For Immediate Release
Contact: Tim McCann
[email protected]
February 23, 2021
PORTLAND — After the Oregon Secretary of State and the Chief Clerk of the House were informed that Rep. Diego Hernandez intends to resign from the Oregon House of Representatives effective March 15th, the Democratic Party of Oregon (DPO) started work to begin the process of nominating candidates to fill the legislative vacancy in Oregon House District 47.
The Precinct Committee Persons representing the precincts in House District 47 will conduct an election and nominate three, four, or five candidates who fit the legal requirements for serving as a State Representative and are willing to hold the office.
The DPO is proposing a Vote-By-Mail Election to determine the candidates to send forward to the County Commissioners. This timeline would see ballots mailed out to voters on March 3rd, have ballots due to the DPO on March 14th, and have ballots tabulated on March 15th. The DPO would promptly submit the list of nominees to the Multnomah County Commissioners, who would then choose a person from the list to fill the legislative vacancy for the remainder of the current legislative term.
“The Oregon Legislature is just over one month into a critical five-month-long Legislative Session, and is working hard to respond to the many crises facing our state,” said Democratic Party of Oregon Chair Carla “K.C.” Hanson. “It is important that we are ready to promptly fill a legislative vacancy, so that the people of House District 47 are represented in the Oregon House throughout this Session.”
This is the same process that the DPO has used to fill previous legislative vacancies that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic, including for House District 33 and for Senate District 24.
People who wish to be considered for State Representative must file form SEL 145 (available online at the Secretary of State’s Website) with the Democratic Party of Oregon. Prospective candidates must meet the minimum requirements to hold the office. Those include being a registered Democrat for at least 180 days before the effective date of the officeholder’s resignation, living in the House District for at least one year, and not being under the control of the Oregon Department of Corrections.
The deadline to file as a candidate is noon on Tuesday, March 2nd, 2021. Forms may be sent by email ([email protected]), or by fax (503-224-5335). If the form does not reach the Democratic Party of Oregon in time, that person’s candidacy cannot be considered. It is highly recommended that the form be submitted by email as staff are working from home due to the pandemic. The Democratic Party of Oregon will then forward the list of eligible candidates to the Multnomah County Democratic PCPs who are eligible to vote in the HD47 Nominating Election.
To learn more, visit dpo.org/HD47.
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