Every city differs in the opportunities, sense of community, and environment that it has to offer. In the same way, each US city is affected by the political climate of its residents.
Hillsboro, Oregon is a moderately liberal city. Residents show this political majority through voting statistics, financial contributions made to political parties, support of the LGBTQ+ community, abortion laws and views, environmental efforts, elected government officials, and income-tax burdens.
This article will explain in more detail about these areas. It will help to show what aspects of Hillsboro show that the city is liberal rather than conservative.
Voting Statistics
Washington County is located within Hillsboro, Oregon and shows a Democratic community. In the most recent Presidential election, 65.5% of voters
supported the Democratic party candidate. Clearly, the Democrats took Hillsboro, and only 30.9% of the participating residents voted for the Republican party candidate. The remaining 3.5% of voters sided with an Independent candidate. Washington county has voted Democratic in every election since the year 2000.
The Democratic party received more than double the amount gained by its opponents. The Republicans lost to the Democratic lead by 34.6% of votes cast in the election, not accounting for the Independent population. This is a strong majority claimed by the Democratic party and the liberal views it represents and supports. The recent voting statistics from the last Presidential election show that the city of Hillsboro is liberal.
Financial Contributions to Party Campaigns
In addition to the voting statistics, financial contributions to political campaigns also show that the city of Hillsboro, Oregon is liberal. Significantly more contributions were made to the Democratic party and liberal campaigns than to competing campaigns during the same amount of time.
From 2018-2021, there were an incredible total of 48,863 financial contributions made to the Democratic party and liberal campaign efforts in the city of Hillsboro. These contributions gave a total of $3,520,602 to these campaigns and an average of $72 per contribution.
Over the same four years, the Republican party and conservative campaigns in the city of Hillsboro only received a total of $742,315 from 3,739 donations. The average for these campaigns was $199 per contribution made.
The Democratic party and liberal campaigns received an overwhelming $2,778,287 and 45,124 contributions more than their opponents in the last four years. This is an astounding lead for liberal views over their conservative competitors in the city. From both the incredible liberal support and the amazingly large difference from conservative opponents, this data shows Hillsboro to be incredibly liberal.
Elected Government Officials
The current mayor of Hillsboro, Oregon is Mayor Steve Callaway. While he is known as bipartisan, Mayor Callaway has been known to support liberal views such as supporting the fight against climate change, supporting strengthened gun laws, and protecting LGBTQ+ and other community members from discrimination.
Mayor Callaway was one of 279 mayors across the country to sign a letter encouraging stronger gun control in the US. The purpose of the letter was to persuade the US Senate to pass bipartisan legislation to end gun violence. More information is listed on the site for the United States Conference of Mayors.
With the support for strengthening gun laws, among other stances addressed, Mayor Callaway shows that he supports liberal views. Residents of Hillsboro clearly value liberalism in politics as well and elected a mayor who will fight for these ideals and represent them well.
Environmental Awareness
Hillsboro is known for its strong actions to protect the environment and all nature, over the course of many different governmental leaders’ terms. The city is highly concerned about nature preservation, a common liberal issue, and the mission of the day.
Environmental Accomplishments in Hillsboro:
- US Conference of Mayors’ climate champion
- Tree City, USA
- Bee City, USA
- Partner in the Backyard Habitat Certification Program
- Avid protectors of the Monarch butterfly
Mayor Callaway and a series of his predecessors in the office-holding position have pledged to continue to support the protection of wildlife and nature in the city. The Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve is an excellent example of this dedication to nature and the environment. This preserve is several hundred acres large and located within the city community! This is an incredible accomplishment for one of the largest cities in the state.
The efforts from Hillsboro leaders and residents to be more eco-friendly show that the city is liberal. They work to limit the emission of greenhouse gases and increase the use of renewable energy resources. Both of these initiatives will help to decrease the speed of climate change and its effects. Democratic leaders work to do all of these things and keep efforts and financial support working toward these goals of being more environmentally friendly.
