As the current Chair of the Committee on Housing and Homelessness, Marsh said that issue is a priority.
She would especially like to expand a successful pilot program from Medford for people needing residential treatment services.
"Somebody comes off the Greenway, they are assessed at needing residential treatment, but we don't have a space for them, so we've gathered some emergency housing so that people can go into the emergency housing, be in a safe and monitored environment and then be ready to move immediately to residential treatment when a bed becomes available," she said.
She would like to focus on increasing housing production, making more opportunities for homeownership and building shelters. She’s also hoping to pass a bill that would promote peaceful coexistence with beavers.
In addition, "I have a bill around senior housing and recognizing seniors are the demographics showing up in most numbers at our shelter system because we have seniors who are really struggling out there, and we have a tsunami of seniors coming our way, so we better get ready for them by building appropriate housing," she said.
Marsh handily won reelection in November, with almost two-thirds of ballots cast in her favor.
She’s the only representative from the Southwestern portion of the state with a House leadership role. Leadership was appointed by the caucus.
In her role as assistant majority leader, a role she previously held, Marsh will focus on policy.
The other two assistant majority leaders are Representative Annessa Hartman, a Democrat from Gladstone, Oregon City and North Clackamas County who will focus on politics, and Representative Hai Pham, a Democrat from South Hillsboro and West Beaverton who will focus on professional development.
“House Democrats elected an incredibly strong leadership team that I’m confident will represent the diverse perspectives of Oregonians during the 2025 legislative session,” Speaker Julie Fahey, a Democrat from West Eugene and Veneta, said in a press release on Nov. 21. “Our work to improve the lives of Oregonians continues, and this team is poised to ensure the voices of those we represent are heard.”
As she heads into her fifth term, Marsh said certain thematic elements have persisted across her tenure, like climate change, but the focus has changed and new issues have increased, like homelessness.
"Climate work has really shifted from being really about mitigation to being about mitigation and adaptation," she said.
Marsh said as a Democrat in a Democrat-controlled state, the legislature is waiting to see what’s coming from incoming President Donald Trump’s administration. But she said it’s difficult to prepare because they’re not sure what to expect.
"We just have no idea at this point, but we have been through this process before in 2017. We know how to play defense. At that point, we put in a number of strategies that we will rely upon again if needed," she said. "I don't look forward to playing defense. It was a lot more fun in the last four years to have support from the White House. But we will if we need to."
She’ll be sworn in on January 13.
