3 Oregon senators ineligible for re-election amid lawmaker walkout
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Three Oregon state senators are ineligible for a re-election run after accumulating 10 unexcused absences amid a walkout by Republican and Independent lawmakers at the state Capitol, the Oregon Senate Majority Office announced Monday.
The lawmakers include Senators Daniel Bonham (R-The Dalles), Senator Brian Boquist (I- Polk & Yamhill counties) and Senator Dennis Linthicum (R-Klamath Falls).
The ineligibility comes after voters approved Measure 113 in November, which amended the state constitution to disqualify lawmakers with 10 floor session unexcused absences from holding the next term of office.
In a statement, Senate Majority Leader Kate Lieber (D- Beaverton and SW Portland) said, “the voters were clear: Walking out on our democracy is not an option. I am deeply saddened for my colleagues. After extensive good faith negotiations, Republican leadership failed to protect three of their members and the communities who elected them.”
Oregon Senate President Rob Wagner, May 15, 2023 (KOIN)
The majority leader added, “we allowed these Senators the time and space to consider the consequences of their walkout because Oregonians in the Dalles, Klamath Falls, Polk and Yamhill counties depend on these Senators to have a voice in Salem. These Senators should be here doing their jobs and standing up for their constituents instead of violating the Constitution.”
Lieber furthered, “Democrats are here. We are doing our jobs, and we are confident that we can still deliver on the people’s priorities. We welcome our Republican colleagues to join us.”
Oregon Senate President Rob Wagner (D-District 19) said he canceled work sessions over the weekend to negotiate a deal with the senators refusing to show up to work. The walkouts are preventing a quorum, which is needed for a Senate vote.
GOP sets up PAC
KOIN 6 News learned Republican and Democratic senate leader met twice virtually on Saturday to try and work out their differences. But those private discussions have not gone well.
Oregon Republican State Senator Tim Knopp, January 24, 2023 (KOIN)
In a statement, Oregon Senate Republican Leader Tim Knopp (R-Bend) said this is just the beginning of the GOP’s fight. He said all senate Republicans protested Monday’s floor session in solidarity with the three members who reached 10 unexcused absences.
“I conveyed in discussions over the weekend that Senate Republicans will end their protest to pass substantially bipartisan budgets and bills that are lawful and constitutional and that will benefit all Oregonians,” Knopp said. “Democrats are instead using their slim majority to justify moving forward with an extreme, unlawful, and unconstitutional agenda. Democrat leadership offered no solutions to rectify the constitutional and legal dilemma we raised and are instead aiding and abetting a culture of corruption.”
Oregon Senate Republicans have set up a political action committee, Oregon’s 13 Constitutional Defense Fund — named for the 12 Republicans and one independent (former Republican) engaged in the walkouts. The PAC is designed to help in a legal challenge they expect to file against Measure 113.
In a statement, Senate President Rob Wagner (D- Lake Oswego) said, “I am extremely disappointed that the Senate was not able to reach a quorum today, despite a good faith effort from myself and Senate Majority Leader Kate Lieber to speak with the Senate Republican Leader about what we could do together to help Oregonians this session. Three senators have now unnecessarily disqualified themselves from a subsequent term in the Legislature. I hope my Republican colleagues will remember their constitutional duty to come to work so we can resume doing the job the people of Oregon sent us here to accomplish.”
The walkout began on May 3 after Republicans claimed bills introduced by Democrats were “unreadable” and called for Democratic Senate President Rob Wagner to be removed from his leadership position.
“Laws are to be plainly written and easy to understand,” Senate Republicans said in a May 3 press release. “When the majority of bill summaries written demand a post-graduate degree to understand what the bills do, we disenfranchise Oregonians across the state and violate the law in the process. It’s apparent that there are those in state government who think they can skirt around the rules to facilitate their extreme agenda by any means necessary.”
The walkouts, which threaten bills on abortion, gun control and care for transgender people, also sparked protests by about 100 people, including members of Moms Demand Action, a gun-safety group, on Thursday on the steps of the Oregon State Capitol in Salem.
Source: KOIN.com
