Dennis Linthicum Explained

Dennis Linthicum
State Senate:Oregon
District:28th
Term Start:January 9, 2017
Predecessor:Doug Whitsett
Office1:Member of the Klamath County Board of Commissioners
Term Start1:January 2009
Term End1:January 2015
Successor1:Kelley Minty Morris
Birth Place:California, U.S.
Party:Republican
Education:University of California, Los Angeles (BA)
Biola University (MA)
Signature:Dennis Linthicum Signature.jpg

Dennis Linthicum (born 1956)[1] is an American politician serving in the Oregon Senate. A member of the Republican Party, he has served in the senate since 2017.

Early life and career

Linthicum graduated with a bachelors in economics from University of California, Los Angeles in 1978, and received his master's degree in Christian Apologetics from Biola University in 2009.[2] He began a software developer career in California, working of Hughes Aircraft. Later, he was the senior vice president of management information systems at Lange Financial and again at Pacific Mutual Life Insurance.[3]

Political career

Linthicum was elected as a Klamath County Commissioner in 2008. In 2013, he was involved in a recall petition to remove all of the commissioners over funding.[4] Recall backers did not gather enough signatures on petitions to qualify the issue for the ballot.

In 2014, Linthicum ran as a conservative insurgent for the 2nd U.S. Congressional District seat held by U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Hood River.[5] Walden won over 74% of the May primary vote over Linthicum. Walden won re-election in November with over 70% of the vote over two opponents.

Linthicum won election to the Oregon Senate in 2016. He and Oregon House candidate E. Werner Reschke, were the center of efforts to change candidate filing deadlines - nicknamed the "Whitsett Maneuver".[6] None won approval of the Legislature.

During the 2019 legislative session, Linthicum was among 11 Republican state senators who walked-out. The move was to deny the Democratic-majority Senate the minimum of 20 senators required to establish a quorum to do any business. Oregon is one of five states in the nation requiring a two-thirds quorum. The walkout's aim was to prevent a vote on a cap-and-trade bill that supporters said would lower greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 to combat climate change. With the state budget unfinished, Democrats withdrew the carbon cap bill. Republicans returned on June 29 for a weekend marathon of votes, narrowly avoiding the constitutional deadline to complete the 160-day session. Linthicum remained absent, saying he had a prior commitment.[7] [8] [9] [10]

Linthicum was elected to a second four-year term in November 2020.

On December 11, 2020, Linthicum and 11 other state Republican officials signed a letter requesting Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum join Texas and other states contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election in Texas v. Pennsylvania. Rosenblum announced she had filed in behalf of the defense, and against Texas, the day prior.[11]

Linthicum was elected treasurer of the Oregon Republican Party in February 2021 as part of a conservative insurgent slate that also elected Sen. Dallas Heard, R-Roseburg, as chairman and former Sen. Herman Baertschiger, Jr., R-Grants Pass, as vice chair.[12]

In October 2021, Linthicum signed a letter along with other Republican politicians from around the nation calling for an audit of the 2020 election in all states and the elimination of voter rolls in every state. The letter also claimed that the Arizona audit found evidence of fraud.[13]

Linthicum sponsored the Greater Idaho bill in the Oregon Senate on January 10, 2023, which would have required Oregon officials discuss the border between Idaho and Oregon from the Snake River to roughly follow the Cascade Range (with a conspicuous loop to ensure the booming and increasingly Democratic-tilting resort town of Bend) that would make 15 counties currently in Eastern Oregon part of Idaho.[14] The bill died without coming to a vote by the end of the session.

2023 unexcused absences

While participating in a Republican-led walkout in May 2023, Linthicum reached the 10 unexcused absence threshold set by measure 113, disqualifying him from running for reelection after his current term ends.[15] Linthicum and four other Senators filed a lawsuit against Oregon Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade in response, arguing that the measure's wording allowed them to serve one additional term before being barred from reelection.[16] In September Linthicum filed for reelection despite the disqualification.[17] The Oregon Supreme Court agreed to hear the case with arguments beginning December 14[18] and unanimously ruled against the Republican Senators, confirming Linthicum's disqualification after his current term ends in January 2025.[19]

On March 12, 2024, Linthicum announced his candidacy for Secretary of State in the 2024 elections.[20]

