Mari Watanabe | |
---|---|
Member of the OregonHouseofRepresentatives from the 34th district | |
Assumed office January 16, 2025 | |
Preceded by | Lisa Reynolds |
Personal details | |
Born | 1958 or 1959 (66 years old) |
Political party | Democratic |
Residence | Bethany,Oregon |
Mari Watanabe is an American Democratic politician currently serving in the Oregon House of Representatives. She represents the 34th district,which contains portions of Multnomah and Washington counties and includes the communities of Bethany,Bonny Slope,Cedar Mill,Oak Hills,Rockcreek,and Tanasbourne as well as parts of northern Beaverton and northwestern Portland.
Watanabe was selected by Multnomah and Washington County Commissioners at a joint meeting on January 16,2025 to fill the vacant seat,beating out candidates Sarah Beachy and Alexandria Goddard. [1] The vacancy was created by Lisa Reynolds's move to the Oregon Senate to fill the vacancy created by Elizabeth Steiner's election as Oregon State Treasurer. [2]
She is the first Japanese American to ever serve in either branch of the Oregon Legislature. [3]
Watanabe was the first executive director of the Japanese Museum of Oregon. She has also worked for the Portland Business Alliance and Partners in Diversity and has served on the boards of directors for Portland Community College and the Oregon Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs. [2] She has lived in the Bethany area for nearly two decades. [3]
Washington County is one of 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon and part of the Portland metropolitan area. The 2020 census recorded the population as 600,372,making it the second most populous county in the state and the most populous "Washington County" in the United States. Hillsboro is the county seat and largest city,while other major cities include Beaverton,Tigard,Cornelius,Banks,Gaston,Sherwood,North Plains,and Forest Grove,the county's oldest city. Originally named Twality when created in 1843,the Oregon Territorial Legislature renamed it for the nation's first president in 1849 and included the entire northwest corner of Oregon before new counties were created in 1854. The Tualatin River and its drainage basin lie almost entirely within the county,which shares its boundaries with the Tualatin Valley. It is bordered on the west and north by the Northern Oregon Coast Range,on the south by the Chehalem Mountains,and on the north and east by the Tualatin Mountains,or West Hills.
Multnomah County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census,the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland–Vancouver–Hillsboro,OR–WA metropolitan statistical area. The state's smallest and most populous county,its county seat,Portland,is the state's most populous city.
Hall Stoner Lusk was an American jurist in the state of Oregon. A native of the District of Columbia,he became a judge in Oregon,serving in both the Oregon circuit courts and later on the Oregon Supreme Court,including time as its chief justice. A Democrat,he was appointed to the United States Senate for eight months in 1960 after the death of sitting Senator Richard L. Neuberger.
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 Beaverton,Hillsboro,and Tigard,all located in the Portland metropolitan area. Geographically,the district is located in the northwest corner of Oregon. It includes all of Clatsop,Columbia and Tillamook Counties,most of Washington County excluding the extreme southeast,and a portion of southwest Multnomah County in Portland.
Dan Saltzman is a politician in the U.S. state of Oregon who served as a commissioner on the City Council of Portland in Portland,Oregon,from 1999 through the end of 2018. He was the second longest serving commissioner in Portland history,after William A. Bowes.
Charles Randall ‘Randy’Leonard is a politician in the U.S. state of Oregon. He was a member of the Oregon Legislative Assembly from 1993 to 2002 and served as a city commissioner in Portland from 2002 through 2012.
Nancy Ann Ryles was an Oregon politician. She served in the Oregon House of Representatives,the Oregon Senate and as one of three members of the state's Public Utility Commission. She was known as an advocate for education and for equality for women and minorities. An elementary school in Beaverton is named after her.
The 76th Oregon Legislative Assembly convened beginning on January 11,2011,for the first of its two regular sessions. All 60 seats of the House of Representatives and 16 of the 30 state senate seats were up for election in 2010. The general election for those seats took place on November 2. The Democrats retained the majority in the senate,but lost six seats in the house,leading to an even split (30-30) between Democrats and Republicans. The governor of Oregon during the session was John Kitzhaber,a Democrat,who was elected to a third term in 2010 following an eight-year absence from public office.
