House Dems scramble to keep majority

Brad Avakian's immediate departure to replace Labor Commissioner Dan Gardner now triggers some potential concerns for the House Democrats who desperately need to hold onto their 31-29 majority.

It is very likely State Rep. Suzanne Bonamici will replace Avakian in the Senate. However, Bonamici, who is currently seeking re-election, must remain on the Democratic primary ballot and be officially certified as the Democratic nominee before she can be appointed to the vacant Senate seat. If Bonamici drops out of her House race, the Democrats would lose their nomination for the general election, thus handing the seat to GOP candidate Piotr Kuklinski, CEO of Pacific Internal Medicine, and lose the majority.

Sources indicate Avakian will vacate his Senate seat in early April. The precinct committee will very likely allow the 30 day window to replace a successor pass as Bonamici must remain a House candidate to secure the Democratic party's spot on the general election ballot. County Commissioners in Avakian's seat will then send their appointment choice to the Governor after the primary election. The Democratic Committee members will have up to 30 days to find a replacement for Bonamici.

Speculation on Bonamici's replacement has yet to begin.

I'm not sure I agree with the assessment here. I believe Representative Bonamici can compete for the appointment to Avakian's open senate seat without resigning either as a current state rep or withdrawing as a candidate for reelection to the house seat first. She can certainly be one of the three names forwarded to the commissioners by the precinct committee without resigning her house seat or withdrawing as a candidate for reelection.

If the commissioners appoint her to replace Avakian, she will have to resign as a state rep before she is sworn is as a state senator, but she still does not have to withdraw as house candidate until she is chosen by the precinct committee to become their candidate for Avakian's vacated senate seat.

As long as the party plans its process carefully, I don't think there is any reason Representative Bonamci can't make the transition with relative ease. All of this assumes, of course, that she actually gets the support of the precinct committee and the commissioners.

Bonamici won this House seat in 2006 (when it was also an open seat) by more than 25% against a very well funded Republican opponent. There is absolutely no way that Democrats can lose this seat.

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Wally Edge

Election Night Parties

Our friends at the Oregon League of Conservation Voters have put together this handy list of election night parties for many of the contested primary battles. >