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LaVonne Griffin-Valade
LaVonne Griffin-Valade (Democratic Party) was the Oregon Secretary of State. She assumed office on June 30, 2023. She left office on January 6, 2025.
Gov. Tina Kotek (D) appointed Griffin-Valade to replace former Secretary of State Shemia Fagan (D).[1]
Biography
LaVonne Griffin-Valade earned a bachelor's degree in humanities from Western Oregon University and master's degrees in public administration and fine arts from Portland State University. Griffin-Valade's career experience includes working as an author, a senior management auditor with the Multnomah County Auditor’s Office, the Multnomah County Auditor, and the Portland City Auditor.[1]
Elections
2024
- See also: Oregon Secretary of State election, 2024
LaVonne Griffin-Valade did not file to run for re-election.
Noteworthy events
State legislative walkout (2023)
- See also: Noteworthy state legislative walkouts
On February 1, 2024, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled to uphold the decision of the Oregon Secretary of State to disqualify the 10 members of the Oregon State Senate from seeking re-election.[2]
On August 8, 2023, Oregon Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade (D) announced that ten legislators who participated in the walkout would be barred from re-election in 2024 under Oregon Measure 113.[3]
In a statement, Senate Minority Leader Tim Knopp (R) said "We believe the plain language of Measure 113 allows for members to run again in 2024 elections. We disagree with the Secretary of State’s determination and will challenge it in court.”[3]
On May 15, 2023, Senators Daniel Bonham (R), Dennis Linthicum (R), and Brian Boquist (I) became ineligible for re-election under Measure 113 when they accrued their 10th unexcused absence following a Republican walkout of the State Senate.[4] Oregon voters passed Measure 113 in 2022.
The walkout began on May 3, 2023, when all but two members of the Oregon Republican Senate caucus were absent from the legislative session preventing a quorum. As of June 1, the following 10 members of the Oregon State Senate involved with the walkout met the 10 unexcused absence threshold and are barred under Measure 113 from re-election:
- Daniel Bonham (R)
- Dennis Linthicum (R)
- Brian Boquist (I)
- Cedric Hayden (R)
- Senate Minority Leader Tim Knopp (R)
- Art Robinson (R)
- Kim Thatcher (R)
- Suzanne Weber (R)
- Lynn Findley (R)
- Bill Hansell (R)
See also
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Oregon.gov, "Governor Tina Kotek Appoints LaVonne Griffin-Valade as Oregon Secretary of State," accessed June 30, 2023 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "bio" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ AP News, "Oregon high court says 10 GOP state senators who staged long walkout can’t run for reelection," February 1, 2024
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Oregon Public Broadcasting, "Oregon secretary of state: Senators who walked out can’t run next year," accessed August 10, 2023
- ↑ NPR, "Oregon Republicans' walkouts trigger a new state law on reelection," May 15, 2023
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Shemia Fagan (D) |
Oregon Secretary of State 2023-2025 |
Succeeded by Tobias Read (D) |
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