Newcomer seeks seat vacated by veteran Sen. Betsy Johnson

Published 2:10 pm Wednesday, December 15, 2021

Warren Democrat Melissa Busch will seek to be appointed to the Senate seat vacated Wednesday by Sen. Betsy Johnson, D-Scappoose.

Johnson announced Oct. 13 that she would launch an bid for governor in 2022 – as a candidate without party affiliation. She resigned from the Senate on Wednesday to concentrate on the campaign.

Busch, who previously announced plans to run for the seat, says she wants to be considered for appointment to fill the rest of Johnson’s term, which runs  until early January 2023.

Busch, a home health nurse, said Wednesday that she will seek the appointment.

“As our next state senator, I will lead with care and compassion, and I will stand up for our community, just like I stand up for my patients,” Busch said in a statement.

State Rep. Suzanne Weber, R-Tillamook, has also announced she’ll run for the seat.

Weber is ineligible for appointment, since state law requires that an appointee filling out an unexpired term come from the same political party as the legislator last elected to that office.

Johnson ran as a Democrat and was a member of the Senate Democratic caucus. She cross-filed as a Republican in 2014 and 2018.

Johnson is a registered Democrat, according to voter rolls on the Secretary of State’s website.

Long known as the most conservative member of the Democratic caucus in Salem, Johnson left the Democratic Party this fall to run for governor as an unaffiliated candidate.

Local Democratic leaders in SD 16 will come up with a list of three to five potential appointees, which they will submit to county commissioners. The commissioners will then choose a senator from that list.

The Senate district sprawls across much of rural northwest Oregon, also taking in some suburban parts of Washington and Multnomah counties. Nominally a “battleground” district, in practice, Johnson’s popularity and cross-party appeal has kept it as a safe Democratic seat for years.

Since the district takes in parts of five counties — Clatsop, Columbia, Multnomah, Tillamook and Washington — commissioners from all of those counties will have a say in appointing its next senator. Clatsop and Columbia counties are wholly contained within SD 16.

Johnson has not endorsed anyone for her Senate seat. In a video message announcing her resignation Tuesday, Dec. 14, she seemed to suggest commissioners should appoint a placeholder who won’t run in 2022.

“Looking ahead, I hope the party officials and county commissioners who select my replacement will do the wise thing and choose someone who is dedicated 100% to serving and service, and not to the politics of running for election next year,” she said.

Because of delays in redistricting required by the 2020 U.S. Census, candidates for legislative office cannot officially file to run until Jan. 1, 2022.

For a variety of reasons, there has been a rash of legislative resignations in Oregon this fall. In Senate District 15, Sen. Chuck Riley, D-Hillsboro, is also leaving the Senate this month. Longtime Sen. Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, resigned last month.

Gary A. Warner of the Oregon Capital Bureau contributed to this report.