Category: Uncategorized

County commissioners from several eastern Oregon counties appointed Lynn Findley (R) to represent the 30th District in the Oregon State Senate, effective January 9, 2020. The 30th District is comprised of six entire counties and parts of three others. The seat had been vacant since former state Sen. Cliff Bentz (R) resigned to run for…

On January 7, 2020, Republicans elected William Barclay (R) as minority leader of the New York State Assembly. Barclay was first elected to the State Assembly in 2002 and previously served as State Assembly Deputy Minority Leader. Barclay’s appointment came after former Minority Leader Brian Kolb (R) was arrested on December 31, 2019, after crashing…

Signatures have been verified in the recall effort against Councilman La’Shadion Shemwell in McKinney, Texas. The city secretary found 3,062 signatures valid, and petitioners needed 2,127 valid signatures to put the recall on the ballot. The election is expected to be held in May 2020. Recall proponents accused Shemwell of failing to uphold his oath…

On Dec. 26, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that public-sector unions cannot be required to refund fees paid prior to Janus v. AFSCME. In Janus, the U.S. Supreme Court held that compulsory collection of union fees violates workers’ free-speech and associational rights. Who are the parties to the suit?…

Three new state legislative special elections have been added to our list. The special elections are for the District 8, 18, and 58 seats in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives on March 17, 2020. There is no primary, and there is no filing deadline since candidates are nominated directly by political parties.

Donald Humason Jr. (R) resigned from his position in the Massachusetts State Senate on January 6, 2020, to assume office as the mayor of Westfield, Massachusetts. Humason Jr. had represented the 2nd Hampden and Hampshire District in the Senate since 2013. He previously represented the 4th Hampden District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from…

On January 7, 2020, North Carolina State Senator Floyd McKissick (D) resigned his seat after representing Senate District 20 for 13 years. McKissick stepped down to accept an appointment to the North Carolina Utilities Commission made by Gov. Roy Cooper (D). The North Carolina Utilities Commission is a seven-person executive board in the North Carolina…

Massachusetts State Representative Jennifer Benson (D) resigned on January 8, 2020, after representing the 37th Middlesex District for 10 years. Benson resigned from state House to lead the Alliance for Business Leadership, a non-partisan coalition of business leaders focused on economic development in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. A special election to fill the 37th Middlesex…

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem (R) appointed businesswoman Jessica Castleberry (R) to fill the vacant District 35 state Senate seat on December 31, 2019. Castleberry assumed office on January 1, 2020, and her term will end on January 11, 2021. Castleberry’s appointment came after former state Senator Lyndi Santo (R) resigned effective December 31, 2019.…

Former Maryland State Senator Ulysses Currie (D) died on December 27, 2019, at age 82. The late lawmaker’s wife, Shirley Gravely-Currie, cited the cause of death as advanced dementia. Currie had most recently represented Maryland State Senate District 25. Currie’s health declined during his final years in the legislature, and he chose not to seek…