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Betsy Johnson Files for
Senate Seat
State Senator Betsy Johnson (D-Scappoose) has filed as a candidate to
retain her current Senate seat representing the citizens of Senate District
16 which includes all of Columbia, Clatsop, and Tillamook Counties, the
western part of Washington County and Sauvie Island in Multnomah County.
Senator Johnson was first elected to the Oregon House of Representatives in
2000 and was re-elected in 2002 and again in 2004. When Senator Joan Dukes
resigned her Senate seat to accept an appointment to the Pacific Northwest
Electric Power and Conservation Planning Council, Johnson was unanimously
elected by the Boards of County Commissioners of the affected counties to
complete the balance of Sen. Dukes’ term following a procedure prescribed by
state law to fill legislative vacancies.
“Having served two full terms in the House of Representatives, I had
developed an excellent understanding of the legislative process and felt
comfortable moving over to the Senate. My concern was how to best establish
effective channels of communication within the significantly larger Senate
district. I am very grateful for being so warmly welcomed throughout the
District and have enjoyed meeting many new constituents and learning more
about the issues and concerns unique to the North Coast,” Johnson said.
“From the very first day of my first legislative session I have been
committed to creating an atmosphere conducive to discussing all points of
view to address real problems confronting real Oregonians. I look forward to
continuing that commitment on behalf of the citizens of Senate District 16,”
she said.
Senator Johnson and her husband John Helm have owned and operated
Transwestern Aviation at the Scappoose airport since 1979. She is a graduate
of the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark College in Portland and
has served on numerous boards and commissions including Doernbecher
Children’s Hospital, the Federal Reserve Board (San Francisco), and the
Oregon Health Sciences University Foundation. During each of her three
Legislative Sessions Senator Johnson has been a member of the Joint
Committee on Ways & Means.
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