Abortion Views
The subject of abortion is a heated political issue for both liberals and conservatives. Liberals believe that abortions should be legal and kept easily available for all who seek to perform or receive them. Conservatives, on the other hand, work to limit access to abortions and even ban them when possible.
In past years, the Roe v. Wade case of 1973 protected the legal right to abortion for all US citizens anywhere in the nation. A recent announcement in June of 2022 changed this completely. The US Supreme Court recently overturned the Roe v. Wade case, making it possible for each state to vote and decide whether abortions are legal or illegal within their state boundaries.
Clearly, this announcement caused liberals across the nation a great deal of turmoil. Organized protests and riots were held in various cities drawing hundreds of supporters to each location. Oregon is one of few states that not only guarantee the protection of abortion rights for Oregon residents but also for visitors from other states as well!
The Oregon Reproductive Health and Equity Act, signed in 2017, even offers abortion procedures with no out-of-pocket costs in some circumstances. Oregon is highly liberal in terms of abortion, and united in these efforts as a state. This is a view that is supported by Hillsboro and other Oregon cities as well. Hillsboro is liberal in its abortion beliefs, views, and laws.
High Tax Rates
Generally, high tax rates of any kind demonstrate liberalism in a community or area. Liberalists promote a powerful government that is highly involved in the lives of its citizens, keeping them cared for and their basic needs met.
Oregon was ranked first in the nation for the highest tax-income burden of any US State, according to information in US News 2021. The combination of the 23.37% effective income tax rate and the 7% state effective tax rate led to this conclusion. Residents in all cities throughout the state of Oregon are a part of this burden and the voting process which allows it to be put in place and continue, showing liberal support for taxation.
LGBTQ+ Support
There are many ways in which residents in the city of Hillsboro show support within the community to LGBTQ+ individuals and their loved ones. One of which was done in 2017, and Mayor Callaway was the deciding vote. This made Hillsboro a “Sanctuary City”, meaning that Hillsboro offers safety and protection for LGBTQ+ individuals, people of color, different religious beliefs, and undocumented immigrants from discrimination, deportation, or other hateful acts.
Events and groups within the city of Hillsboro are held and organized to allow more social opportunities for LGBTQ+ individuals and their loved ones to meet others in the community in a safe and supportive way. Some of these opportunities in the Hillsboro area are listed below.
- Westside Queer Resource Center
- Washington County Chamber LGBTQ+ Business Advisory Council
- Queer Beer
- Saturday Books: Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel
- Sankofa Collective Northwest
- PFLAG
- Oregon Queer youth Sumit
- GLSEN Oregon
- Beaverton High School GSA
- Hillsboro High School GSA
- Sherwood High School Sexuality and Gender Alliance (SAGA)
These are some of the local support opportunities for these individuals and their loved ones within the Hillsboro, Oregon area. High levels of support for the LGBTQ+ community in an area are often an indication of liberal ideals. In the case of Hillsboro, Oregon, this is most definitely true. The area is strongly liberal, much like the state of Oregon as a whole, and the events and groups for LGBTQ+ individuals and their families show this liberalism.
Religion
When an area shows a strong religious community, it is often a more conservative city. Conservatives are generally known to be more religious, likely because liberals that are religious choose to keep these beliefs separated from their political views. This leads to the political division of conservatives and liberals on topics such as legal abortion rights, same-sex marriage, physician-assisted suicides, and embryotic research.
Hillsboro, Oregon is not a very religious area. In fact, only 31.6% of the population is known to be religiously affiliated. The vast majority of the denominations represented are Christian. With less than half of the city’s population being religious, it is not surprising to see that Hillsboro is statistically shown to have a liberal majority in the overall beliefs of the population.
Related Topics:
If you like the article above, here are some other similar articles you should check out!
Is Salem, Oregon a Liberal City?
