| Annabelle Jaramillo | |
| Office: | Benton County Commissioner, Position 3 |
| Constituency: | Benton County, Oregon |
| Term Start: | January 2001 |
| Term End: | January 2021 |
| Birth Place: | Colorado |
| Alma Mater: | Portland State University |
| Spouse: | Richard Medley |
| Profession: | County Commissioner and Forester |
| Party: | Democratic |
Annabelle Jaramillo (born 1940 or 1941) is a retired Latina American politician from the state of Oregon.[1] She served on the Board of Commissioners of Benton County for five terms, from 2001 to 2021.[2] [3] [1] Jaramillo was one of the first Latinas to hold elected office in Oregon.[4] [5] While in office, she was a strong advocate for minority and LGBT civil rights.[1]
In the late 1940s, Jaramillo's mother attempted to enroll her in third grade in Colorado, only to find that the school was racially segregated. Her mother immediately staged a brief sit-in and successfully pushed the school to integrate.[1] Jaramillo became the first student of color in her classroom. This experience inspired Jaramillo to support civil rights and LGBT rights throughout her life.[6]
Jaramillo has bachelors and Master's degrees in biology from Portland State University.[2] [7]
Jaramillo's initial career was as a research botanist for the US Forest Service.[3] In that role, she gradually became more involved in diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts for Forest Service employees. She eventually became the president of National Image Inc., an organization that advocated for equal employment opportunities for Hispanics in the federal government.[1] Jaramillo then moved on to a number of managerial positions in Oregon's state government, including serving as Citizens' Representative for Governor John Kitzhaber, from 1995-2000 and as the Executive Director of the Oregon Commission on Hispanic Affairs.
Jaramillo served on the Board of Commissioners of Benton County for five terms, from 2001 to 2021.[2] [3] [1]
Jaramillo has been a member of numerous public and nonprofit boards. She served as president of the Oregon Women's Political Caucus. She also served on the Oregon Progress Board, the Oregon Sustainability Board, and the Federal Forestlands Advisory Committee.[7]
In 1991, Jaramillo managed a successful campaign in Corvallis to defeat a discriminatory charter amendment promoted by the Oregon Citizens Alliance. In 2004, Jaramillo and fellow Benton County Commissioner Linda Modrell voted (2-1) for the county to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, following Multnomah County's lead and in defiance of requests by Governor Ted Kulongoski and Attorney General Hardy Myers.[8] Following threats of arrest by the Attorney General, the Benton County Commission voted (3-0) to instead to stop issuing all marriage licenses - straight and gay.[9] Benton County only resumed issuing marriage licenses to straight couples five months later, following a court order.[10] Jaramillo later reflected, "If we were going to end up with discrimination, we weren't going to issue marriage licenses to anyone."[6]