Personal life

Linthicum and his wife, Diane, have two children. He attends Bonanza Community Church.[21]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: State of Oregon: Blue Book - State Senators by District . 2023-02-04 . 2018-11-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181108030025/https://sos.oregon.gov/blue-book/Pages/state/legislative/senate-district.aspx . live.
  2. Web site: Candidate Information . Oregon Secretary Of State . June 18, 2020 . 3 February 2023 . 4 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230204075459/https://secure.sos.state.or.us/orestar/cfDetail.do;JSESSIONID_ORESTAR=05B_iiDkV5H8_NjdGVUlQQXlHuSc_GsNq8gIRS_uQFNq6ZaZ4x5T!1608191608?page=search&cfRsn=20051 . live.
  3. News: Dennis Linthicum wants incumbents replaced with true conservatives . Ricarte . RaeLynn . Columbia Gorge News . 3 May 2014 . 3 February 2023 . 4 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230204075459/https://www.columbiagorgenews.com/news/dennis-linthicum-wants-incumbents-replaced-with-true-conservatives/article_71a12a65-bbfa-5c9a-befd-4af754932f77.html . live.
  4. News: County commissioner recall bid fizzles . Samantha . Tipler . August 8, 2013 . Herald and News.
  5. Web site: May 20, 2014 Primary Election Abstract of Votes: Representative in Congress . July 27, 2014 . Oregon Secretary of State . October 18, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201018004122/http://records.sos.state.or.us/ORSOSWebDrawer/RecordView/6873756 . live.
  6. News: Editorial: Don't let anyone pull a Whitsett . March 23, 2024 . . January 20, 2017 . subscription . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240323180105/https://www.bendbulletin.com/opinion/editorial-don-t-let-anyone-pull-a-whitsett/article_99746236-ac85-5b0c-b67a-c878e444fdd3.html . March 23, 2024 . . en.
  7. Web site: Oregon Republicans walk out on state Senate over climate change bill as governor threatens police roundup . . 24 June 2019 . June 23, 2019 . 24 June 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190624145338/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oregon-republicans-climate-change-bill-lawmakers-walk-out-of-state-legislature-as-governor-orders-police-round-up/ . live.
  8. Web site: Osborne . Mark . Youn . Soo . Oregon's Republican state senators go into hiding over climate change vote amid militia threat . . June 24, 2019 . June 23, 2019 . June 23, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190623192337/https://abcnews.go.com/US/oregons-republican-state-senators-hiding-democrats-delay-climate/story?id=63880562 . live.
  9. News: Selsky . Andrew . Zimmerman . Sarah . Oregon Republican senators end walkout over carbon bill . . July 1, 2019 . June 29, 2019 . June 30, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190630135943/https://apnews.com/141a6d202dac4c4480200957c4fe86ac . live.
  10. Web site: Radnovich . Connor . Oregon Republican senators end walkout, but legislature remains dogged by controversy . . July 1, 2019 . June 30, 2019 . July 1, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190701051701/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/06/29/oregon-republican-senators-end-walkout/1610781001/ . live.
  11. Web site: A Dozen Oregon Republican Lawmakers Urged the Attorney General to Support Texas Lawsuit Undermining U.S. Election Results . Tess Riski . Willamette Week . 13 December 2020 . 13 December 2020 . 14 December 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201214022229/https://www.wweek.com/news/courts/2020/12/13/a-dozen-oregon-republican-lawmakers-urged-the-attorney-general-to-support-texas-lawsuit-undermining-u-s-election-results/ . live.
  12. News: Dirk . VanderHart . Oregon GOP ousts chair, taps state Sen. Dallas Heard as new leader . 2021-03-26 . February 21, 2021 . . 2021-03-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210310172458/https://www.opb.org/article/2021/02/21/oregon-gop-ousts-chair-taps-state-sen-dallas-heard-as-new-leader/ . live.
  13. Web site: Cappelletti. Joey. 2021-10-28. State Sen. Kim Thatcher signs letter calling for election audit in 50 states. live. 2022-01-18. Keizertimes. en. https://web.archive.org/web/20211028201121/https://www.keizertimes.com/posts/3404/state-sen-kim-thatcher-signs-letter-calling-for-election-audit-in-50-states . 2021-10-28.
  14. News: Rawlings . Matt . January 10, 2023 . . Greater Idaho bill introduced in Oregon State Senate reading . February 4, 2023 . February 4, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230204004610/https://www.koin.com/nwpolitics/this-is-possible-greater-idaho-movement-on-border-change-bill/ . live.
  15. News: VanderHart. Dirk. Dake. Lauren. May 18, 2023. Oregon Republican walkout: 6 more senators are potentially ineligible for reelection. live. Oregon Public Broadcasting. https://web.archive.org/web/20231023000925/https://www.opb.org/article/2023/05/18/oregon-republican-walkout-6-more-senators-potentially-ineligible-for-reelection/. October 23, 2023. November 2, 2023.
  16. News: VanderHart. Dirk. August 29, 2023. Challenge to anti-walkout law could go straight to Oregon Supreme Court. live. Oregon Public Broadcasting. https://web.archive.org/web/20231025054024/https://www.opb.org/article/2023/08/29/measure-113-walkout-oregon-lawsuit/. October 25, 2023. November 3, 2023.
  17. News: Selsky. Andrew. September 14, 2023. GOP senators who boycotted Oregon Legislature file for reelection despite being disqualified. live. Oregon Public Broadcasting. https://web.archive.org/web/20230916061827/https://www.opb.org/article/2023/09/14/gop-senators-who-boycotted-oregon-legislature-file-for-reelection-despite-being-disqualified/. September 16, 2023. November 3, 2023.
  18. News: VanderHart. Dirk. October 24, 2023. GOP senators' challenge to walkout penalties lands before Oregon Supreme Court. live. Oregon Public Broadcasting. https://web.archive.org/web/20231031005217/https://www.opb.org/article/2023/10/24/gop-senators-walkout-penalties-measure-113-oregon-supreme-court/. October 31, 2023. November 3, 2023.
  19. News: Shumway . Julia . Oregon Supreme Court bars Republican senators who participated in walkout from reelection . 1 February 2024 . . 1 February 2024.
  20. News: Senator Dennis Linthicum enters race for Oregon Secretary of State . Molly . O'Brien . March 12, 2024 . Herald and News.
  21. Web site: Dennis Linthicum's Biography . . March 23, 2024 . March 23, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240323173133/https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/biography/132916/dennis-linthicum . live.

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