Suzanne Bonamici

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Suzanne Bonamici
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Oregon's 1st district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 31, 2012
Preceded by David Wu
Member of the Oregon Senate
from the 17th district
In office
May 19, 2008 – November 21, 2011
Preceded by Brad Avakian
Succeeded by Elizabeth Steiner Hayward
Member of the Oregon House of Representatives
from the 34th district
In office
January 2, 2007 – May 19, 2008
Preceded by Brad Avakian
Succeeded by Chris Harker
Personal details
Born October 14, 1954 (1954-10-14) (age 57)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Political party Democratic Party
Spouse(s) Michael Simon
Residence Portland, Oregon
Alma mater Lane Community College
University of Oregon
Website Official website

Suzanne Bonamici (born October 14, 1954) is a Democratic politician from the U.S. state of Oregon. She is the U.S. Representative for Oregon's 1st congressional district, having defeated Republican nominee Rob Cornilles in a special election on January 31, 2012. The district includes most of Portland west of the Willamette River, as well as all of Yamhill, Columbia, Clatsop, and Washington counties.

Bonamici previously represented District 17 in the Oregon State Senate from 2008 to 2011.[1] She was first elected to the Oregon House of Representatives in 2006.

Contents

[edit] Early life, education, and law career

Bonamici was born in Detroit and raised in a small Michigan town. Her father worked for a local bank and her mother was a small-business owner and piano teacher. She earned an A.A. from Lane Community College, a B.A. in journalism from the University of Oregon, and a J.D. from the University of Oregon School of Law.

During college, she was a legal assistant at Lane County Legal Aid in the city of Eugene. After getting her law degree, she became a consumer protection attorney for the Federal Trade Commission in the nation's capital. She went into private practice in Portland and represented small businesses.[2]

[edit] Oregon legislature

[edit] Elections

In 2006, incumbent Democrat State Representative Brad Avakian decided to retire to run for the Oregon Senate. She ran for the open seat in Oregon's 34th House District and defeated Republican Joan Draper 62%-36%.[3]

On April 30, 2008 Bonamici was appointed by Commissioners from both Washington and Multnomah counties to represent Oregon's 17th Senate District. The seat became vacant when incumbent State Senator Brad Avakian was appointed Commissioner of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries.[4] She was sworn in on May 19, 2008.

In the November 2008 special election she won with 97% of the vote[5] to serve the remainder of the four-year term. In 2010, she won re-election with 64% of the vote.[6]

[edit] Committee assignments

In the 2009 Legislative Session, Bonamici served as the Chair of the Senate Consumer Protection and Public Affairs Committee and as a member of the Senate Judiciary and Education Committees.

[edit] 2012 congressional election

Main article: Oregon's 1st congressional district special election, 2012

In early 2011, Bonamici's name was floated as a possible successor to then-Congressman David Wu after The Oregonian and Willamette Week reported Wu exhibited odd behavior and clashed with his staff in the midst of apparent mental illness during the 2010 election cycle.[7] Following Wu's resignation from Congress, Bonamici announced her candidacy for the special election to replace him,[8] touting endorsements from former Governor Barbara Roberts, former Congresswoman Elizabeth Furse, and incumbent Oregon Attorney General John Kroger, among others.[9]

On November 8, 2011, Bonamici won the Democratic Party of Oregon's nomination, winning an outright majority of the vote in every county in the district and capturing 66 percent of the vote overall, with a 44-point margin over second-place finisher Brad Avakian. She faced Republican nominee Rob Cornilles in the special election on January 31, 2012,[10] winning by a 14% margin.[11]

Prior to her election to Congress, Bonamici resigned from the Oregon Senate on November 21,[12] and was replaced by Elizabeth Steiner Hayward in December.[13]

[edit] Personal life

She is married to Michael H. Simon, federal judge.[14] They have two children. Bonamici was raised Episcopalian and Unitarian, and now attends synagogue with her Jewish husband, and children.[15]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Suzanne Bonamici makes legislative resignation official". The Oregonian. November 21, 2011. http://blog.oregonlive.com/mapesonpolitics/2011/11/suzanne_bonamici_makes_legisla.html. 
  2. ^ http://www.bonamiciforcongress.com/about/
  3. ^ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=307673
  4. ^ "Bonamici named to replace Avakian in state Senate". Beaverton Valley Times. May 1, 2008. http://www.beavertonvalleytimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=120958893605414700S. 
  5. ^ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=504691
  6. ^ http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=681595
  7. ^ "Oregon Democratic leaders say they hope Wu gets help, put off talk of his political future". The Oregonian. OregonLive. 19 February 2011. http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/02/oregon_democratic_leaders_say.html. Retrieved 2 March 2011. 
  8. ^ "Bonamici announces bid for Wu's seat in Congress". Statesman Journal. 4 August 2011. http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20110804/UPDATE/110804019/Bonamici-announces-bid-Wu-s-seat-Congress. Retrieved 6 August 2011. 
  9. ^ "Endorsements". Bonamici for Congress. http://www.bonamiciforcongress.com/endorsements/. Retrieved 6 August 2011. 
  10. ^ "Oregon - County Vote Results". Associated Press. November 9, 2011. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/files/elections/2011/by_county/OR_Page_1108.html?SITE=AP&SECTION=POLITICS. Retrieved November 9, 2011. 
  11. ^ "Representative in Congress, 1st District Unofficial Results". Oregon Secretary of State. http://oregonvotes.org/results/2012S/868334206.html. Retrieved February 1, 2012. 
  12. ^ Staff (December 22, 2011). "Physician to sit in state seat". The Hillsboro Argus. http://www.oregonlive.com/argus/index.ssf/2011/12/physician_to_sit_in_state_seat.html. Retrieved December 22, 2011. 
  13. ^ Mapes, Jeff (December 21, 2011). "A Washington County commissioner at sea casts decisive vote to fill Oregon Senate seat". The Oregonian. http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/12/a_washington_county_commission.html. Retrieved December 22, 2011. 
  14. ^ Duin, Steve (August 6, 2011). "In the wake of David Wu case, accusations fly in Oregon's First District". The Oregonian. http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/steve_duin/index.ssf/2011/08/in_the_wake_of_david_wu_case_a.html. Retrieved 9 August 2011. 
  15. ^ "Suzanne Bonamici". The Oregonian. http://gov.oregonlive.com/election/2011/Congress/candidate/bonamici/. Retrieved 23 January 2012. 

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