Portland, Ore. Dec. 26, 2007 - In 2007, Rep. Chip Shields took a leadership role in developing living-wage jobs for residents of N/NE Portland. He helped steer $20 million to jumpstart street car manufacturing in the Portland area. He played a key role in making it easier to form a union. Shields helped fund a union apprenticeship pilot-program at Benson High School and advanced a minority-business agenda. He helped people in recovery from addiction get their lives back on track through the African-American Chamber's Project Clean Slate.

Now it's time to plan for the next legislative sessions in Feb. 2008 and Jan. 2009.

"With Democrats leading the Oregon House for the first time in 16 years, Senator Margaret Carter and I were able to make some strong advances in developing living- wage jobs for N/NE Portlanders, but there's much more work to do," said Rep. Chip Shields of House District 43, which includes much of North and Northeast Portland, Irvington and the Lloyd District.

State Representative Chip Shields, State Senator Margaret Carter and special guests are inviting the community to a Town Hall forum to map out North and Northeast Portland's agenda for living wage jobs.

The Town Hall will be Wednesday, January 9 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs (OAME) 4134 N. Vancouver Ave in Portland.

Special guests will include Dan Gardner, Oregon Labor Commissioner; Connie Ashbrook, Executive Director of Oregon Tradeswomen Inc.; and Roy Jay, President of the African-American Chamber of Commerce.

Rep. Shields will also host a Town Hall forum on health care Wednesday, February 6 at the Urban League Multi- Cultural Senior Center, 5325 NE MLK Blvd from 6:30- 8:00 p.m. He will hold a Town Hall forum on education (Pre-K to Higher Ed) at the Portland Community College-Cascade Campus Student Service Cafeteria on Saturday March 8 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

For more information, call Rep. Shields office at 503- 231-2564 or go to his website at www.leg.state.or.us/shieldsc .