Erik Sten (born October 1967 in New Haven, Connecticut[1]) is an American politician who served as a member of the Portland City Commission from 1997 to 2008.

Erik Sten
Portland City Commissioner
In office
January 1, 1997 – April 4, 2008
Preceded byEarl Blumenauer
Succeeded byNick Fish
Personal details
BornOctober 1967 (age 57)
New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materStanford University (BA)

Early life and education

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Sten was born in New Haven, Connecticut and raised in Portland, Oregon. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Stanford University in 1989.[1]

Career

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In the mid-1990s, Sten was a founding member of X-PAC, a group of politically minded young citizens, and has participated heavily in the Oregon Bus Project.[2]

Sten was first elected to Position 2 on the Portland City Commission in 1996, defeating Chuck Duffy. He ran successful campaigns for re-election in 1998, 2002, and 2006.[3]

As a Commissioner, Sten was an early supporter of Portland's publicly financed elections system.[4] In 2005, he was named as one of Oregon's 15 most influential people.[5]

During the 2000 presidential election, Sten was an Oregon state co-chair of GoreNet.[6] GoreNet was a group that supported the Al Gore campaign with a focus on grassroots and online organizing as well as hosting small dollar donor events.[7]

He resigned from his position April 4, 2008, and was succeeded by attorney Nick Fish.

After leaving office, Sten relocated to Seattle, Washington. In 2019, it was announced that Sten had joined Strategies 360, a political consulting and lobbying firm, as an advisor.[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b Redden, Jim (August 9, 2005). "The Life and Times of Erik Sten". Portland Tribune. Archived from the original on February 22, 2013. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
  2. ^ Young, Bob (1999). "1995: New power generation". Willamette Week 25th Anniversary edition. Archived from the original on March 31, 2013. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
  3. ^ Griffin, Anna (October 1, 2006). "Council dynamo Erik Sten in rare lull". The Sunday Oregonian. p. A1. Archived from the original on 2013-11-10. Retrieved 2007-06-28.
  4. ^ Redden, Jim (August 9, 2005). "Has Sten lost his clout?". Portland Tribune. Archived from the original on February 22, 2013. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
  5. ^ Brainstorm magazine, April 2005
  6. ^ "GoreNet State Co-Chairs". Gore 2000. 15 August 2000. Archived from the original on August 15, 2000. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  7. ^ "GoreNet: A Network of Young Americans Dedicated to Al Gore President". Gore 2000. 15 August 2000. Archived from the original on August 15, 2000. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  8. ^ politics, About Nigel Jaquiss News reporter Nigel Jaquiss joined Willamette Week in 1998 He covers. "Former Portland City Commissioner Erik Sten Joins Political Consulting, Lobbying Firm". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on 2019-12-21. Retrieved 2020-05-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)