin River

You visit the earth and water it, You greatly enrich it; 

The river of God is full of water; You provide their grain, For so You have prepared it. Psalm 65:9

 “The best laid plans of mice and men go oft astray.” Robbie Burns said that, although his poem was in the Scottish dialect. My intended schedule for writing blog posts was once again upended by outside events. Due to the series of ice storms in our area we were without power for five days and without internet for another four. This was followed by the hospitalization of a family member (who is home healing now).  So…here is what I was working on when so rudely interrupted: 

 

Washington County is the second most populous county in Oregon second only to Multnomah, and is part of the Portland metropolitan area. The largest city and county seat is Hillsboro. 

 

In July of 1843 the Provisional Legislature of Oregon created the original four districts: Clackamas, Marion, Yamhill and Twality. Twality later became Washington County. Originally, Twality was the entire northwest section of the state, but now, as Washington County, it is basically the Tualatin Valley, the drainage basin of the Tualatin River, which runs through it.

 

Hillsboro became the county seat in 1850. 

 

Agriculture, timber and manufacturing were the main economic forces in the early days of settlement, with pioneers settling in the fertile Tualatin Valley even before the wagon trains started coming to Oregon. One of the first settlers was Joe Meek, well-known mountain man and fur trader, who needed to find another line of work after the decline of the fur trade due to changing fashion and the over-trapping of beaver. He moved to the Oregon Territory and claimed a homestead just outside present-day Hillsboro. He became heavily involved in the move to annex Oregon to the United States and was active in the meetings at Champoeg in 1843 that established the Oregon Provisional Government. At those meetings he was elected sheriff and later was made the Marshall of Oregon Territory. He died in 1875 and he and his Nez Perce wife of many years, Virginia, are buried at the Old Scotch Church cemetery near Hillsboro.

Old Scotch Church

 In the 1980’s the tech industry discovered Hillsboro and Washington County, with California-based Intel, Oregon’s largest for-profit employer, having several campuses there. Other tech industries in the county, mostly around Hillsboro, include Electro Scientific Industries, Tektronix, FEI Company, Qorvo, SolarWorld, Planar Systems, and Epson. The high number of such companies has caused this area to be called the Silicon Forest.

 On a personal note, my youngest son works for Epson in Hillsboro.

 

The population in Washington County is condensed near Portland, but has areas, especially to the west, that are more rural and agricultural. The Tualatin Valley is well-known for its wineries and wine tours.

Tualatin Vineyard

How do we pray for Washington County?

 

Because of the large population, there are numerous voting districts in the county. Unlike counties to the east, which often have one senator and one or two representatives, the more urban areas of our state carry more weight in the legislature due to population. Due to the way the voting districts are divided, Washington County is represented by 8 different senators and 13 representatives on the state level. The senators include: Brian Boquist, Republican; Kim Thatcher, Republican; Kate Lieber, Democrat; Chuck Riley, Democrat; Betsy Johnson, Democrat; Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, Democrat; Ginny Burdick, Democrat; Rob Wagner, Democrat. The representatives include: Rob Noble, Republican; Bill Post, Republican; Courney Neron, Democrat; Sheri Shouten, Democrat; Winsvey Campos, Democrat; Susan McClain, Democrat; Janeen A. Sollman, Democrat; Brad Witt, Democrat; Suzanne Weber, Republican; Maxine Dexter, Democrat; Ken Helm, Democrat; Dacia Grayber, Democrat; Rachel Prusak, Democrat. 

 

The county has a Council-Manager form of government, with four districts. One council member represents each district and the fifth is the At-large Chair. 

 

Pray for continued prosperity in Washington County and the Tualatin Valley, and for the wisdom of leaders that represent this area. They have a lot of influence over the entire state.

 

The census was held in 2020, which means the voting districts will be redrawn in the near future. Pray for that process, that the results will be fair and equitable for Oregonians.

 

Margaret