Brad Avakian
Brad Avakian | |
---|---|
Labor Commissioner of Oregon | |
In office April 8, 2008 – January 7, 2019 | |
Governor | Ted Kulongoski John Kitzhaber Kate Brown |
Preceded by | Dan Gardner |
Succeeded by | Val Hoyle |
Member of theOregon Senate from the 17th district | |
In office January 2, 2007 – April 8, 2008 | |
Preceded by | Charlie Ringo |
Succeeded by | Suzanne Bonamici |
Member of theOregon House of Representatives from the 34th district | |
In office January 2, 2003 – January 2, 2007 | |
Preceded by | Charlie Ringo |
Succeeded by | Suzanne Bonamici |
Personal details | |
Born | Bradley Paul Avakian February 4, 1961 Fresno,California,U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Deborah Avakian |
Education | Oregon State University, Corvallis(BA) Lewis and Clark College(JD) |
Signature | |
Website | Official website |
Brad Peter Avakian(born February 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as a Democrat in the Oregon House, the Oregon Senate, and as the state's nonpartisan electedLabor Commissioner.
He was appointed Labor Commissioner byGovernorTed Kulongoskion April 8, 2008, and was subsequently elected statewide on November 4, 2008.[1]He was re-elected in2012and2014.
In 2016, he was the Democratic nominee forOregon Secretary of Stateand was defeated by former state representativeDennis Richardson.
Early life
[edit]Born inFresno, California,he is the son of Larry and Catherine Avakian. He is ofArmeniandescent. His grandfather was Avak Avakian, who came to America fromMuşin 1898. His grandmother, Sirpoohi Antoyan, came fromBitlisin 1900.[2]
Avakian was raised inWashington County, Oregon.[3]He was educated in Oregon's public schools and graduated with aJuris doctorfromLewis & Clark Law Schoolin 1990.[3]He helped create theYMCA's Juvenile Restitution Program while in law school.[3]
Avakian then worked as acivil rightsattorney.[3]He co-founded the OregonLeague of Conservation Voters' (OLCV) Washington County chapter,[3]and he was appointed by GovernorBarbara Robertsto lead the State Board of Psychologist Examiners.[3]He served as Honorary Chair of the Oregon Business Leadership Network, a coalition of employers committed to hiring the disabled.[3]Avakian lives in thePortland metropolitan areain the city ofBeaverton.
Political career
[edit]Avakian ran for theOregon State Senatein 1998,[4]losing to incumbentRepublicanTom Hartung.[5]
Avakian was elected to represent District 34, onPortland'swest side, in theOregon House of Representativesin 2002.[6]He defeated Portland police officer John Scruggs,[7]the only Republican to lose in Washington County that year,[6]with 53 percent of the vote.[8]
Avakian was elected to theOregon State Senate,representing District 17,in 2006.
While in the legislature, Avakian was honored by both the OregonAFL-CIOand theSEIULocal 503 for his work on behalf of working families.[3]In the state Senate he chaired the Environment and Natural Resources Committee, and in 2007 the OLCV named him the "Consensus Builder of the Year," recognizing him for passing an extension of theOregon Bottle Billand a renewable energy act.[3]In 2008 he led a coalition to approve water supply development for rural communities.[3]
In July 2007, Avakian announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination forOregon Secretary of State.[9]He later withdrew from the race when he was appointed by governorTed Kulongoskito be Commissioner of theOregon Bureau of Labor and Industriesin early 2008 afterDan Gardnerannounced his resignation.[1]Gardner was the first Commissioner of Labor and Industries to leave mid-term for a new job.[1]
In April 2011, Avakian announced that he would seek the Democratic nomination forOregon's 1st congressional districtin theUnited States House of Representatives.[10]The seat was held by fellow DemocratDavid Wu,who resigned from Congress before the end of his term due to allegations of sexual misconduct.[11]Avakian lost in the Democratic primary toSuzanne Bonamici,who succeeded him in both the Oregon House and Senate.
