Rep. Suzanne Bonamici

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D Oregon, 1st (2012-) In Office

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Biographical

Full Name: Suzanne Marie Bonamici
Gender: Female
Pronunciation: soo-ZAN bah-nah-MEE-chee
Date of Birth: Oct. 14, 1954 (age: 69)
Place of Birth: Detroit, Mich.
Religion: Jewish
Hometown: Northville, Mich.
Place of Residence: Portland, Ore.
Occupation: Attorney

Wikipedia

Family:

Married: Michael Howard Simon

2 children: Andrew, Sara

Biography:

Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici was sworn in as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives on February 7, 2012. She represents the First Congressional District of Oregon, which comprises the Northwest portion of the state.

Suzanne Bonamici grew up in a small town in Michigan. Her father worked for a local bank and her mother was a small business owner and piano teacher. Many of her strongest childhood memories are of family camping trips with her two brothers.

After graduating from high school, Suzanne moved to Oregon with friends and fell in love with the state. She put herself through college, first at Lane Community College and then at the University of Oregon, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. Following college, she went on to law school at the University of Oregon and earned her J.D. degree.

Suzanne has dedicated her entire career to working for accountability, fairness, and the creation of opportunities for middle class families. During college, Suzanne worked as a legal assistant at Lane County Legal Aid in Eugene. It was there that she discovered her interest in and passion for consumer rights.

After graduating, she worked as a consumer protection attorney for the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C. She was assigned to the Credit Practices Division, where she worked to protect consumers from predatory or discriminatory lending practices. Suzanne met her husband Michael in Washington, D.C., and in 1986, they moved to Washington County. In Oregon, she entered private law practice, where she specialized in representing small businesses.

After several years of practicing law, Suzanne took a career break to raise her children. She became active in the community, volunteering for education, arts, and civic organizations like the Classroom Law Project, Beaverton Education Foundation, and several theaters. Her school advocacy work is what first took her to the Oregon State Capitol, attending rallies in support of education and leading her to a decision to serve in public office.

Suzanne started as a legislative assistant in the Oregon House of Representatives in 2001. In 2006, the voters of Washington County’s House District 34 elected her to represent them in Salem.

After only one term in the Oregon House, her leadership and hard work were recognized and led to her appointment, and then election, to the Oregon Senate in 2008. She was reelected to the Senate in 2010.

In the Oregon Legislature, Suzanne was Chair of the Consumer Protection & Public Affairs Committee and a member of the Education & Workforce Development Committee. She is recognized as the leading voice for mortgage reform, passing legislation that ensures homeowners facing foreclosure receive timely information about how to request a loan modification and provides them recourse if there is a violation.

In January 2012, Suzanne won the special election to represent Oregon's First Congressional District. She was elected to her first full term in November 2012 and was reelected in November 2014. Oregon's First Congressional District includes Washington, Yamhill, Clatsop, and Columbia counties as well as part of Multnomah County.

Suzanne and her husband Michael have two grown children. See more >>

Miscellaneous Links:

Ballotpedia

C-SPAN

GovTrack

Campaign Links:

Website, campaign

Email, campaign: info@bonamiciforcongress.com

Instagram, campaign

Facebook, campaign

Open Secrets political finance profile

YouTube, campaign

Social Networking:

Facebook, official

X (Twitter), official

YouTube, official

Instagram, official

Flickr, official

Official Links:

Website, official

Press Releases

Education

University of Oregon School of Law - JD (1983)
University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication - BA, journalism (1980)
Lane Community College (Eugene, Ore.) - AA (1978)

Office History

Congressional Offices:

U.S. House of Representatives (Jan. 31, 2012-) In Office

Member, 1st Congressional District of Oregon

State Legislature Offices:

Oregon Senate (2008-2011)

D Senator, District 17
Oregon House of Representatives (2007-2008)

D Representative, District 34

Election Results

2021 (Nov. 3, 2020 election)

1st Congressional District of Oregon

Suzanne Marie Bonamici, 64.59%
Democrat

Christopher Christensen, 35.21%
Republican
2019 (Nov. 6, 2018 election)

