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Angela Bonilla, the president of the Portland Association of Teachers, is considering a challenge to state Rep. Rob Nosse (D-Portland) for his legislative seat, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Bonilla made a name for herself shortly after assuming the teachers’ union presidency in 2022, leading a controversial November 2023 strike that kept students out of school for weeks. That strike, however, doesn’t seem to have damaged the union’s brand among Portland voters, who elected three of four PAT endorsed candidates in the May election, with the fourth contest tantalizingly close.
In text messages to WW, Bonilla says she is currently focused on preparing for the start of the school year, which includes upcoming bargaining with Portland Public Schools.
“My plate is pretty full at the moment,” Bonilla said. But she did not deny considering a run. “I’m too busy being a union president to focus on a race for the House right now, but anything is possible,” she said.
Nosse, who has held the seat since 2014, has indicated he will seek re-election. He is a longtime organizer for the Oregon Nurses Association and went unchallenged in the 2024 election.
An eye for a house seat might also help explain Bonilla’s decisions to recently wade into conversations tangentially related to schools. This spring, she criticized City Councilor Dan Ryan for his position on police funding and sent a strongly worded letter to the Northwest Oregon Labor Council when it admitted the police union into its ranks (a move that has since been reversed).
