Suzanne Bonamici

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, a seat she was first elected to in a 2012 special election. The district includes most of Portland west of the Willamette River, along with most of Portland's western suburbs such as Beaverton, Hillsboro, Tigard, and Lake Oswego.

A Democrat, Bonamici represented the 17th district in the Oregon State Senate from 2008 to 2011. She was first elected to the Oregon House of Representatives in 2006.

Early life 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

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."

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 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 Congressional Freethought Caucus

Electoral history

Oregon Legislature

United States Congress

+ : Results 2012–2024 Year Democratic Votes Pct Republican Votes Pct 3rd Party Party Votes Pct 3rd Party Party Votes Pct 3rd Party Party Votes Pct 2012 (Special) Suzanne Bonamici 113,404 53.8% Rob Cornilles 83,396 39.6% Steve Reynolds Progressive 6,798 3.2% James Foster Libertarian 6,618 3.1% Write-ins 547 0.3% 2012 197,845 59.6% Delinda Morgan 109,699 33.0% 15,009 4.5% * Bob Ekstrom Constitution 8,918 2.7% 509 0.2% 2014 160,038 57.3% Jason Yates 96,245 34.5% James Foster Libertarian 11,213 4.0% Steve Reynolds Pacific Green 11,163 4.0% 597 0.2% 2016 225,391 59.6% Brian Heinrich 139,756 37.0% Kyle Sheahan 12,257 3.2%Write-ins 691 0.2% 2018 231,198 63.6% John Verbeek 116,446 32.1% Drew Layda 15,121 4.2% 484 0.1% 2020 297,071 64.6% Christopher Christensen 161,928 35.2%Write-ins 900 0.2% 2022 210,682 67.9% Christopher Mann 99,042 31.9%Write-ins 519 0.2% 2024 241,556 68.6% Bob Todd 98,908 28.1% Joe Christman Libertarian 10,840 3.1%Write-ins 687 0.2% 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.