Nominating Meeting Results
Press Release - Nominating Meeting
DOUGLAS COUNTY REPUBLICAN CENTRAL COMMITTEE
506 SE Jackson St, Roseburg, OR 97470
January 8, 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Email: info@douglascounty.gop
Website: https://douglascounty.gop
Senate District 1 Vacancy – Nominating Meeting
State Senator Dallas Heard resigned from his District 1 seat effective January 1, 2023.
On December 26, the Oregon Republican Party notified the Douglas County Republican Central Committee that in 13 days, a meeting would be held to select nominations to fill the vacant seat for Senator Heard.
Yesterday, the Nomination Meeting was held in Coquille, Oregon. Precinct Committee Persons from Coos, Curry, and Douglas County were present to vote on 3-5 candidates to be placed before the Commissioners. The candidates were:
- Tim Allen – Douglas County
- Stan Avery – Coos County
- Tom Dole – Douglas County
- Doug Mendenhall – Douglas County
- David Brock Smith – Curry County
- Richard Vander Velden – Douglas County
- Todd Vaughn – Douglas County
The meeting was called to order. The Parliamentarian announced that the Oregon Republican Party had received two opinions on the eligibility of candidates. The Secretary of State advised that, “the candidates…have to live in the district that the Senator retiring was elected in.” Also weighing in was an opinion from legislative counsel that said, “if it is after [January] 9th then they have to live in the new district.” The Parliamentarian recommended that the body select 5 candidates to ensure the 3 candidate requirement was met.
The potentially non-qualified candidates were identified as Richard Vander Velden and Todd Vaughn. The Oregon Republican Party has not clarified if these candidates are eligible to run.
Following strong prompting by the Oregon Republican Party, the body elected to send 5 nominees to the Commissioners.
Candidate Doug Mendenhall excused himself from the statement, question, and answer period due to an imminent personal matter. He did remain in the building and remained an eligible candidate.
Candidate Stan Avery gave a speech in support of David Brock Smith and promptly resigned his candidacy.
The vote took place, and the following nominees were selected to send to the Commissioners:
- David Brock Smith – 16,890.87
- Tim Allen – 13,385.82
- Richard Vander Velden – 9,975.45
- Todd Vaughn – 8,615.39
- Tom Dole – 8,508.38
It is unclear if question of eligibility impacted the results of the vote.
The nine County Commissioners from three counties will be meeting Wednesday January 11 at 10:00 am to make their selection. The vote is weighted, and the Douglas County Commissioners hold the majority vote for this Senate position.
If you have questions, comments, or would like additional information, please contact the Douglas County Republican Central Committee at info@douglascountygop.
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