Suzanne Marie Bonamici ( ; born October 14, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for

Oregon's 1st congressional district Oregon's 1st congressional district is a congressional district located in the U.S state of Oregon. The district stretches from Portland's western suburbs and exurbs, to parts of the Oregon coast. The district includes the principal cities of ...

, a seat she was first elected to in a 2012 special election. The district includes most of

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

west of the

Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward b ...

, as well as all of Yamhill, Columbia,

Clatsop The Clatsop is a small tribe of Chinookan-speaking Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. In the early 19th century they inhabited an area of the northwestern coast of present-day Oregon from the mouth of the Columbia R ...

, and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

counties. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, Bonamici represented the 17th district in the

Oregon State Senate The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 30 members of the state Sena ...

from 2008 to 2011. She was first elected to the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 65,000. The House meets in the west wing of the ...

in 2006.

Early life, education, and legal career

Bonamici was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

and raised in a small Michigan town. She earned an

associate degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...

from Lane Community College in 1978, and a bachelor's degree in 1980 and J.D. in 1983, both from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

. After college, she became a legal assistant at Lane County

Legal Aid Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to co ...

in Eugene. After law school, she became a consumer protection attorney for the

Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ov ...

in the nation's capital. She went into private practice in

and represented small businesses.

Oregon legislature

Elections

In 2006, incumbent Democratic State Representative

Brad Avakian Brad Peter Avakian (born February 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as a Democrat in the Oregon House, the Oregon Senate, and as the state's nonpartisan elected Labor Commissioner. He was appointed Labor Commissioner by Governor Ted ...

decided to retire to run for the

Oregon Senate The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 30 members of the state Sena ...

. 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

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 The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) is an agency in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is headed by the Commissioner of Labor and Industries, a nonpartisan, statewide elective office. The term of ...

. 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 Suzanne Bonamici, official portrait, 112th Congress

In early 2011, Bonamici was mentioned as a possible successor to Representative

David Wu David Wu (born April 8, 1955) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1999 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. As a child of immigrants from Taiwan, Wu was the first Taiwanese American to serve ...

after ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...

'' and ''

Willamette Week ''Willamette Week'' (''WW'') is an alternative weekly newspaper and a website published in Portland, Oregon, United States, since 1974. It features reports on local news, politics, sports, business, and culture. History Early history ''Willame ...

'' 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 A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...

to replace him, touting endorsements from former Governor

Barbara Roberts Barbara Kay Roberts (née Hughey; born December 21, 1936) is an American politician from the state of Oregon. A native of the state, she served as the 34th Governor of Oregon from 1991 to 1995. She was the first woman to serve as Oregon governo ...

, former Congresswoman Elizabeth Furse, and incumbent Oregon Attorney General

John Kroger John Richard Kroger (born 1966) is an American lawyer who served as the president of Reed College. He served as Attorney General for the U.S. state of Oregon from 2009 to 2012. Prior to being elected in 2008, he had earlier served in the Marine ...

, among others. On November 8, 2011, Bonamici won the

Democratic Party of Oregon The Democratic Party of Oregon is the Oregon affiliate of the Democratic Party. The State Central Committee, made up of two delegates elected from each of Oregon's 36 counties and one additional delegate for every 15,000 registered Democrats, is ...

'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

. She defeated

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

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 Elizabeth Steiner (born April 5, 1963) is a Democratic member of the Oregon Senate, representing the 17th District. Steiner was appointed to the Senate in 2011 by commissioners from Multnomah and Washington counties following the resignation o ...

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

Legislation

On July 31, 2014, Bonamici introduced the Tsunami Warning, Education, and Research Act of 2014 (H.R. 5309; 113th Congress) into the House. The bill would authorize the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

(NOAA) to spend $27 million a year for three years on their ongoing

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...

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."

Committee assignments

Committee on Science, Space and Technology The Committee on Science, Space, and Technology is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. It has jurisdiction over non-defense federal scientific research and development. More specifically, the committee has complete jurisdic ...

United States House Science Subcommittee on Environment The Science Subcommittee on Environment is one of five subcommittees of the United States House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. History Chairs of the subcommittee: * Andy Harris (R), Maryland, 2013 * Chris Stewart (R), Utah, 2013-2 ...

United States House Science Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight The Science Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight is one of five subcommittees of the United States House Committee on Science and Technology. This subcommittee is responsible for general and special investigative and oversight authority on a ...

Committee on Education and the Workforce The Committee on Education and Labor is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. There are 50 members in this committee. Since 2019, the chair of the Education and Labor committee is Robert Cortez Scott of Virginia. Hi ...

** Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Human Services (Chair) ** Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training * Select Committee on the Climate Crisis

Caucuses memberships

Congressional STEAM Caucus
*

Congressional Progressive Caucus The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is a congressional caucus affiliated with the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the United States Congress. The CPC represents the most Left-wing politics, left-leaning faction of the ...

. *

Congressional Arts Caucus The Congressional Arts Caucus is a registered Congressional Member Organization for the US House of Representatives in the 115th Congress. History The Congressional Arts Caucus was created in the 1980s as a way for the various members of Congres ...

Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) is a caucus consisting of members of the United States Congress who are Asian American and Pacific Islander ( AAPI), and who have a strong interest in advocating and promoting issues and ...

Climate Solutions Caucus The Climate Solutions Caucus is a bipartisan caucus of U.S. legislators supported by the Citizens' Climate Lobby whose members work to achieve action addressing the risks from climate change. The House of Representatives and Senate each have a ...

* Medicare for All Caucus

Electoral history

* 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

External links

Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici
official U.S. House website
Suzanne Bonamici for Congress
* * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bonamici, Suzanne 1954 births 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians American women lawyers Converts to Judaism from Christianity Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Oregon Female members of the United States House of Representatives Former Anglicans Jewish members of the United States House of Representatives Jewish women politicians Lane Community College alumni Living people Democratic Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives Oregon lawyers Democratic Party Oregon state senators Politicians from Beaverton, Oregon Politicians from Detroit Simon family University of Oregon alumni University of Oregon School of Law alumni Women state legislators in Oregon

Early life, education, and legal career

Oregon legislature

Elections

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

Legislation

Committee assignments

Caucuses memberships

Electoral history

Personal life

See also

References

External links