Suzanne Bonamici

Early life, education, and legal career

Bonamici was born in Detroit. She earned an associate degree from Lane Community College in 1978, and a bachelor's degree in 1980 and J.D. in 1983, both from the University of Oregon. After college, she became a legal assistant at Lane County Legal Aid in Eugene. After law school, she became a consumer protection attorney for the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C. She went into private practice in Portland and represented small businesses.

Oregon legislature

Elections

In 2006, incumbent Democratic State Representative Brad Avakian decided to retire to run for the Oregon Senate. Bonamici ran for the open seat in Oregon's 34th House district and defeated Republican Joan Draper, 62%-36%.

On April 30, 2008, commissioners from Washington and Multnomah Counties appointed Bonamici to represent Oregon's 17th Senate district. The seat became vacant when Avakian was appointed Commissioner of the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries. She was sworn in on May 19, 2008.

Bonamici was unopposed in the November 2008 special election for the balance of Avakian's four-year term, and was elected with 97% of the vote. In 2010, she was reelected with 64% of the vote.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

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

In early 2011, Bonamici was mentioned as a possible successor to Representative David Wu after The Oregonian and Willamette Week reported that Wu exhibited odd behavior and clashed with his staff amid apparent mental illness during the 2010 election cycle. After Wu resigned from Congress, Bonamici announced her candidacy for the special election to replace him, touting endorsements from former Governor Barbara Roberts, former Congresswoman Elizabeth Furse, and incumbent Oregon Attorney General John Kroger, among others.

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

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

;2012 regular election In November 2012, Bonamici was reelected to her first full term with over 60% of the vote.

Tenure

On July 31, 2014, Bonamici introduced the Tsunami Warning, Education, and Research Act of 2014 into the House. The bill would authorize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to spend $27 million a year for three years on their ongoing tsunami warning and research programs.

Bonamici said, "the coastlines of the United States already play an integral role in the economic prosperity of this country and we must strengthen their preparedness and resiliency so they can continue to play that role going forward." She added that the bill "will improve the country's understanding of the threat posed by tsunami events" because it will "improve forecasting and notification systems, support local community outreach and preparedness and response plans, and develop supportive technologies."

In January 2023, Bonamici was one of 13 cosponsors of an amendment to the Constitution of the United States extending the right to vote to citizens sixteen years of age or older.

During the 117th Congress, Bonamici voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 99.1% of the time according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis. She was among the 46 Democrats who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.

Bonamici voted to provide Israel with support following October 7 attacks.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Science, Space and Technology
  • United States House Science Subcommittee on Environment
  • United States House Science Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight
• Committee on Education and the Workforce
  • Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Human Services (Chair)
  • Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training
• Select Committee on the Climate Crisis

Caucuses memberships

• Black Maternal Health Caucus{{cite web|title=Caucus Members
• Congressional STEAM Caucus
• Congressional Equality Caucus
• Congressional Progressive Caucus.
• Congressional Taiwan Caucus
• Congressional Arts Caucus
• Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
• Climate Solutions Caucus
• Medicare for All Caucus
• Congressional Coalition on Adoption
• Congressional Caucus for the Equal Rights Amendment
• Rare Disease Caucus

Electoral history

Oregon Legislature

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| access-date = October 30, 2023 | archive-date = September 10, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230910004214/http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordhtml/6873598 | url-status = live }}}}

| access-date = October 30, 2023 | archive-date = August 31, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230831080329/http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/Recordhtml/6873642 | url-status = live }}}}

United States Congress

***** In the 2012 election, Steve Reynolds was co-nominated by the Libertarian and Pacific Green parties.

Personal life

Bonamici is married to Michael H. Simon, a federal judge. They have two children. Bonamici was raised Episcopalian and Unitarian, and subsequently converted to Judaism. She attends Congregation Beth Israel with her husband (who was born Jewish), and their children.

References

References

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2. "Legislator Information Database". Oklahoma Legislature..
3. (January 31, 2012). "About Suzanne | Suzanne Bonamici for Congress".
4. "OR State House 34 Race - Nov 07, 2006". Our Campaigns.
5. (May 1, 2008). "Bonamici named to replace Avakian in state Senate". Beaverton Valley Times.
6. "OR State Senate 17 - Special Election Race - Nov 04, 2008". Our Campaigns.
7. "OR State Senate 17 Race - Nov 02, 2010". Our Campaigns.
8. (February 19, 2011). "Oregon Democratic leaders say they hope Wu gets help, put off talk of his political future". The Oregonian.
9. "Bonamici announces bid for Wu's seat in Congress". [[Statesman Journal]].
10. "Endorsements". Bonamici for Congress.
11. (November 9, 2011). "Oregon - County Vote Results".
12. "January 31, 2012, Special Election Abstracts of Votes Representative in Congress, 1st District Official Results". Oregon Secretary of State.
13. . (December 22, 2011). ["Physician to sit in state seat"](http://www.oregonlive.com/argus/index.ssf/2011/12/physician_to_sit_in_state_seat.html). *[[The Hillsboro Argus]]*.
14. Mapes, Jeff. (December 21, 2011). "A Washington County commissioner at sea casts decisive vote to fill Oregon Senate seat". The Oregonian.
15. Brown, Kate. "2012 election results". OR STATE SEC OF STATE.
16. (September 9, 2014). "H.R. 5309 - All Actions". United States Congress.
17. (September 8, 2014). "House passes bill to authorize tsunami forecasting programs". The Hill.
18. "Representative Bonamici Introduces Bipartisan Tsunami Warning Bill". Safer Coastlines.
19. "H.J.Res.16 - Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States extending the right to vote to citizens sixteen years of age or older.". Congress.gov.
20. Bycoffe, Aaron. (April 22, 2021). "Does Your Member Of Congress Vote With Or Against Biden?".
21. Gans, Jared. (May 31, 2023). "Republicans and Democrats who bucked party leaders by voting no". [[The Hill (newspaper).
22. Demirjian, Karoun. (October 25, 2023). "House Declares Solidarity With Israel in First Legislation Under New Speaker". The New York Times.
23. Washington, U. S. Capitol Room H154. (October 25, 2023). "Roll Call 528 Roll Call 528, Bill Number: H. Res. 771, 118th Congress, 1st Session".
24. "Congressional STEAM Caucus". Americans for the Arts.
25. "About the CEC". CEC.
26. "Caucus Members". Congressional Progressive Caucus.
27. "Congressional Taiwan Caucus". Congressman Brad Sherman.
28. "Membership". Congressional Arts Caucus.
29. "Members". Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.
30. "90 Current Climate Solutions Caucus Members". Citizen´s Climate Lobby.
31. "Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute".
32. "Membership". Congressional Caucus for the Equal Rights Amendment.
33. "Rare Disease Congressional Caucus". Every Life Foundation for Rare Diseases.
34. "January 31, 2012, Special Election Official Results". Oregon Secretary of State.
35. "Election Statistics, 1920 to Present". United States House of Representatives Office of the Historian.
36. "Official Results of November General".
37. "November 5, 2024, General Election Abstract of Votes".
38. Duin, Steve. (August 6, 2011). "In the wake of David Wu case, accusations fly in Oregon's First District". The Oregonian.
39. (October 16, 2018). "A guide to the Jewish Democratic House candidates in the 2018 midterm elections". Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
40. "Register".
41. "Suzanne Bonamici". The Oregonian.
42. (May 27, 2020). "162nd Annual Meeting".