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Dems Pick Tonia Moro To Run For Oregon Senate; GOP Next

Moro Campaign/JPArt

Jackson County Democrats picked Tonia Moro to run for Oregon State Senate in a special convention Friday night (August 19).

She will run for the Senate District 3 seat vacated by Sen. Alan Bates of Medford, who died two weeks before. By Oregon law, a vacancy in a legislative seat more than 61 days before a general election triggers an election to fill that seat.

So both parties are required to nominate candidates to run for a two-year term.  Moro emerged from a crowded field of would-be candidates in a vote of Democratic precinct committee people.

Republicans will choose their candidate in a similar convention on Tuesday (August 23).  No announcements have been made about candidates seeking the nomination.

Since Bates was a Democrat, Jackson County Commissioners are required to pick an interim senator to hold the seat until the election--from a list of names provided by Democrats.  All three Jackson County Commissioners are Republicans.

Moro made the list sent to the commissioners, along with House District 6 candidate Mike Moran.  Moran, a retired police chief, announced earlier in the evening that he would not run for the Senate seat in the election.  The third candidate for interim senator is Kevin Talbert, board member at Rogue Community College.

Moro is an attorney and a member of the Rogue Valley Transportation District board of directors.  Her last run for office was an unsuccessful run for Jackson County Commissioner.

Senate District 3 covers the southern half of Jackson County, including Ashland and most of Medford.  Bates was in the middle of his third term in the Senate when he died suddenly, on a fishing trip on the Rogue River.  A memorial service for Bates is scheduled for Saturday (August 20) at Southern Oregon University.

Geoffrey Riley is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism and has hosted the Jefferson Exchange on JPR since 2009. He's been a broadcaster in the Rogue Valley for more than 35 years, working in both television and radio.