1st Congressional District of Oregon

Suzanne Marie Bonamici, 64.00%
Democrat

John Verbeek, 32.00%
Republican

Drew Layda, 4.00%
Green
2017 (Nov. 8, 2016 election)

1st Congressional District of Oregon

Suzanne Marie Bonamici, 59.61%
Democrat, Independence Party

Brian J. Heinrich, 36.96%
Republican

Kyle Sheahan, 3.24%
Libertarian
2015 (Nov. 4, 2014 election)

1st Congressional District of Oregon

Suzanne Marie Bonamici, 57.31%
Democrat

Jason Yates, 34.47%
Republican

James Foster, 4.02%
Libertarian

Steven C Reynolds, 4.00%
Green
2013 (Nov. 6, 2012 election)

1st Congressional District of Oregon

Suzanne Marie Bonamici, 59.60%
Democrat

Delinda Morgan, 33.04%
Republican

Steven Reynolds, 4.52%
Progressive

Bob Ekstrom, 2.69%
Constitution

Employment History

Oregon House of Representatives (2001-2007)

Legislative Assistant
U.S. Federal Trade Commission (1983-1986)

Attorney

Associated Organizations

Election campaign:

Bonamici for Congress (Oregon)

Awards

Champion for Children (First Focus Campaign for Children) (Feb. 2024)
Congressional Champion Award (YMCA of the USA) (Feb. 2024)
Spirit of Enterprise Award (U.S. Chamber of Commerce) (June 2020)
Champion of Science Award (Science Coalition) (Feb. 2020)
Distinguished Community Health Defender Award (National Association of Community Health Centers Inc.) (2018)
Leadership Award (National Marine Sanctuary Foundation) (April 2017)

Official Signature

Contact Information

Email, member official contact form

Office Addresses:

Main Office:

Address:	2231 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515-3701
Phone:	202-225-0855
Fax:	202-225-9497

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» District Offices

Privately Financed Travel

4 trips taken between 2014 - 2022 costing $59,348

See map of trips

Trip Destinations:

Trip Sponsors:

» see more

Personal Financial Disclosures

Disclosures as a member:

Annual: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2016 (Amendment), 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012
Extension Letter: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2018, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014
» see more

Congressional Staff

Staff Turnover:

Turnover Index: 0.14
(House Average: 0.25)
» See more

Staff Salary Rate:

Office Median Annual Salary: $77,500.02
» See more

Staff Salaries Paid:

» See full staffer list

» view all salaries

Committees

House Education and the Workforce Committee

House Education and the Workforce Committee Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee, Ranking Member

House Education and the Workforce Committee Higher Education and Workforce Investment Subcommittee

House Science, Space and Technology Committee

House Science, Space and Technology Committee Environment Subcommittee

House Science, Space and Technology Committee Research and Technology Subcommittee

Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission

Caucuses

Caught Our Eye

Sen. Menendez discloses his wife's pot of gold

Posted by Christian Stafford on March 17, 2022
St. Patrick's Day was celebrated a day early for Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), who disclosed yesterday that his wife has her very own pot of gold. read more
Rep. Bonamici powers up staff with clean-energy hire

Posted by Keturah Hetrick on Aug. 11, 2021
A clean-energy advocate has taken her first Hill job. read more
Congress circles the globe on private dime in 2014

Posted by Jenna Ebersole on Feb. 2, 2015
Congressional staff and their bosses spent weeks off Capitol Hill in 2014 flying around the world on nearly 2,000 privately sponsored trips. read more
Staffers and members crisscross globe during August recess

Posted by Jenna Ebersole on Sept. 22, 2014
Trips by members of Congress and their staffs during the August recess cost $766,000, a dramatic increase from two years ago.Although the figure is much lower than last August's $2 million figure, it represents a nearly 50 percent increase in spending over the more comparable election-year August of 2012, when $515,000 was spent. Typically, election year travel is reduced, as members focus their attention on reelection and away from potentially politically unpopular junkets. The latest numbers support an overall increase in travel in recent years. read more
Members take private funds to witness Israeli military operaiton

Posted by Nate Hoffman on Aug. 28, 2014
August might be the perfect time to visit Aspen or Paris, but a handful of members instead chose to visit a battle zone: Israel. read more

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