In July 2015, Avakianordered Aaron and Melissa Klein, owners of Sweet Cakes by MelissainGresham,to pay a lesbian couple $135,000 in damages for unlawful discrimination inpublic accommodationsafter the bakery refusing to make a cake for the couple's wedding. The owners cited their Christian beliefs against same-sex marriage.[12][13]The Kleins' appealed in theOregon Court of Appeals,but the ruling was upheld.[14]However, the Supreme Court vacated this ruling and sent it back to the Court of Appeals of Oregon to rule in a manner consistent with the caseMasterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission.[citation needed]
On November 8, 2016,Avakian lost his bid for Oregon Secretary of Stateto Republican Dennis Richardson, the first time a Republican was elected to statewide office in Oregon since 2002.[15]
Avakian announced in July 2017 he would not seek reelection to a third full term.[16]
Electoral history
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Brad Avakian | 17,835 | 96.6 | |
Write-in | 635 | 3.4 | ||
Total votes | 18,470 | 100% |
Oregon State Senate 17th District Democratic Primary Election, 2006[citation needed] | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
Democratic | Brad Avakian | 7,180 | 63.12 |
Democratic | Sam Chase | 4,171 | 36.67 |
Democratic | Write-ins | 24 | 0.21 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Brad Avakian | 31,612 | 67.2 | |
Republican | Piotr Kuklinski | 13,497 | 28.7 | |
Libertarian | Richard Whitehead | 1,445 | 3.1 | |
Constitution | John R. Pivarnik | 371 | 0.8 | |
Write-in | 89 | 0.2 | ||
Total votes | 47,014 | 100% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nonpartisan | Brad Avakian | 690,000 | 67.2 | |
Nonpartisan | Pavel Goberman | 184,919 | 18.0 | |
Nonpartisan | Mark Welyczko | 135,666 | 13.2 | |
Write-in | 16,056 | 1.6 | ||
Total votes | 1,026,641 | 100% |
Oregon 1st Congressional District Special Democratic Primary Election, 2011[citation needed] | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
Democratic | Suzanne Bonamici | 49,721 | 65.18 |
Democratic | Brad Avakian | 16,963 | 22.24 |
Democratic | Brad Witt | 6,003 | 7.87 |
Democratic | Dan Strite | 1,212 | 1.59 |
Democratic | Dominic Hammon | 923 | 1.21 |
Democratic | Todd Lee Ritter | 651 | 0.85 |
Democratic | Write-ins | 469 | 0.61 |
Democratic | Saba Ahmed | 250 | 0.33 |
Democratic | Robert Lettin | 91 | 0.12 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nonpartisan | Brad Avakian | 681,987 | 52.5 | |
Nonpartisan | Bruce Starr | 606,735 | 46.7 | |
Write-in | 9,616 | 0.7 | ||
Total votes | 1,298,338 | 100% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Dennis Richardson | 892,669 | 47.4 | |
Democratic | Brad Avakian | 814,089 | 43.2 | |
Independent | Paul Damian Wells | 64,956 | 3.4 | |
Pacific Green | Alan Zundel | 47,576 | 2.5 | |
Libertarian | Sharon L Durbin | 46,975 | 2.5 | |
Constitution | Michael Marsh | 15,269 | 0.8 | |
Write-in | 2,646 | 0.1 | ||
Total votes | 1,884,180 | 100% |
References
[edit]- ^abc"New labor leader hopes to boost job training in Oregon".Statesman Journal.April 9, 2008.[permanent dead link]
- ^Brad Avakian for OregonArchivedJuly 3, 2008, at theWayback Machine:Meet Brad, from bradavakian. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
- ^abcdefghijAbout Oregon's Labor CommissionerArchivedSeptember 17, 2008, at theWayback Machine:Meet Commissioner Brad Avakian, from oregon.gov. Retrieved 2008-04-09.
- ^Don Hamilton (October 19, 1998). "Avakian, Hartung war chests fuel fierce senate seat race".The Oregonian.
- ^Courtenay Thompson (November 7, 1998). "GOP gains, loses in the legislature".The Oregonian.
- ^abLaura Gunderson and David R. Anderson (November 7, 2002). "Vote trends show stronger division from east to west".The Oregonian.
- ^Richard Colby (November 6, 2002). "Washington County legislative races tight".The Oregonian.
- ^"How Oregon voted: ballots counted -- 95%".The Oregonian.November 7, 2002.
- ^Avakian jumps into secretary of state raceArchived2008-03-31 at theWayback Machine,The Oregonian. July 31, 2007
- ^Mapes, Jeff (April 18, 2011)."Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian will run in Democratic primary against Rep. David Wu".The Oregonian.Archivedfrom the original on April 21, 2011.RetrievedApril 18,2011.
- ^"Rep. David Wu announces he will resign after accusations of sexual misconduct".The Oregonian.July 26, 2011.Archivedfrom the original on December 16, 2018.RetrievedJuly 26,2011.
- ^Rede, George (July 2, 2015)."Sweet Cakes: State orders Oregon bakery owners to pay $135,000 for denying service to same-sex couple".The Oregonian.Archivedfrom the original on June 22, 2018.RetrievedOctober 31,2023.
- ^Casey Parks (August 24, 2016)."Oregon lawyers: Sweet Cakes by Melissa $135,000 damage award was justified".The Oregonian.Archivedfrom the original on June 23, 2018.RetrievedOctober 31,2023.
- ^Friedman, Gordon R. (December 28, 2017)."Appeals Court Upholds Fine Against Christian Bakers Who Refused to Make Same-Sex Wedding Cake".OregonLive.Archivedfrom the original on December 28, 2017.RetrievedDecember 29,2017.
- ^Mike Rogoway,Dennis Richardson tops Brad Avakian for Oregon secretary of state, breaking Democrats' hold on statewide officeArchived2018-12-19 at theWayback Machine,The Oregonian/OregonLive (November 8, 2016).
- ^Friedman, Gordon R. (July 11, 2017)."Brad Avakian, Oregon labor bureau chief, will not seek re-election".The Oregonian.Archivedfrom the original on January 13, 2018.RetrievedJanuary 12,2018.
- ^"Official Results | November 2, 2004".Oregon Secretary of State.Archivedfrom the original on September 10, 2023.RetrievedOctober 30,2023.
- ^"Official Results | November 7, 2006".Oregon Secretary of State.Archivedfrom the original on September 10, 2023.RetrievedOctober 30,2023.
- ^"Official Results | November 4, 2008".Oregon Secretary of State.Archivedfrom the original on September 10, 2023.RetrievedOctober 30,2023.
- ^"Official Results | November 6, 2012".Oregon Secretary of State.Archivedfrom the original on April 6, 2023.RetrievedOctober 30,2023.
- ^"November 8, 2016, General Election Abstract of Votes".Oregon Secretary of State.Archivedfrom the original on January 19, 2023.RetrievedOctober 30,2023.
External links
[edit]- 1961 births
- 21st-century American politicians
- American people of Armenian descent
- Lewis & Clark Law School alumni
- Living people
- Democratic Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives
- Oregon Commissioners of Labor and Industries
- Oregon lawyers
- Democratic Party Oregon state senators
- Oregon State University alumni
- Politicians from Beaverton, Oregon
- Ethnic Armenian politicians