A group of Josephine County voters have dropped their attempt to remove Rep. Christine Goodwin from the state House and bar her from running for the Senate.
Goodwin, R-Canyonville, has served in the House since 2021 and is running for a state Senate seat now represented by Sen. Art Robinson, R-Cave Junction. A lawsuit filed earlier this month by several Josephine County residents alleged that she actually lives in Myrtle Creek, outside the boundaries of both the Senate district and her current House district.
The plaintiffs withdrew their case late Friday, citing timing issues. The deadline for ballots to be finalized was in March.
“Goodwin’s claim that she lives in the district is not credible,” attorney Stephen Joncus wrote. “However, now that the deadline for keeping her off the ballot has passed, Oregon statutes do not provide for a remedy until after the primary election. Plaintiffs will renew their challenge to Goodwin’s qualifications if, after the primary election on May 21, 2024, she should win a majority of the votes.”
The Secretary of State’s Office is only allowed to investigate residency or other qualifications when an election is more than 60 days away. After that, voters who believe a candidate who wins election is not qualified have up to 40 days after the election to file a challenge in the local circuit court.
Robinson is disqualified from running for reelection because he participated in a six-week walkout in 2023, after Oregon voters passed a constitutional amendment barring lawmakers with 10 or more unexcused absences from serving another term. His son Noah Robinson is running in his place.
“I have said from the beginning this lawsuit was a political stunt to help a candidate who doesn’t think he can beat me in a fair fight,” Goodwin said in a statement. “I’m glad southern Oregon voters will be given the choice to elect me to represent them in the Senate as they already have in the House.”
Goodwin and her husband have owned a home in Myrtle Creek since 1991, and she listed that home as her address on a business registration in July 2022. Her first campaign finance filing after her appointment in 2021 also listed the Myrtle Creek home as her address.
In late December 2021, a few days before the Jan. 1, 2022, deadline for candidates to establish residency to run in 2022 legislative elections, Goodwin updated her voter registration to a home in Canyonville. She describes it as a home on the Falk ranch; the plaintiffs claimed it’s a tasting room for the Falk Estate Vineyards, which no longer has a web presence or an active business license.
In instances in which candidates maintain two or more homes, the Secretary of State’s Office determines which one counts for residency purposes by looking at where a candidate votes, pays taxes, registers licenses and works, rather than statements about the area a candidate considers home.
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