Barbara Smith Warner is an American Democratic politician from the U.S. state of Oregon. She served as a member of the Oregon House of Representatives for the 45th district from 2014 to 2022.
Tualatin Valley Fire &Rescue (TVF&R) is a special-purpose government fire fighting and emergency services district in the Portland metropolitan area of Oregon. Established in 1989 with a merger between Washington County Fire District 1 and the Tualatin Rural Fire Protection District,it primarily provides fire and emergency medical services in eastern Washington County,but also provides services in neighboring Multnomah,Clackamas,and Yamhill counties. It serves unincorporated areas along with the cities of Beaverton,Tigard,Tualatin,West Linn,Wilsonville,and Sherwood,among others. With over 450 firefighters and 28 fire stations,the district is the second largest fire department in the state and has an annual budget of $197 million.
Sheri Schouten,formerly Sheri Malstrom,is an American Democratic politician and former nurse who served in the Oregon House of Representatives. She represented District 27,which covers parts of Washington County and Multnomah County,including central and southern Beaverton,Garden Home–Whitford,Raleigh Hills,and a small part of western Portland.
District 17 of the Oregon State Senate comprises parts of Multnomah and Washington counties encompassing much of northwest Portland and suburbs of Beaverton. It is composed of Oregon House districts 33 and 34. It is currently represented by Democrat Lisa Reynolds of Portland,who was appointed in 2024 following Elizabeth Steiner's resignation after being elected treasurer.
Robert Arnold Wagner is an American Democratic politician currently serving as President of the Oregon State Senate. He represents the 19th district,which includes the cities of Durham,Lake Oswego,Rivergrove,Tualatin,West Linn,parts of southwest Portland and Tigard,as well as unincorporated parts of southwestern Clackamas County,eastern Washington County,and southern Multnomah County.
District 34 of the Oregon House of Representatives is one of 60 House legislative districts in the state of Oregon. As of 2021,the boundary for the district contains portions of Multnomah and Washington counties. The district includes Bethany,Bonny Slope,Cedar Mill,Oak Hills,Rockcreek,and Tanasbourne as well as northern Beaverton and a small part of northwestern Portland. The current representative for the district is Democrat Mari Watanabe of Bethany.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Oregon on November 3,2020. Primary elections were held on May 19,2020.
Maxine Elizabeth Dexter is an American physician and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Oregon's 3rd congressional district since 2025. A member of the Democratic Party,she previously represented the 33rd district of the Oregon House of Representatives from 2020 to 2024,which covers parts of Northwest Portland,as well as Cedar Mill,Oak Hills,and most of Bethany.
Lisa Reynolds is an American physician and politician. Lisa co-founded political organization Indivisible Oregon. She serves as a member of the Oregon Senate from the 17th district. She previously served as a member of the Oregon House of Representatives from the 34th district,which includes Bethany,Bonny Slope,Cedar Mill,Oak Hills,Rockcreek,and Tanasbourne as well as northern Beaverton and a small part of northwestern Portland and northeastern Hillsboro. In November 2024 she was appointed to succeed state senator Elizabeth Steiner.
The 82nd Oregon Legislative Assembly is the current session of the Oregon Legislature. It began January 9,2023.
The 66th Oregon Legislative Assembly was the legislative session of the Oregon Legislative Assembly that convened on January 14,1991,and adjourned June 30,1991. It was held at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem. Democratic members held majorities over the Republican members in both the Senate (20–10) and the House of Representatives (27–33). It was the first time since the 61st Assembly,as well as the most recent legislature as of 2025,in which either party held a two-thirds supermajority in the State Senate.
The 83rd Oregon Legislative Assembly is the upcoming session of the Oregon Legislature. It will begin on January 21,2025. Democrats netted one seat in both the House and the Senate to win a three-fifths supermajority in both chambers,which is required to pass new taxes or update existing taxes. However,they fell short of the two-thirds majority required to unilaterally meet quorum in both houses,needing 2 more seats in the Senate and 4 more seats in the House.