Rep. David Gomberg, D-Otis, sailed to an easy victory in his House District 10 re-election bid over three days of vote-counting that nearly wrapped up Thursday.
Gomberg received 20,874 votes – or 56.8 percent – to earn a sixth term in the Oregon Legislature. His opponent, Celeste McEntee, a Republican restauranteur from Newport making her first run for a state office, had 15,848 votes, or 43.1 percent.
“I’m very grateful to the voters of the district for once again giving me the chance to represent them,” Gomberg said. “I’ll continue to work to represent everyone in my district, but I’m especially thankful to those who supported me.”
Oregon House District 10 changed boundaries during re-districting last year, losing parts of Tillamook County but gaining the western side of Benton County in the Philomath area. It also now includes all of Lincoln County, including the Yachats area south to the Lane County line.
Gomberg, who will now rank fourth in the House in seniority, said he expects to keep his current committee assignments. Those include serving as co-vice chair of the Ways and Means budgeting committee and co-chair of Transportation and Economic Development.
In terms of fundraising, Gomberg took in $248,360, according to state election filings. His biggest contributions came from public-sector unions, construction trades, homebuilders and realtors.
Much of McEntee’s $114,727 came from groups directly affiliated with the Oregon Republican Party. She also ran afoul of numerous campaign issues, twice running into issues with Oregon voter’s pamphlet statements or endorsements and getting a warning from the Oregon Government Ethics Commission for not filing required financial disclosure forms by a state deadline.
In the other race involving all of Lincoln County, Casey Miller handily won a runoff from the May primary with Carter McEntee by a margin of 13,379 to 8,803. Miller, the county’s public information officer, won the primary but was forced into a general election runoff with McEntee, a member of the Mo’s Seafood Chowder restaurant family, because he did not get 50 percent of the vote in a five-way race. Miller will replace retiring commissioner Doug Hunt in January.
— Dana Tims/YachatsNews