Continuing the Legacy: Maegan Vidal Wins 2023 Jill Thorn Grant
Members of the Jill Thorn Grant committee faced a happy dilemma this year: All four applicants for the grant, which Clackamas County Dems awards to a woman running for public office for the first time, were top-notch. According to committee chair Cornelia Gibson, all four “came with excellent recommendations and qualifications.”
So how to choose? Gibson explains that applicants are evaluated by their demonstrated commitment to public service, likelihood of success as a candidate for office and their need for support in pursuing candidacy for office. Committee members used a point system applied to each candidate’s application responses, then totalled up the points.
Congratulations are due to Maegan Vidal of Wilsonville, who came out on top. A physician outreach and engagement advisor with Legacy Health, she is running for West Linn-Wilsonville School Board Position 2. She currently serves on the Lowrie Primary School parent-teacher association and the Wilsonville Public Library Foundation board.
Vidal’s priorities include expanding opportunities for diverse learning both in and outside of the classroom, improving mental health access, increasing budget and funding transparency and building community relationships by inviting local stakeholders to help improve opportunities for students and teachers.
The Jill Thorn Grant was established after Thorn’s death in 2012 in tribute to the many years of her dedicated public service in Clackamas County.
“As a working mother running for office for the first time, I am honored and thankful to receive the Jill Thorn Grant,” Vidal says. “Jill Thorn embodied servant leadership, and with this grant I hope to carry on her tradition of strong female leadership, using it to communicate our Democratic values to stakeholders in the West Linn-Wilsonville School Board race.”
To learn more about Maegan Vidal and find out how you can help support her candidacy, check out her website.
And don’t forget to vote in the crucial May 16 Special Election! See the list of all the candidates endorsed by Clackamas County Democrats.