Frederick was sworn into the Oregon House of Representatives in October 2009 and began serving on the House Interim Human Services Committee and House Interim Sustainability & Economic Development Committee.[4]
According to the Portland Tribune, he was Oregon's "highest-ranking black leader and the only black man serving in the Oregon Legislature" as of 2010.[2] Commissioner Amanda Fritz and The Skanner endorsed Frederick during his campaign for District 43.[5][6]
Frederick, formerly a member of the House Joint Committee on Legislative Audits, Information Management and Technology, has moved into the leadership ranks through his new Committee assignments.[7] Frederick's 2013 Regular Session assignments are as Vice-Chair, Land Use Committee; and both the Ways and Means Committee, per se, as well as the Ways and Means Subcommittee On Education.[8]
Lew Frederick maintains a research and strategy affiliation with the California and Washington, D.C.–based company, The Rand Reed Group, an applied anthropological consultancy run by Kathleen Rand Reed.[9]
Fredrick supports reparations for the descendants of slaves, and on January 11, 2021, proposed Oregon State Bill 619 to direct the Oregon Department of Revenue to pay individuals who could demonstrate heritage in slavery $123,000 as an annual annuity. Despite misreporting and misreading to the contrary, SB 619 would create an annuity of $123,000 which is paid annually, rather than a sum of $123,000 paid annually.[10]
