Reedies head back to Washington, the Oregon Supreme Court, and local boards.
By Amanda Waldroupe ’07
December 13, 2024
With 63% of the vote, Suzan DelBene ’83 handily won a seventh term representing northwestern Washington, including parts of King, Snohomish, and Whatcom counties northeast of Seattle.
In a statement quoted in the , she voiced determination to advance causes championed by progressives.
“I’m incredibly honored to have earned the privilege to represent the people of Washington’s First Congressional District for another term,” she wrote. “We also have an important opportunity next year to protect reproductive freedom, fight for a fairer tax code, make the expanded Child Tax Credit permanent, and build an economy where families and workers don’t just get by, but can get ahead.”
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez ’12 won re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Vancouver and southwestern Washington. She received almost 52% of votes in a matchup against her Republican challenger from two years ago, a far-right extremist.
Gluesenkamp Perez has made a reputation for herself as a moderate, “blue dog” Democrat who has criticized her party for being out of touch with working-class voters in rural districts like the one she represents. On November 8, she made frontpage headlines in the for calling on fellow Democrats to “look in the mirror” in the wake of the presidential election.
“It’s a lot easier to look outward, to blame and demonize other people, instead of looking in the mirror and seeing what we can do,” she said. “It requires a mental flexibility that’s painful.”
Other Reedies did not fare so favorably. Mingus Mapps ‘90, a Portland City Council, lost his bid to become Portland’s next mayor, landing in fourth place in the city’s new ranked choice voting system.
(Alexander Landry Neely ’05 was also on the ballot for mayor, but did not raise campaign funds, receive any endorsements, or have a campaign website).
Two uncontested races saw blowout victories.
At the local level, Laura Masterson ’91 won 98.13% of votes to serve on the board of the East Multnomah County Soil and Water Conservation District, an environmental conservation organization. The founder of the 47th Avenue Farm, Masterson is well-known throughout Oregon as an expert in sustainable farming and agriculture. She has served on the board since 2004.
In Oregon, judges are elected in non-partisan races. Bronson James ’94, a justice on Oregon’s Supreme Court, received a whopping 98.01% of votes in his first election bid. He was appointed to Oregon’s highest court by Oregon’s government in 2022.