Suzanne Bonamici

Suzanne Marie Bonamici  (born October 14, 1954) is an American 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, as well as all of Yamhill, Columbia, Clatsop, and Washington counties.

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

Early life, education, and law career
Bonamici was born in Detroit and raised in a small Michigan town. She earned her bachelor's degree and J.D. from the University of Oregon, and was a legal assistant at Lane County Legal Aid in Eugene.  Following law school, she became a consumer protection attorney for the Federal Trade Commission in the nation's capital. 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. She ran for the open seat in Oregon's 34th House District and defeated Republican Joan Draper 62%-36%.

On April 30, 2008, Bonamici was appointed by Commissioners from both Washington and Multnomah counties 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 percent of the vote. In 2010, she won re-election with 64% of the vote.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections
Special election

In early 2011, Bonamici's name was floated as a possible successor to then-Congressman David Wu after The Oregonian and Willamette Week reported Wu exhibited odd behavior and clashed with his staff in the midst of apparent mental illness during the 2010 election cycle. Following Wu's resignation 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, winning an outright majority of the vote in every county in the district and capturing 66% of the vote overall, with a 44-point margin over second-place finisher Brad Avakian. She faced Republican nominee Rob Cornilles in the special election on January 31, 2012, winning by a 14-point margin.

Prior to 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 won re-election 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 (NOAA) to spend $27 million a year for three years on their on-going 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 this 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
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
Congressional STEAM Caucus
Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Congressional Arts Caucus
Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
Climate Solutions Caucus

Electoral history

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

Personal life
She is married to Michael H. Simon, a federal judge. They have two children, Andrew and Sara. Bonamici was raised Episcopalian and Unitarian, and now attends synagogue with her husband, who is Jewish, and their children.

See also
 Women in the United States House of Representatives

References

External links

 Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici official U.S. House site
 Suzanne Bonamici for Congress
 
 

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Category:1954 births
Category:21st-century American politicians
Category:21st-century American women politicians
Category:American women lawyers
Category:Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives
Category:Jewish members of the United States House of Representatives
Category:Jewish women politicians
Category:Lane Community College alumni
Category:Living people
Category:Members of the Oregon House of Representatives
Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from Oregon
Category:Oregon Democrats
Category:Oregon lawyers
Category:Oregon state senators
Category:Politicians from Beaverton, Oregon
Category:Politicians from Detroit
Category:Simon family
Category:University of Oregon School of Law alumni
Category:Women in Oregon politics
Category:Women state legislators in Oregon
Category:University of Oregon alumni