How one powerful Hispanic businesswoman is getting ahead in Multnomah County, and why taxpayers should be concerned. Clara Padilla Andrews in Portland, Oregon

“In 1987, after serving as New Mexico’s secretary of state, Clara Padilla Andrews moved to Portland when her husband, a lawyer, took a job.

“I thought we would be here two, maybe three years,” the petite, charming 65-year-old said during an interview last week. “That was 19 years ago.”

Today, Padilla Andrews is one of the single most potent influences in Portland’s Hispanic community, which has more than tripled in size since her arrival.”

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