House adopts credentials report and seats Mari Watanabe for District 34

The Oregon House of Representatives on Jan. 23, 2025, adopted the report of a special committee on credentials and seated Mari Watanabe to represent House District 34, the chamber announced during its floor session.

The report, moved for adoption by Representative Ben Bowman, chair of the special committee on credentials, recommended that Mari Watanabe be entitled to the seat in the 83rd Legislative Assembly, replacing Representative Lisa Reynolds. "Representative Mari Watanabe was sworn in over the weekend. She has had a shorter runway than any other member of this chamber, but she is ready to hit the ground running, and we are very lucky to have her joining our ranks," Bowman said.

The special committee on credentials that reviewed the claim to the seat consisted of Representative Ben Bowman (chair), Representative Greg Smith and Representative Andrea Valderrama, the House announced when the committee was formed earlier in the session. Representative Bowman moved adoption of the committee's report on the floor, and the chamber carried the motion by voice vote. The clerk recorded the voice vote as the method of decision; individual roll-call votes were not recorded in the transcript.

After the adoption, the chair directed that Representative Watanabe be received within the bar of the chamber and escorted to her desk. The House also recorded the earlier verification of quorum and a list of members excused from attendance for the session, which included Bridal Iverson, Drazen, Elmer, Osborne, Owens, Scharf, Walters and Watanabe (as noted during the quorum call earlier in the proceedings).

The House adjourned the session until 11 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025.