Carolyn Tomei (born 1936) is a Democratic politician from the US state of Oregon. She served in the Oregon House of Representatives for District 41, representing Milwaukie and parts of Southeast Portland, including Sellwood and Eastmoreland from 2001 to 2015.

Carolyn Tomei
Member of the Oregon House of Representatives
from the 41st district
In office
2001–2015
Preceded byJane Lokan
Succeeded byKathleen Taylor
Mayor of Milwaukie, Oregon
In office
1998–2001
Preceded byDonald Graf
Succeeded byJames Bernard
Personal details
Born1936 (age 87–88)
Charleston, West Virginia, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materPortland State University
ProfessionSocial worker
WebsiteLegislative website

Early life and career

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Tomei was born in Charleston, West Virginia. She earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's degree in social work from Portland State University.[1]

Political career

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Tomei served on the Milwaukie Planning Commission in the 1990s and was elected to the Milwaukie City Council in 1996. In 1998, she ran for mayor of Milwaukie, and won a three-person race by 2–1 margin over her closest competitor.[2] Tomei was first elected mayor in a special election held March 10, 1998. The election was held following the recall of Mayor Craig Lomnicki. Tomei won the three-way race with 2,003 votes over Councilor Rob Kappa's 952 votes and former councilor Rick Farley's 819 votes.[3] In the November, 1998 election, Tomei ran unopposed.[4] In 2000, she ran for an open seat in the Oregon House of Representatives, previously held by Republican Jane Lokan. In the general election, Tomei defeated Republican Dick Jones.[5] She was re-elected to the same seat six times.[1][6]

In March 2014 she announced she would not run for another term.[7]

Personal

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Tomei is married to Gary Michael, and the couple have 17 children, step children, and foster children.[1][6]

Beliefs

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Raised Roman Catholic, Tomei later identified herself as a secular humanist.[8] In January, 2013, while leading the Oregon House in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance Tomei changed the words "one nation under God" to "one nation under love."[9] In December, 2013, Tomei was endorsed by the Freethought Equality PAC because of her "commitment to promote a more secular government and a will to protect the rights of all people, including the now 20 percent of Americans that don't identify with any particular religion."[10]

Electoral history

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2004 Oregon State Representative, 41st district[11]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Carolyn Tomei 20,549 72.7
Republican Steven D. Rowe 6,953 24.6
Constitution Rita Lynn 655 2.3
Write-in 116 0.4
Total votes 28,273 100%
2006 Oregon State Representative, 41st district[12]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Carolyn Tomei 15,998 96.9
Write-in 510 3.1
Total votes 16,508 100%
2008 Oregon State Representative, 41st district[13]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Carolyn Tomei 21,302 80.1
Republican Randy Uchytil 5,181 19.5
Write-in 110 0.4
Total votes 26,593 100%
2010 Oregon State Representative, 41st district[14]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Carolyn Tomei 17,092 75.8
Republican Hugo Schulz 5,385 23.9
Write-in 66 0.3
Total votes 22,543 100%
2012 Oregon State Representative, 41st district[15]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Carolyn Tomei 22,530 72.3
Republican Timothy E McMenamin 8,559 27.5
Write-in 67 0.2
Total votes 31,156 100%

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Carolyn Tomei". Project VoteSmart. Archived from the original on October 30, 2010. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  2. ^ McCarthy, Dennis (March 13, 1998). "Mayoral victory margin surprises Tomei". The Oregonian.
  3. ^ Kohler, Vince. "Milwaukie voters choose Tomei as Mayor." Oregonian, March 11, 1998.
  4. ^ McCarthy, Dennis. "Milwaukie Council Ballot Looks Like Recall Rematch." Oregonian, October 14, 1998.
  5. ^ Kohler, Vince (November 8, 2000). "Smith, Lee in tight race in District 10". The Oregonian.
  6. ^ a b "Representative Carolyn Tomei". Oregon House of Representatives. Archived from the original on June 11, 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  7. ^ "Rep. Carolyn Tomei, Milwaukie Democrat, won't run for re-election". March 8, 2014. Archived from the original on January 20, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  8. ^ "Kinship with the natural World." Dennis McCarthy, Oregonian, November 19, 1998.
  9. ^ Oregonian, January 16, 2013
  10. ^ Oregonian, December 19, 2013
  11. ^ "Official Results | November 2, 2004". Oregon Secretary of State. Archived from the original on September 10, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  12. ^ "Official Results | November 7, 2006". Oregon Secretary of State. Archived from the original on September 10, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  13. ^ "Official Results | November 4, 2008". Oregon Secretary of State. Archived from the original on September 10, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  14. ^ "Official Results November 2, 2010". Oregon Secretary of State. Archived from the original on August 31, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  15. ^ "Official Results | November 6, 2012". Oregon Secretary of State. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
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